RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: As U.S. legislators are urged to combat ghost networks in behavioral health and address the provider data quality issue, it becomes important to better characterize the variation in data quality of provider directories to understand root causes and devise solutions. Therefore, this manuscript examines consistency of address, phone number, and specialty information for physician entries from 5 national health plan provider directories by insurer, physician specialty, and state. METHODS: We included all physicians in the Medicare Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) found in ≥ 2 health insurer physician directories across 5 large national U.S. health insurers. We examined variation in consistency of address, phone number, and specialty information among physicians by insurer, physician specialty, and state. RESULTS: Of 634,914 unique physicians in the PECOS database, 449,282 were found in ≥ 2 directories and included in our sample. Across insurers, consistency of address information varied from 16.5 to 27.9%, consistency of phone number information varied from 16.0 to 27.4%, and consistency of specialty information varied from 64.2 to 68.0%. General practice, family medicine, plastic surgery, and dermatology physicians had the highest consistency of addresses (37-42%) and phone numbers (37-43%), whereas anesthesiology, nuclear medicine, radiology, and emergency medicine had the lowest consistency of addresses (11-21%) and phone numbers (9-14%) across health insurer directories. There was marked variation in consistency of address, phone number, and specialty information by state. CONCLUSIONS: In evaluating a large national sample of U.S. physicians, we found minimal variation in provider directory consistency by insurer, suggesting that this is a systemic problem that insurers have not solved, and considerable variation by physician specialty with higher quality data among more patient-facing specialties, suggesting that physicians may respond to incentives to improve data quality. These data highlight the importance of novel policy solutions that leverage technology targeting data quality to centralize provider directories so as not to not reinforce existing data quality issues or policy solutions to create national and state-level standards that target both insurers and physician groups to maximize quality of provider information.
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Exactitud de los Datos , Médicos , Estados Unidos , Humanos , Médicos/estadística & datos numéricos , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Directorios como Asunto , Medicina/estadística & datos numéricos , Seguro de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Especialización/estadística & datos numéricosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Recent studies document the rising prevalence of common ownership by institutional investors in specific industries. Those investors offer products, such as mutual and index funds, to trade securities on behalf of others and often own shares of multiple firms in the same industry to diversify portfolios. However, at present, few studies focus on common ownership trends in health care. OBJECTIVES: This paper examines institutional investors' common ownership in the major insurers offering plans in the Medicare Part D stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP) market between 2013 and 2020. RESEARCH DESIGN: Using data from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) database and the Center for Research in Securities Prices, we compute the percentages of outstanding shares of each insurer owned by institutional investors. Data visualization and network analysis are employed to assess the trends in common ownership among major insurers. RESULTS: We document a high prevalence of and substantial increase in shared institutional investors in the PDP market. From 2013 to 2020, the degree of common ownership increased by 7% on average, and the common ownership network became more connected. Common ownership also varies across the 34 PDP regions depending on their reliance on listed insurers, that are traded in the stock exchange, offering stand-alone PDPs. CONCLUSIONS: High and rising common ownership in the Medicare Part D PDP market raises policy questions about potential effects on plan offerings, premiums, and quality for consumers.
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Aseguradoras , Medicare Part D , Propiedad , Medicare Part D/tendencias , Medicare Part D/estadística & datos numéricos , Estados Unidos , Propiedad/tendencias , Humanos , Aseguradoras/tendencias , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricosRESUMEN
As people lose Medicaid because of the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, many states will route former Medicaid managed care enrollees into Affordable Care Act Marketplace coverage with the same carrier. In 2021, 52.1 percent of Medicaid managed care enrollees were enrolled by a carrier that also had a plan on the Marketplace in the same county.
