Healthcare Value Hub

Altarum's Healthcare Value Hub works to connect and support advocates across the U.S. addressing rising costs and poor value. @Altarum

[Zack Cooper @zackcooperYale]

A fun infographic on our new paper! https://t.co/RhkVSUABBb

[Patricia Kelmar @PatriciaKelmar]

Patients deserve to know prices BEFORE they get their care. But still hospitals make it too difficult to find their prices. Our most recent report highlighting this problem with enforcement of an important consumer protection law. @PtRightsAdvoc @FamiliesUSA

[Milbank Memorial Fund & The Milbank Quarterly @MilbankFund]

North Carolina hospitals are now being incentivized to relieve and prevent medical debt. Learn more about this innovative program expected to help 2 million residents in new blog from @CKollerMilbank https://t.co/1EBiuP2LWN CC @NCDHHS

[Commonwealth Fund @commonwealthfnd]

Enforcing Mental Health Parity: State Options to Improve Access to Care
https://t.co/7kYdnWMURT

[Larry Levitt @larry_levitt]

The Biden-Harris administration has announced the results of the first ever negotiation of drug prices in Medicare.

The best indicator of how successful the negotiations have been: 22% savings relative to current spending, net of current rebates.

https://t.co/JKQHlBWDjz

[Larry Levitt @larry_levitt]

New: Prior authorization denials in Medicare Advantage plans are up.

This saves money for insurers, but creates access barriers for patients and hassles for providers.

https://t.co/P0kikapvmt

[Commonwealth Fund @commonwealthfnd]

Many insured, working-age Americans face widespread unexpected medical bills and coverage denials for doctor-recommended care.
https://t.co/bJVW2Y8N5H

[Sabrina Corlette @SabrinaCorlette]

Efforts to reform health plans' use of prior authorization have been ramping up in states. @GtownCHIR took a look at how recent restrictions on this practice are affecting patients, providers, and health care costs. https://t.co/1Vc4srA0Ty @RachelE_Schwab @khemp64 @RWJF

[Christine Monahan @CMonahan10]

My colleague @SabrinaCorlette's examination of insurers' 2025 rate filings reveals one of the biggest flaws in our system: unit prices are driving up our premiums, but insurers are focused on reducing utilization rather than cutting better deals.
https://t.co/IG5Ln0jryB

[Axios @axios]

Almost 1 in 4 American adults with frequent mental distress reported not seeing a doctor because of the cost, Mental Health America found in a new survey based on 2022 federal data. https://t.co/6bDlbxMQfB

[KFF Health News @KFFHealthNews]

Caitlyn Mai underwent cochlear implant surgery with her insurer’s approval, expecting it would be covered in full. Then she started getting bills for $139,000.

@RosenthalHealth, KFF Health News & @CBSNews. ⤵️ https://t.co/UlBabuvSPn

[JAMA Psychiatry @JAMAPsych]

Medical debt is prevalent among US adults with common mental disorders, and this may contribute to the mental health treatment gap. https://t.co/X1ImSt8JU0

[KFF @KFF]

About 4 in 10 adults (41%) report having debt due to medical or dental bills — including debts owed to credit cards, collections agencies, family and friends, banks, and other lenders to pay for their health care costs. https://t.co/jP7rsTWn6n

[JAMA Network Open @JAMANetworkOpen]

Study found that after patients were required to pay out of pocket for telehealth visits, they had substantially fewer tele-mental health visits, and a larger fraction stopped seeing their mental health specialists. https://t.co/5BQuwRiib8

[Peterson Center on Healthcare @PetersonCHealth]

Older adults are concerned about #healthcare costs as many face an affordability squeeze, finds a new @UMich survey. Action is needed to protect the health and financial wellbeing of America’s fastest growing demographic. More in @KFFHealthNews: https://t.co/Hatjc6CxqQ

[Commonwealth Fund @commonwealthfnd]

Did you know? 70% of recent Medicaid disenrollments were due to administrative errors, not ineligibility.

New rules seek to streamline the process and keep eligible beneficiaries covered. https://t.co/W329jswUJG

[FTC @FTC]

FTC releases interim staff report on Prescription Drug Middlemen: https://t.co/YY8sm4TvSs #PBMs /1

[Larry Levitt @larry_levitt]

Permanently extending enhanced ACA premium subsidies -- which currently expire at the end of 2025 -- would result in 3.4 million fewer people uninsured per year at a net federal cost of $335 billion over a decade.

This is going to be a big issue next year.

[Drew Altman @DrewAltman]

Important NBER working paper shows rising health care prices cost jobs. So do price increases from mergers. https://t.co/KgSCwsvfVo Another example of what voters know -health care is a dimension of America’s economic issues, not a separate problem listed lower down on polls.

[The New York Times @nytimes]

The job of pharmacy benefit managers is to reduce drug costs. Instead, they steer patients toward pricier drugs, charge steep markups on what would otherwise be inexpensive medicines and extract billions in hidden fees, The New York Times found. https://t.co/cqsX8IBiSl