Exploring Care Attributes of Nephrologists Ranking Favorably on Measures of Value.

BACKGROUND: Despite growth in value-based payment, attributes of nephrology care associated with payer-defined value remains unexplored. METHODS: Using national health insurance claims data from private preferred provider organization plans, we ranked nephrology practices using total cost of care and a composite of common quality metrics. Blinded to practice rankings, we conducted site visits at four highly ranked and three average ranked practices to identify care attributes more frequently present in highly ranked practices. A panel of nephrologists used a modified Delphi method to score each distinguishing attribute on its potential to affect quality and cost of care and ease of transfer to other nephrology practices. RESULTS: Compared with average-value peers, high-value practices were located in areas with a relatively higher proportion of black and Hispanic patients and a lower proportion of patients aged >65 years. Mean risk-adjusted per capita monthly total spending was 24% lower for high-value practices. Twelve attributes comprising five general themes were observed more frequently in high-value nephrology practices: preventing near-term costly health crises, supporting patient self-care, maximizing effectiveness of office visits, selecting cost-effective diagnostic and treatment options, and developing infrastructure to support high-value care. The Delphi panel rated four attributes highly on effect and transferability: rapidly adjustable office visit frequency for unstable patients, close monitoring and management to preserve kidney function, early planning for vascular access, and education to support self-management at every contact. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this small-scale exploratory study may serve as a starting point for nephrologists seeking to improve on payer-specified value measures.

Do Medicare Advantage Plans Respond to Payment Changes? A Look at the Data from 2009 to 2014.

Issue: Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment has grown significantly since 2009, despite legislation that reduced what Medicare pays these plans to provide care to enrollees. MA payments, on average, now approach parity with costs in traditional Medicare. Goal: Examine changes in per enrollee costs between 2009 and 2014 to better understand how MA plans have continued to thrive even as payments decreased. Methods: Analysis of Medicare data on MA plan bids, net of rebates. Findings: While spending per beneficiary in traditional Medicare rose 5.0 percent between 2009 and 2014, MA payment benchmarks rose 1.5 percent and payment to plans decreased by 0.7 percent. Plans' expected per enrollee costs grew 2.6 percent. Plans where payment rates decreased generally had slower growth in their expected costs. HMOs, which saw their payments decline the most, had the slowest expected cost growth. Conclusions: In general, MA plans responded to lower payment by containing costs. By preserving most of the margin between Medicare payments and their bids in the form of rebates, they could continue to offer additional benefits to attract enrollees. The magnitude of this response varied by geographic area and plan type. Despite this slower growth in expected per enrollee costs, greater efficiencies by MA plans may still be achievable.

Balance Billing by Health Care Providers: Assessing Consumer Protections Across States.

ISSUE: Privately insured consumers expect that if they pay premiums and use in-network providers, their insurer will cover the cost of medically necessary care beyond their cost-sharing. However, when obtaining care at emergency departments and in-network hospitals, patients treated by an out-of-network provider may receive an unexpected "balance bill" for an amount beyond what the insurer paid. With no explicit federal protections against balance billing, some states have stepped in to protect consumers from this costly and confusing practice. GOAL: To better understand the scope of state laws to protect consumers from balance billing. METHODS: Analysis of laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and interviews with officials in eight states. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: Most states do not have laws that directly protect consumers from balance billing by an out-of-network provider for care delivered in an emergency department or in-network hospital. Of the 21 states offering protections, only six have a comprehensive approach to safeguarding consumers in both settings, and gaps remain even in these states. Because a federal policy solution might prove difficult, states may be better positioned in the short term to protect consumers.

Promoting Value for Consumers: Comparing Individual Health Insurance Markets Inside and Outside the ACA's Exchanges.

The new health insurance exchanges are the core of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) insurance reforms, but insurance markets beyond the exchanges also are affected by the reforms. This issue brief compares the markets for individual coverage on and off of the exchanges, using insurers' most recent projections for ACA-compliant policies. In 2016, insurers expect that less than one-fifth of ACA-compliant coverage will be sold outside of the exchanges. Insurers that sell mostly through exchanges devote a greater portion of their premium dollars to medical care than do insurers selling only off of the exchanges, because exchange insurers project lower administrative costs and lower profit margins. Premium increases on exchange plans are less than those for off-exchange plans, in large part because exchange enrollment is projected to shift to closed-network plans. Finally, initial concerns that insurers might seek to segregate higher-risk subscribers on the exchanges have not been realized.

A Survey of Oral Cancer Screening Insurance Coverage in New York City.