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COVID-19 , Intercambios de Seguro Médico , Programas Controlados de Atención en Salud , Medicaid , Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , Medicaid/estadística & datos numéricos , Estados Unidos , Humanos , Intercambios de Seguro Médico/estadística & datos numéricos , Cobertura del Seguro/estadística & datos numéricos , SARS-CoV-2 , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Masculino , FemeninoRESUMEN
Healthcare organizations increasingly engage in activities to identify and address social determinants of health (SDOH) among their patients to improve health outcomes and reduce costs. While several studies to date have focused on the evolving role of hospitals and physicians in these types of population health activities, much less is known about the role health insurers may play. We used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems for the period 2006 to 2018 to examine trends in health insurer participation in population health activities and in the multi-sector collaborative networks that support these activities. We also used a difference-in-differences approach to examine the impact of Medicaid expansion on insurer participation in population health networks. Insurer participation increased in our study period both in the delivery of population health activities and in the integration into collaborative networks that support these activities. Insurers were most likely to participate in activities focusing on community health assessment and policy development. Results from our adjusted difference-in-differences models showed variation in association between insurer participation in population health networks and Medicaid expansion (Table 2). Population health networks in expansion states experienced significant increases insurer participation in assessment (4.48 percentage points, P < .05) and policy and planning (7.66 percentage points, P < .05) activities. Encouraging insurance coverage gains through policy mechanisms like Medicaid expansion may not only improve access to healthcare services but can also act as a driver of insurer integration into population health networks.
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Aseguradoras , Seguro de Salud , Medicaid , Salud Poblacional , Humanos , Estados Unidos , Estudios Longitudinales , Seguro de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Medicaid/estadística & datos numéricos , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Aseguradoras/tendencias , Determinantes Sociales de la SaludRESUMEN
Over 70% of Medicaid beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicaid managed care (MMC). MMC provider networks therefore represent a critical determinant of access to the Medicaid program. Many MMC insurers also participate in commercial insurance markets where prices are high, and some insurers exercise considerable market power. In this paper, we examined the relationship between commercial insurer market power and MMC physician network breadth using linked national enrollment data and provider directory data. Insurers with more commercial market power had broader Medicaid physician networks. Insurers with over 30% market share had 37.3% broader Medicaid networks than insurers in the same county that had no commercial market share. These differences were driven by greater breadth among primary care providers, as well as other specialists including OB/GYNs, surgeons, neurologists, and cardiologists. Commercial insurance market power may have spillovers on access to care for MMC beneficiaries.
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Seguro de Salud , Programas Controlados de Atención en Salud , Medicaid , Estados Unidos , Medicaid/estadística & datos numéricos , Medicaid/economía , Programas Controlados de Atención en Salud/economía , Programas Controlados de Atención en Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Programas Controlados de Atención en Salud/organización & administración , Humanos , Seguro de Salud/economía , Seguro de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Accesibilidad a los Servicios de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Aseguradoras/economía , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricosAsunto(s)
Competencia Económica , Economía Hospitalaria , Hospitales , Aseguradoras , Reembolso de Seguro de Salud , Competencia Económica/economía , Competencia Económica/estadística & datos numéricos , Gastos en Salud , Hospitales/estadística & datos numéricos , Aseguradoras/economía , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Seguro de Salud/economía , Seguro de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Estados Unidos/epidemiología , Economía Hospitalaria/estadística & datos numéricos , Reembolso de Seguro de Salud/economía , Reembolso de Seguro de Salud/estadística & datos numéricosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are frequently utilized to assess patient perceptions of health and function. Numerous factors influence self-reported physical and mental health outcome scores. The purpose of this study was to examine if an association exists between insurance payer type and baseline PROM scores in patients diagnosed with hip osteoarthritis. