Healthcare On The Trail
The midterms are two weeks away and Becker’s Payer covers how Democratic candidates are working healthcare issues into their policies and messaging and Republicans are defending themselves. Healthcare changes being discussed on the stump include:
- Exchanges enhanced premium subsidy reinstatement
- Rolling back Medicaid reductions
- Medicare for All endorsements
- Attacking vertical integration in healthcare
- Reining in AI-driven denials
- Price transparency
- Hospital prices
On the last issue, a Century Foundation survey of voters from earlier this year found that 67% think preventing hospitals from charging excessive prices should be a top federal priority when it comes to cutting costs. About 66% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats believe this.
A Modern Healthcare articles says Republicans are attacking fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicaid and the Exchanges as a key healthcare message. A healthcare policy group KFF poll finds that the messaging resonates with 44% of voters. At the same time, Florida and Texas have about 40% of all Exchange enrollments and the GOP could be hurt here due to enrollment losses.
Additional article: https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-regulation/mh-republicans-healthcare-fraud-midterm-elections/
#midterms #congress #healthcare #coverage
Provider Directory Errors In Commercial World
Ohio State University and Stanford University researchers find that fewer than a quarter of secret shopper phone calls to a mental health provider listed as in-network for large commercial insurance plans ended in a scheduled appointment. Inaccurate provider directories and lack of capacity were key reasons for challenges. Only 23.6% initially resulted in an appointment and weight times were 20.5 days. Wrong contact information was the most common directory error, at 31%, followed by incorrect specialty listings at 22.2%.
Additional article: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/commercial-plans-mental-health-provider-directories-routinely-inaccurate-secret-shopper
#commercial #employercoverage #providerdirectories #networks
— Marc S. Ryan