Clinical studies show that fewer than 25% of people who visit a dentist regularly are screened for oral cancer, and that the majority of oral cancers present at an advanced stage, when cure rates are already abysmal. This study explores the current status of oral cancer screening coverage among a variety of insurance providers in New York City. The study focuses on determining the coverage and frequency of the cluster of salient CDT (dental) codes surrounding oral cancer screenings.

Quality Varies Across Health Insurance Marketplace Pricing Regions.

BACKGROUND: Although consumers purchasing health plans in the new Health Insurance Marketplace will be provided information on the cost and quality of participating health plans, it is unclear whether the state-wide plan quality averages that will be reported will accurately represent quality at the pricing region level where care will be received. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether currently reported state-wide health plan quality scores accurately represent quality within pricing regions established for the Health Insurance Marketplace. RESEARCH DESIGN: Observational, historical cohort study using health plan administrative and pharmacy data. SUBJECTS: A total of 5.2 million members enrolled in the preferred provider organization health plans of 1 large commercial California insurer in 2012. MEASURES: State-wide and pricing region performance on each of the 17 Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures. RESULTS: Across the 17 measures assessed in each of the 19 pricing regions, scores were statistically different (P<0.05) than the overall plan rate for 176 (54%). Variations in scores across regions were observed for each measure ranging from 6.4-percentage points for engagement in treatment for people with dependence of alcohol or other drugs to 47.2-percentage points for appropriate testing for pharyngitis among children. CONCLUSIONS: Quality scores in California vary greatly across geographic regions. Statewide averages may misrepresent the quality of care that consumers are likely to receive within a geographic area making difficult assessments about the value of the health care.

Management of Newer Antidepressant Medications in U.S. Commercial Health Plans.

BACKGROUND: Private health insurance plays a large role in the U.S. health system, including for many individuals with depression. Private insurers have been actively trying to influence pharmaceutical utilization and costs, particularly for newer and costlier medications. The approaches that insurers use may have important effects on patients' access to antidepressant medications. AIMS OF THE STUDY: To report which approaches (e.g., tiered copayments, prior authorization, and step therapy) commercial health plans are employing to manage newer antidepressant medications, and how the use of these approaches has changed since 2003. METHODS: Data are from a nationally representative survey of commercial health plans in 60 market areas regarding alcohol, drug abuse and mental health services in 2010. Responses were obtained from 389 plans (89% response rate), reporting on 925 insurance products. For each of six branded antidepressant medications, respondents were asked whether the plan covered the medication and if so, on what copayment tier, and whether it was subject to prior authorization or step therapy. Measures of management approach were constructed for each medication and for the group of medications. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to test for association of the management approach with various health plan characteristics. RESULTS: Less than 1% of health plan products excluded any of the six antidepressants studied. Medications were more likely to be subjected to restrictions if they were newer, more expensive or were reformulations. 55% of products used placement on a high cost-sharing tier (3 or 4) as their only form of restriction for newer branded antidepressants. This proportion was lower than in 2003, when 71% of products took this approach. In addition, only 2% of products left all the newer branded medications unrestricted, down from 25% in 2003. Multivariate analysis indicated that preferred provider organizations were more likely than other product types to use tier 3 or 4 placement. DISCUSSION: We find that U.S. health plans are using a variety of strategies to manage cost and utilization of newer branded antidepressant medications. Plans appear to be finding that approaches other than exclusion are adequate to meet their cost-management goals for newer branded antidepressants, although they have increased their use of administrative restrictions since 2003. Limitations include lack of information about how administrative restrictions were applied in practice, information on only six medications, and some potential for endogeneity bias in the regression analyses. CONCLUSION: This study has documented substantial use of various restrictions on access to newer branded antidepressants in U.S. commercial health plans. Most of these medications had generic equivalents that offered at least some substitutability, reducing access concerns. At the same time, it is worth noting that high copayments and administrative requirements can nonetheless be burdensome for some patients. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICY: Health plans' pharmacy management approaches may concern policymakers less than in the early 2000s, due to the lesser distinctiveness of today's branded medications. This may change depending on future drug introductions. IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Future research should examine the impact of plans' pharmacy management approaches, using patient-level data.

Physician practice competition and prices paid by private insurers for office visits.