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the baseline PROM scores of 5,974 patients diagnosed with hip osteoarthritis according to the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code within our institutional database from 2015 to 2020. We examined Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score-Physical Function Short-form (HOOS-PS), Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function Short Form 10a (PF10a), PROMIS Global-Mental, and PROMIS Global-Physical scores. Descriptive analyses, analysis of variance (ANOVA), analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and post hoc analyses were utilized to assess variations in PROM scores across insurance type. RESULTS: The mean age (and standard deviation) of the study population was 63.5 ± 12.2 years, and 55.7% of patients were female. The Medicaid cohort had a comparatively higher percentage of Black, Hispanic, and non-English-speaking patients and a lower median household income. The Charlson Comorbidity Index was highest in the Medicare and Medicaid insurance cohorts. Patients utilizing commercial insurance consistently demonstrated the highest baseline PROMs, and patients utilizing Medicaid consistently demonstrated the lowest baseline PROMs. Subsequent analyses found significantly poorer mean scores for the Medicaid cohort for all 4 PROMs when compared with the commercial insurance and Medicare cohorts. These score differences exceeded the minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs). For the PROMIS Global-Mental subscore, a significantly lower mean score was observed for the Workers' Compensation and motor vehicle insurance cohort when compared with the commercial insurance and Medicare cohort. This difference also exceeded the MCID. CONCLUSIONS: PROM scores in patients with hip osteoarthritis varied among those with different insurance types. Variations in certain demographic and health indices are potential drivers of these observed baseline PROM differences. For patients with hip osteoarthritis, the use of PROMs for research, clinical, or quality-linked payment metrics should acknowledge baseline variation between patients with different insurance types. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
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Artroplastia de Reemplazo de Cadera/estadística & datos numéricos , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Osteoartritis de la Cadera/cirugía , Medición de Resultados Informados por el Paciente , Anciano , Artroplastia de Reemplazo de Cadera/economía , Femenino , Humanos , Aseguradoras/economía , Masculino , Medicaid/economía , Medicaid/estadística & datos numéricos , Medicare/economía , Medicare/estadística & datos numéricos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Osteoartritis de la Cadera/diagnóstico , Osteoartritis de la Cadera/economía , Estudios Retrospectivos , Autoinforme/estadística & datos numéricos , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
This article aims to introduce the inception and operation of the COVID-19 International Collaborative Research Project, the world's first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) open data project for research, along with its dataset and research method, and to discuss relevant considerations for collaborative research using nationwide real-world data (RWD). COVID-19 has spread across the world since early 2020, becoming a serious global health threat to life, safety, and social and economic activities. However, insufficient RWD from patients was available to help clinicians efficiently diagnose and treat patients with COVID-19, or to provide necessary information to the government for policy-making. Countries that saw a rapid surge of infections had to focus on leveraging medical professionals to treat patients, and the circumstances made it even more difficult to promptly use COVID-19 RWD. Against this backdrop, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) of Korea decided to open its COVID-19 RWD collected through Korea's universal health insurance program, under the title of the COVID-19 International Collaborative Research Project. The dataset, consisting of 476 508 claim statements from 234 427 patients (7590 confirmed cases) and 18 691 318 claim statements of the same patients for the previous 3 years, was established and hosted on HIRA's in-house server. Researchers who applied to participate in the project uploaded analysis code on the platform prepared by HIRA, and HIRA conducted the analysis and provided outcome values. As of November 2020, analyses have been completed for 129 research projects, which have been published or are in the process of being published in prestigious journals.
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COVID-19/prevención & control , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Internacionalidad , COVID-19/transmisión , Bases de Datos Factuales/estadística & datos numéricos , Humanos , Evaluación de Resultado en la Atención de Salud/normas , Evaluación de Resultado en la Atención de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Calidad de la Atención de Salud/normas , Calidad de la Atención de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , República de CoreaRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the introduction of prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part D increased opioid prescriptions, patient care-seeking for pain, and pain diagnoses among elderly Medicare-eligible adults. STUDY SETTING: Office visits by adults aged 18 years or older from the 2000-2016 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (12 375 207 253 office visits), and respondents from the 2000-2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (4 023 418 681 individuals). STUDY DESIGN: We compared care-seeking for pain, provider-assigned pain diagnoses, and opioid prescriptions before and after the Medicare eligibility age of 65, and before and after Part D's implementation using a regression discontinuity, difference-in-differences design. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, race, and year. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Patient care-seeking for pain increased by 11.4 office visits per 100 people (95% confidence interval 2.0-20.8), or 29%, in response to the implementation of Part D. Opioid prescriptions and diagnoses of pain-related conditions did not change significantly, but the financing of opioid prescriptions shifted from private to public payers at age 65. CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of Medicare Part D was not associated with increased opioid use among older adults. Rather, opioid use among the elderly has been driven by high levels of opioid use among commercially insured adults who subsequently age into Medicare. Our findings raise the question of whether more judicious prescribing to younger adults coupled with concerted efforts to deprescribe opioids when appropriate may prevent problematic opioid use among the elderly.
