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Taxpayers Paid Twice for Healthcare During COVID-19 Pandemic

"It's obvious why public health spending would surge during a pandemic. But what could justify the nearly $65 billion increase in private insurers' overhead? And how is it that two thirds of that increase came from private insurers' subcontracts with Medicare and Medicaid?"

U.S. Drug Prices Should Be Lowered -- But How?

"Senators on both sides of the aisle may agree that prescription drug prices are too high, but their solutions to the problem couldn't be more different.... The senators [on March 23] heard a variety of proposed solutions from witnesses."

Senators Vent Frustration with ACA CO-OP Program

" 'Taxpayers have been forced to foot the bill for the co-op experiment, to the tune of $2.4 billion in federal loans for 23 co-ops around the country,' said [Senate Finance Committee] chair Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). 'And, to date, more than half of the co-ops have failed, while the vast majority of the others are in poor financial shape. ' ... Hatch blamed the co-op program's problems largely on CMS, which, he said, 'apparently encouraged the co-ops to cook their books with some creative accounting.' "

Senators Sound Off on Healthcare.gov Fraud Protections

" 'CMS's explanation has been that they have to balance the ease of access to coverage with program integrity controls; based on our work, there are gaps in these controls that have yet to be addressed,' said [Seto Bagdoyan, director of audit services at the GAO's Forensic and Investigative Service]. 'As of now, the balance would be access over program integrity.' "

Small-Group Marketplaces Need Fixing, Senators Told

" 'SHOP [the Small Business Health Options Program] is an incredible opportunity for small business, but it is a dismal failure,' Thomas Harte, owner of Landmark Benefits ... told the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security ... 'The information technology systems for SHOP been nonfunctional in many states, and that's a barrier,' [Sabrina Corlette, JD, senior research fellow at Georgetown University,] said.... The hearing also looked at what to do about the small group market overall."

Fewer Americans Struggling With Medical Debt

"The percentage of people under age 65 who were in families having problems paying medical bills fell to 19.8% in the first 6 months of 2013 ... The same report from 2 years prior said 21.7% of people were in families struggling with medical-related debt."

Ramifications of Hobby Lobby ACA Case Could Go Beyond Birth Control Coverage

"'If we get a very broad opinion in favor of Hobby Lobby's position, it isn't just contraception, but a host of other federal regulations that may be challenged based on the idea that they substantially burden a person's religious exercise,' Darrell Miller, JD, law professor at Duke University, [said] ... 'Corporations, or their owners or directors, may assert that they can refuse to cover HIV treatment, or blood transfusions, or vaccinations.'"

Lack of Context Likely in Release of Doctor Pay Data

"Releasing data showing how much money individual doctors have received for treating Medicare patients could cause public misunderstanding while failing to achieve significant change ... It has long been hoped that learning which doctors are more costly to Medicare would result in consumers and healthcare purchasers steering their business to lower-cost providers. That would mean saving money and reducing overall healthcare spending. However, the carefully couched wording of Medicare's announcement Tuesday provided few details on what information will be released and to whom."

Mobile Apps Can Save Billions in Health Costs

"Mobile solutions ... can help save the U.S. more than $23 billion a year by controlling chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease ... That's a savings of between $2,000 and $3,000 per year per member with the condition. An estimated 500 million smartphone users worldwide will use some form of healthcare application by 2015 ... By 2018, half of the 3.4 billion smartphones and tablet users will have some type of downloaded mobile health applications."

Three-Month Medicare 'SGR Fix' Passes House

"The House of Representatives passed a 3-month patch late Thursday to stabilize physicians' Medicare payments -- delaying dramatic cuts scheduled for 2014 -- while Congress works on a permanent repeal of Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR) payment formula. The Senate is expected to take up the temporary patch next week. Meanwhile, bills to permanently repeal the SGR worked their way through committees in the House and Senate, with further action and possibly votes from the full chambers expected early next year."