IMPORTANCE: Physician practice consolidation could promote higher-quality care but may also create greater economic market power that could lead to higher prices for physician services. OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between physician competition and prices paid by private preferred provider organizations (PPOs) for 10 types of office visits in 10 prominent specialties. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective study in 1058 US counties in urbanized areas, representing all 50 states, examining the relationship between measured physician competition and prices paid for office visits in 2010 and the relationship between changes in competition and prices between 2003 and 2010, using regression analysis to control for possible confounding factors. EXPOSURES: Variation in the mean Hirschman-Herfindahl Index (HHI) of physician practices within a county by specialty (HHIs range from 0, representing maximally competitive markets, to 10,000 in markets served by a single [monopoly] practice). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Mean price paid by county to physicians in each specialty by private PPOs for intermediate office visits with established patients (Current Procedural Terminology [CPT] code 99213) and a price index measuring the county-weighted mean price for 10 types of office visits with new and established patients (CPT codes 99201-99205, 99211-99215) relative to national mean prices. RESULTS: In 2010, across all specialties studied, HHIs were 3 to 4 times higher in the 90th-percentile county than the 10th-percentile county (eg, for family practice: 10th percentile HHI = 1023 and 90th percentile HHI = 3629). Depending on specialty, mean price for a CPT code 99213 visit was between $70 and $75. After adjustment for potential confounders, depending on specialty, prices at the 90th-percentile HHI were between $5.85 (orthopedics; 95% CI, $3.46-$8.24) and $11.67 (internal medicine; 95% CI, $9.13-$14.21) higher than at the 10th percentile. Including all types of office visits, price indexes at the 90th-percentile HHI were 8.3% (orthopedics; 95% CI, 5.0%-11.6%) to 16.1% (internal medicine; 95% CI, 12.8%-19.5%) higher. Between 2003 and 2010, there were larger price increases in areas that were less competitive in 2002 than in initially more competitive areas. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: More competition among physicians is related to lower prices paid by private PPOs for office visits. These results may inform work on policies that influence practice competition.

Pricing and Welfare in Health Plan Choice.

Premiums in health insurance markets frequently do not reflect individual differences in costs, either because consumers have private information or because prices are not risk rated. This creates inefficiencies when consumers self-select into plans. We develop a simple econometric model to study this problem and estimate it using data on small employers. We find a welfare loss of 2-11 percent of coverage costs compared to what is feasible with risk rating. Only about one-quarter of this is due to inefficiently chosen uniform contribution levels. We also investigate the reclassification risk created by risk rating individual incremental premiums, finding only a modest welfare cost.

Medicare program; Medicare Advantage and prescription drug benefit programs. Final rule.

This final rule finalizes revisions to the regulations governing the Medicare Advantage (MA) program (Part C), prescription drug benefit program (Part D) and section 1876 cost plans including conforming changes to the MA regulations to implement statutory requirements regarding special needs plans (SNPs), private fee-for-service plans (PFFS), regional preferred provider organizations (RPPO) plans, and Medicare medical savings accounts (MSA) plans, cost-sharing for dual-eligible enrollees in the MA program and prescription drug pricing, coverage, and payment processes in the Part D program, and requirements governing the marketing of Part C and Part D plans.

Healthcare utilization in community-acquired pneumonia episodes of care: a comparison across the continuum of managed care.

OBJECTIVE: Compare healthcare utilization and total payments for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) episodes-of-care among 5 health plan designs spanning the continuum of managed care. RESEARCH DESIGN: Medical and prescription claims analysis of CAP episodes among enrollees of employer-sponsored health plans. Episode characteristics, healthcare utilization, and payments were compared across fee-for-service, Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO), point of service, partial capitation, and Health Maintenance Organizations as defined by the employers. Medstat Episode of Care Grouper Version 2.1.5 was employed to create episodes of CAP care. Categorical and continuous measures of patient and care characteristics across plan designs were compared by chi tests and one-way analysis-of-variance as appropriate. Total per-episode payments for provided services across plan designs were compared using a general linear model with a log-link function and gamma distribution. RESULTS: Greater average patient age, episode severity, number of office visits, rate of hospitalization, length of stay, and inpatient mortality overall were found within PPO episodes compared with all other plan designs. Total episode payments controlling for age, sex, disease severity, and geography were greatest among PPO episodes and attributed largely to more office visits and longer lengths of hospital stays compared with other plan types. CONCLUSIONS: As previously shown among other patient populations and conditions, PPO episodes of CAP are associated with greater total payments due in large part to increased resource utilization among the episodes of lowest severity.

Which preferred providers are really preferred? Effectiveness of insurers' channeling incentives on pharmacy choice.

Efficient contracting of health care requires effective consumer channeling. Little is known about the effectiveness of channeling strategies. We study channeling incentives on pharmacy choice using a large scale discrete choice experiment. Financial incentives prove to be effective. Positive financial incentives are less effective than negative financial incentives. Channeling through qualitative incentives also leads to a significant impact on provider choice. While incentives help to channel, a strong status quo bias needs to be overcome before consumers change pharmacies. Focusing on consumers who are forced to choose a new pharmacy seems to be the most effective strategy.