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Analgésicos Opioides/uso terapéutico , Prescripciones de Medicamentos/estadística & datos numéricos , Medicare Part D/estadística & datos numéricos , Dolor/tratamiento farmacológico , Aceptación de la Atención de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Analgésicos Opioides/administración & dosificación , Femenino , Encuestas de Atención de la Salud , Humanos , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Dolor/diagnóstico , Pautas de la Práctica en Medicina/estadística & datos numéricos , Factores Socioeconómicos , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: To evaluate the economic burden of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) treatment from a society perspective through analysis of health insurance-derived data of commercially insured and Medicare Advantage (MA) patients. METHODS: Retrospective cost analysis of patients undergoing rectal resection within a multimodal (neoadjuvant chemoradiation + adjuvant chemotherapy) treatment strategy between January 1, 2010 and October 31, 2018, using the claims OptumLabs Data Warehouse database. RESULTS: In total, 1738 (935 commercial and 803 MA) patients were included. Overall treatment costs totaled $230,881,746 (on average $183 653 ± 82 384 per commercially insured and $73 681 ± 32 917 per MA patient). Cost distribution according to category (commercially insured patients) was: 29.92% related to outpatient care (follow-up visits/diagnostics), radiotherapy: 21.83%, index resection: 20.62%, chemotherapy: 17.44%, surgical inpatient: 6.32%, medical inpatient: 3.28%, emergency room: 0.58%. Relative cost distribution of the index resection itself differed marginally between the three approaches and was 21.49% for open, 19.30% for laparoscopic, and 20.93% for robotic surgery. Relative cost distributions of neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and outpatient treatments remained unchanged, independently of the surgical approach. This representation was similar in MA patients. CONCLUSION: Index-surgery related costs were outweighed by costs related to oncological and outpatient workup/follow-up treatments independently of both surgical approach and insurance type.
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Costo de Enfermedad , Costos de la Atención en Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Medicare/estadística & datos numéricos , Terapia Neoadyuvante/economía , Proctectomía/economía , Neoplasias del Recto/economía , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Terapia Combinada , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Humanos , Seguro de Salud , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Pronóstico , Neoplasias del Recto/epidemiología , Neoplasias del Recto/terapia , Estudios Retrospectivos , Tasa de Supervivencia , Estados Unidos/epidemiología , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Background Quality of care incentives and reimbursements for cardiovascular testing differ between insurance providers. We hypothesized that there are differences in the use of guideline-concordant testing between Medicaid versus commercial insurance patients <65 years, and between Medicare Advantage versus Medicare fee-for-service patients ≥65 years. Methods and Results Using data from the Colorado All-Payer Claims Database from 2015 to 2018, we identified patients eligible to receive a high-value test recommended by guidelines: assessment of left ventricular function among patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction or incident heart failure, or a low-value test that provides minimal patient benefit: stress testing prior to low-risk surgery or routine stress testing within 2 years of percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Among 145 616 eligible patients, 37% had fee-for-service Medicare, 18% Medicare Advantage, 22% Medicaid, and 23% commercial insurance. Using multilevel logistic regression models adjusted for patient characteristics, Medicaid patients were less likely to receive high-value testing for acute myocardial infarction (odds ratio [OR], 0.84 [0.73-0.98]; P=0.03) and heart failure (OR, 0.59 [0.51-0.70]; P<0.01) compared with commercially insured patients. Medicare Advantage patients were more likely to receive high-value testing for acute myocardial infarction (OR, 1.35 [1.15-1.59]; P<0.01) and less likely to receive low-value testing after percutaneous coronary intervention/ coronary artery bypass graft (OR, 0.63 [0.55-0.72]; P<0.01) compared with Medicare fee-for-service patients. Conclusions Guideline-concordant testing was less likely to occur among patients with Medicaid compared with commercial insurance, and more likely to occur among patients with Medicare Advantage compared with fee-for-service Medicare. Insurance plan features may provide valuable targets to improve guideline-concordant testing.
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Puente de Arteria Coronaria/economía , Enfermedad de la Arteria Coronaria/cirugía , Guías como Asunto , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Seguro de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Intervención Coronaria Percutánea/economía , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Enfermedad de la Arteria Coronaria/diagnóstico , Enfermedad de la Arteria Coronaria/economía , Prueba de Esfuerzo , Planes de Aranceles por Servicios/tendencias , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Estudios Retrospectivos , Estados Unidos , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of commercial dental insurer and provider concentration on dentist reimbursement. DATA SOURCES: We utilized provider data from the American Dental Association, reimbursement data from IBM Watson MarketScan® Commercial Research Databases, submitted billed charges from FAIR Health® , dental insurance market concentration data from FAIR Health® , and county-level demographic and economic data from the Area Health Resources File and the Council for Community and Economic Research. STUDY DESIGN: We used the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index to separately measure commercial dental insurance concentration and dentist concentration. We studied the effect of provider and insurance concentration on dentist reimbursement. Using two-stage least squares, we accounted for potential endogeneity in dental insurer and provider concentration. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Across the dental procedures we examined, a 10 percent increase in dental insurance concentration is associated with a 1.95 percent (P-value = .033) reduction in gross payments to dentists. Conversely, a 10 percent increase in dentist concentration is associated with a more modest 0.71 percent (P-value = .024) increase in gross payments. A 10 percent increase in dental insurance concentration is associated with a 1.16 percentage point (P-value = .016) decline in the allowed-to-list price ratio, while a 10 percent increase in dentist concentration is associated with a 0.56 percentage point (P-value = .001) increase in the allowed-to-list price ratio. Similar patterns were found across dental procedure subcategories. CONCLUSIONS: Dental provider markets are substantially less concentrated than insurance markets, which may limit the ability of dentists to garner higher reimbursement.
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Servicios de Salud Dental/economía , Aseguradoras/economía , Seguro Odontológico/economía , Costos y Análisis de Costo , Servicios de Salud Dental/estadística & datos numéricos , Economía en Odontología , Humanos , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
Importance: High out-of-pocket drug costs can cause patients to skip treatment and worsen outcomes, and high insurer drug payments could increase premiums. Drug wholesale list prices have doubled in recent years. However, because of manufacturer discounts and rebates, the extent to which increases in wholesale list prices are associated with amounts paid by patients and insurers is poorly characterized. Objective: To determine whether increases in wholesale list prices are associated with increases in amounts paid by patients and insurers for branded medications. Design, Setting, and Participants: Cross-sectional retrospective study analyzing pharmacy claims for patients younger than 65 years in the IBM MarketScan Commercial Database and pricing data from SSR Health, LLC, between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2016. Pharmacy claims analyzed represent claims of employees and dependents participating in employer health benefit programs belonging to large employers. Rebate data were estimated from sales data from publicly traded companies. Analysis focused on the top 5 patent-protected specialty and 9 traditional brand-name medications with the highest total drug expenditures by commercial insurers nationwide in 2014. Data were analyzed from July 2017 to July 2020. Exposures: Calendar year. Main Outcomes and Measures: Changes in inflation-adjusted amounts paid by patients and insurers for branded medications. Results: In this analysis of 14.4 million pharmacy claims made by 1.8 million patients from 2010-2016, median drug wholesale list price increased by 129% (interquartile range [IQR], 78%-133%), while median insurance payments increased by 64% (IQR, 28%-120%) and out-of-pocket costs increased by 53% (IQR, 42%-82%). The mean percentage of wholesale list price accounted for by discounts increased from 17% in 2010 to 21% in 2016, and the mean percentage of wholesale list price accounted for by rebates increased from 22% in 2010 to 24% in 2016. For specialty medications, median patient out-of-pocket costs increased by 85% (IQR, 73%-88%) from 2010 to 2016 after adjustment for inflation and 42% (IQR, 25%-53%) for nonspecialty medications. During that same period, insurer payments increased by 116% for specialty medications (IQR, 100%-127%) and 28% for nonspecialty medications (IQR, 5%-34%). Conclusions and Relevance: This study's findings suggest that drug list prices more than doubled over a 7-year study period. Despite rising manufacturer discounts and rebates, these price increases were associated with large increases in patient out-of-pocket costs and insurer payments.
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Costos y Análisis de Costo , Costos de los Medicamentos/tendencias , Gastos en Salud , Aseguradoras , Medicamentos bajo Prescripción , Costos y Análisis de Costo/métodos , Costos y Análisis de Costo/tendencias , Medicamentos Esenciales/economía , Medicamentos Genéricos/economía , Gastos en Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Gastos en Salud/tendencias , Humanos , Aseguradoras/economía , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Revisión de Utilización de Seguros , Medicamentos bajo Prescripción/clasificación , Medicamentos bajo Prescripción/economía , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To examine system integration with physician specialties across markets and the association between local system characteristics and their patterns of physician integration. DATA SOURCES: Data come from the AHRQ Compendium of US Health Systems and IQVIA OneKey database. STUDY DESIGN: We examined the change from 2016 to 2018 in the percentage of physicians in systems, focusing on primary care and the 10 most numerous nonhospital-based specialties across the 382 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the US. We also categorized systems by ownership, mission, and payment program participation and examined how those characteristics were related to their patterns of physician integration in 2018. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: We examined local healthcare markets (MSAs) and the hospitals and physicians that are part of integrated systems that operate in these markets. We characterized markets by hospital and insurer concentration and systems by type of ownership and by whether they have an academic medical center (AMC), a 340B hospital, or accountable care organization. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Between 2016 and 2018, system participation increased for primary care and the 10 other physician specialties we examined. In 2018, physicians in specialties associated with lucrative hospital services were the most commonly integrated with systems including hematology-oncology (57%), cardiology (55%), and general surgery (44%); however, rates varied substantially across markets. For most specialties, high market concentration by insurers and hospital-systems was associated with lower rates of physician integration. In addition, systems with AMCs and publicly owned systems more commonly affiliated with specialties unrelated to the physicians' potential contribution to hospital revenue, and investor-owned systems demonstrated more limited physician integration. CONCLUSIONS: Variation in physician integration across markets and system characteristics reflects physician and systems' motivations. These integration strategies are associated with the financial interests of systems and other strategic goals (eg, medical education, and serving low-income populations).
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Prestación Integrada de Atención de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Especialización/estadística & datos numéricos , Integración de Sistemas , Competencia Económica , Sistemas de Información en Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Investigación sobre Servicios de Salud , Hospitales/estadística & datos numéricos , Humanos , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Propiedad/estadística & datos numéricos , Médicos de Atención Primaria/estadística & datos numéricos , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on the insurance industry by studying the case of Ghana from March to June 2020. With a parallel comparison to previous pandemics such as SARS-CoV, H1N1 and MERS, we developed outlines for simulating the impact of the pandemic on the insurance industry. The study used qualitative and quantitative interviews to estimate the impact of the pandemic. Presently, the trend is an economic recession with decreasing profits but increasing claims. Due to the cancellation of travels, events and other economic losses, the Ghanaian insurance industry witnessed a loss currently estimated at GH Ȼ112 million. Our comparison and forecast predicts a normalization of economic indicators from January 2021. In the meantime, while the pandemic persists, insurers should adapt to working from remote locations, train and equip staff to work under social distancing regulations, enhance cybersecurity protocols and simplify claims/premium processing using e-payment channels. It will require the collaboration of the Ghana Ministry of Health, Banking Sector, Police Department, Customs Excise and Preventive Service, other relevant Ministries and the international community to bring the pandemic to a stop.
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Infecciones por Coronavirus/epidemiología , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Neumonía Viral/epidemiología , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Recesión Económica , Ghana/epidemiología , Humanos , Subtipo H1N1 del Virus de la Influenza A , Aseguradoras/economía , Coronavirus del Síndrome Respiratorio de Oriente Medio , Pandemias , SARS-CoV-2RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Consumer mobility is an important aspect of a health insurance system based on managed competition. Both the general population and insured with a chronic illness should enjoy an equal opportunity to switch their insurer every year. We studied possible differences in the rates of switching between these two groups in the Netherlands. METHODS: A structured questionnaire was sent to 1500 members of Nivel's Dutch Health Care Consumer Panel (response rate: 47%) and to 1911 chronically ill members of the National Panel of the Chronically ill and Disabled (response rate: 84%) in February 2016. Associations between switching and background characteristics were estimated using logistic regression analyses with interaction effects. RESULTS: In general, we did not find significant differences in switching rates between the general population and chronically ill population. However, a combination of the population and background characteristics demonstrated that young insured with a chronic illness switched significantly less often than young insured from the general population (1% versus 17%). CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that the group of young people with a chronic illness is less inclined to switch insurer. This observation suggests that this group might either face difficulties or barriers which prevents them from switching, or that they experience a high level of satisfaction with their current insurer. Further research should therefore focus on unravelling the mechanisms which explain the differences in switching rates.
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Enfermedad Crónica/epidemiología , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Seguro de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Conducta de Elección , Personas con Discapacidad/psicología , Personas con Discapacidad/estadística & datos numéricos , Investigación Empírica , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Competencia Dirigida , Persona de Mediana Edad , Países Bajos/epidemiología , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To comprehensively describe the tumor and clinical characteristics of breast cancer in a cohort of male patients and to assess the factors that affect survival. BACKGROUND: Much of the standard care of male breast cancer is based on the diagnosis and treatment strategies of female breast cancer. However, important clinical differences between the two have been elucidated, which suggests the need for unique attention to male breast cancer. METHODS: We evaluated the records of male patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2004 and 2015 using the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Data obtained were demographic characteristics, clinical and tumor data, type of therapy, as well as survival data. We used descriptive statistics to characterize our study population. We then performed a survival and Cox proportional hazards analysis. RESULTS: We identified 16,498 patients (median age: 63 years). Several treatment modalities were used, of which surgery was the most common (14,882 [90.4%]). The total follow-up time was 13 years (156 months). Five-year survival was 77.7% (95% CI 76.9-78.4) and 10-year survival was 60.7%. In a Cox proportional hazards model, mastectomy was associated with the greatest survival (hazard ratio [HR] 0.49; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: We report what is to our knowledge the largest national population-based cohort of male breast cancer patients. Importantly, our data suggests that similar to female patients, several treatment modalities are significantly associated with improved survival in male patients, particularly surgery. Increasing age, black race, government insurance, more comorbidities, and higher tumor stages are associated with decreased survival.
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Neoplasias de la Mama Masculina/mortalidad , Carcinoma Intraductal no Infiltrante/mortalidad , Bases de Datos Factuales/estadística & datos numéricos , Neoplasias de la Mama Masculina/metabolismo , Neoplasias de la Mama Masculina/patología , Neoplasias de la Mama Masculina/terapia , Carcinoma Intraductal no Infiltrante/metabolismo , Carcinoma Intraductal no Infiltrante/patología , Carcinoma Intraductal no Infiltrante/terapia , Terapia Combinada , Receptor alfa de Estrógeno/metabolismo , Estudios de Seguimiento , Humanos , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Pronóstico , Receptor ErbB-2/metabolismo , Receptores de Progesterona/metabolismo , Estudios Retrospectivos , Tasa de Supervivencia , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
Aim: Given that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with high anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) titer values respond well to abatacept, the aim of this study was to estimate the annual budget impact of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) testing and treatment selection based on anti-CCP test results.Materials and methods: Budget impact analysis was conducted for patients with moderate-to-severe RA on biologic or Janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi) treatment from a hypothetical US commercial payer perspective. The following market scenarios were compared: (1) 90% of target patients receive anti-CCP testing and the results of anti-CCP testing do not impact the treatment selection; (2) 100% of target patients receive anti-CCP testing and the results of anti-CCP testing have an impact on treatment selection such that an increased proportion of patients with high titer of ACPA receive abatacept. A hypothetical assumption was made that the use of abatacept would be increased by 2% in Scenario 2 versus 1. Scenario analyses were conducted by varying the target population and rebate rates.Results: In a hypothetical health plan with one million insured adults, 2,181 patients would be on a biologic or JAKi treatment for moderate-to-severe RA. In Scenario 1, the anti-CCP test cost was $186,155 and annual treatment cost was $101,854,295, totaling to $102,040,450. In Scenario 2, the anti-CCP test cost increased by $20,684 and treatment cost increased by $160,467, totaling an overall budget increase of $181,151. This was equivalent to a per member per month (PMPM) increase of $0.015. The budget impact results were consistently negligible across the scenario analyses.Limitations: The analysis only considered testing and medication costs. Some parameters used in the analysis, such as the rebate rates, are not generalizable and health plan-specific.Conclusions: Testing RA patients to learn their ACPA status and increasing use of abatacept among high-titer ACPA patients result in a small increase in the total budget (<2 cents PMPM).
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Abatacept/economía , Abatacept/uso terapéutico , Anticuerpos Antiproteína Citrulinada/análisis , Antirreumáticos/economía , Antirreumáticos/uso terapéutico , Artritis Reumatoide/tratamiento farmacológico , Artritis Reumatoide/inmunología , Biomarcadores , Peso Corporal , Presupuestos/estadística & datos numéricos , Costos y Análisis de Costo , Femenino , Gastos en Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Humanos , Aseguradoras/economía , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Seguro de Salud/economía , Seguro de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Masculino , Modelos Econométricos , Índice de Severidad de la Enfermedad , Factores SexualesRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Following bariatric surgery, patients develop problems related to lax abdominal skin that may be addressed by contouring procedures. Third-party insurers have subjective requirements for coverage of these procedures that can limit patient access. The authors sought to determine how well third-party payers cover abdominal contouring procedures in this population. METHODS: The authors conducted a cross-sectional analysis of insurance policies for coverage of panniculectomy, lower back excision, and circumferential lipectomy. Abdominoplasty was evaluated as an alternative to panniculectomy. Insurance companies were selected based on their market share and state enrolment. A list of medical necessity criteria was abstracted from the policies that offered coverage. RESULTS: Of the 55 companies evaluated, 98 percent had a policy that covered panniculectomy versus 36 percent who would cover lower back excision (p < 0.0001), and one-third provided coverage for circumferential lipectomy. Of the insurers who covered panniculectomy, only 30 percent would also cover abdominoplasty. Documentation of secondary skin conditions was the most prevalent criterion in panniculectomy policies (100 percent), whereas impaired function and secondary skin conditions were most common for coverage of lower back excision (73 percent and 73 percent, respectively). Frequency of criteria for panniculectomy versus lower back excision differed most notably for (1) secondary skin conditions (100 percent versus 73 percent; p = 0.0030), (2) weight loss (45 percent versus 7 percent; p = 0.0106), and (3) duration of weight stability (82 percent versus 53 percent; p = 0.0415). CONCLUSIONS: For the postbariatric population, panniculectomy was covered more often and had more standardized criteria than lower back excision or circumferential lipectomy. However, all have vast intracompany and interpolicy variations in coverage criteria that may reduce access to procedures, even among patients with established indications.
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Abdominoplastia/economía , Cirugía Bariátrica/economía , Contorneado Corporal/economía , Cobertura del Seguro/economía , Seguro de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Abdominoplastia/estadística & datos numéricos , Dorso/cirugía , Estudios Transversales , Humanos , Aseguradoras/economía , Aseguradoras/estadística & datos numéricos , Cobertura del Seguro/estadística & datos numéricos , Seguro de Salud/economía , Lipectomía/economía , Lipectomía/estadística & datos numéricos , Cuidados Posoperatorios/economía , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
Objective: Mass vaccination planning is occurring at all levels of government in advance of regulatory approval and manufacture of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for distribution sometime in 2021. We outline a methodology in which both health insurance provider network data and publicly available data sources can be used to identify and plan for SARS-CoV-2 vaccinator capacity at the county level. Methods: Sendero Health Plans, Inc. provider network data, Texas State Board of Pharmacy data, US Census Bureau data, and H1N1 monovalent vaccine data were utilized to identify providers with demonstrated capacity to vaccinate the population in Travis County, Texas to achieve an estimated SARS-CoV-2 herd immunity target of 67%. Results: Within the Sendero network, 2,356 non-pharmacy providers were identified with 788 (33.4%) practicing in primary care and 1,569 (66.6%) practicing as specialists. Of the total, 686 (29.1%) provided at least one immunization between January 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020. There are 300 pharmacies with active licenses in Travis County with 161 (53.7%) classified as community pharmacies. We estimate that 1,707,098 doses of a 2-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccine series will need to be administered within Travis County, Texas to achieve the estimated 67% herd immunity threshold to disrupt person-to-person transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus based on 2020 census data. Conclusion: A community-based health insurance plan can use data from its provider network and public data sources to support the CDC call to action to identify SARS-CoV-2 vaccinators in the community, including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacies in order to provide macro level estimates of SARS-CoV-2 administration and throughput.