Authors

Neonatology Pricing and Network Participation Under State Balance Billing Regulations

This national study of neonatology services found no clear evidence that state surprise billing regulations influenced prices or provider network participation for the commercially insured.

A Standardized Care Pathway Increases Optimal Dialysis Starts

The authors observed a significant increase in optimal starts for dialysis and in peritoneal dialysis rates after implementing a standardized end-stage renal disease transition pathway.

The Spectrum of Progressive Fibrosing Interstitial Lung Disease: Clinical and Managed Care Considerations

Population-Based Return on Investment of Deploying Transient Elastography

Deploying vibration-controlled transient elastography/controlled attenuation parameter devices at the population level is a financially advantageous solution to address the epidemic of fatty liver disease.

Characteristics of Accountable Care Organizations’ Preferred Skilled Nursing Facility Networks

Medicare accountable care organizations use preferred skilled nursing facility networks for postacute care management, although the size, structure, and resource allocation of networks vary widely.

Contributor: It’s Important to Prioritize HIV Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Not all barriers to HIV-related care and services have been eliminated, and these gaps in care were exacerbated by treatment disruptions brought on by the COVIDC-19 pandemic.

Contributor: How Pediatric Mental Health May Influence the Risk of Heart Disease in Adulthood

In this contributor piece, the connection between the complexities of mental health and heart disease in at-risk communities is explored, with the authors stressing the importance of risk factor evaluation and multidisciplinary patient education from both mental and physical health providers.

Scaling Care Coordination Through Digital Engagement: Stepped-Wedge Trial Assessing Readmissions

This evaluation looks at a postdischarge digital engagement (PDDE) program using causal inference methods to examine the impact of PDDE on readmission.

Differences in the Use of Telephone and Video Telemedicine Visits During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we found lower use of video vs telephone visits among older, Black, Hispanic, and Spanish-speaking patients, driven largely by clinician and practice factors.

Medicare Advantage Reimbursement Structures Impact Home Health Delivery and Outcomes

Medicare Advantage plans that place greater restrictions on home health agency care delivery may have more adverse patient outcomes than plans that provide episodic payments.

RAISE: Elevating Person-Centered Data for Healthy Communities

The RAISE program provides awareness and shares comprehensive solutions to address the multifaceted reasons for missing and incomplete data across the real-world data continuum.

Use of Voluntary Alignment in the Next Generation ACO Model

Use of voluntary alignment attribution by Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (ACO) participants was limited. The authors highlight the reasons and describe organizational use cases via a mixed-methods approach.

The Impact of Health Benefit Design on Patients With Infertility

This retrospective analysis explored the impact of infertility health benefit design on the use of infertility medications and procedures and pregnancy outcomes.

Potential Health Literacy Resources for Health Plans: A Narrative Review

Several evidence-based health literacy resources may be beneficial in health plan settings to improve organizational health literacy, personal health literacy, and health equity.

A Learning Health Care Community: Integrating Research and Practice at Scale

This article presents a case study of how stakeholders in one state came together to integrate practice and research that is a step beyond a learning health care system.

Medical Policy Determinations for Pharmacogenetic Tests Among US Health Plans

This analysis demonstrated significant variability in medical policy determinations and evidence cited for clinically relevant pharmacogenetic tests among major US health insurers and laboratory benefit managers.

Navigating Compounded Semaglutide: What Health Care Providers Need to Know

This article reviews the safety, efficacy, and regulatory concerns related to compounded semaglutide, with a focus on how health care providers can offer guidance and education to patients.

Insurance Payer Is Associated With Length of Stay After Traumatic Brain Injury

Among hospitalized patients with traumatic brain injury, Medicaid fee-for-service was associated with longer hospital stays than private insurance and Medicaid managed care organizations.

Optimizing Revisit Intervals: Reducing Variability to Enhance Health Care Efficiency

The authors explore the limitations of the current system of revisit interval assignment and discuss the importance of standardization to optimize patient health care outcomes.

Understanding Insurance Coverage Policies for Incretin Mimetics for Weight Management

The high cost of incretin mimetics for weight management limits insurance coverage and potentiates variation in utilization management strategies to control near-term spending.

Medical Loss Ratio’s Role in the Large Group Insurer Market

The authors used medical loss ratio forms to assess trends in premiums, medical claims, administrative costs, quality improvement, and margins in the large group insurer market.

Integrating Research, Health Care, and Community at Scale to Address the Population Health Question

The authors discuss the need to repair a house divided among research, health care, and the multisector health community.

Potential Health Literacy Resources for Health Plans: A Narrative Review

Several evidence-based health literacy resources may be beneficial in health plan settings to improve organizational health literacy, personal health literacy, and health equity.

Harnessing AI for Population Health: A Call to Action for Policy Makers and Health Care Leaders

The authors detail how artificial intelligence could be used in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention to improve health outcomes and provide better value-based care.

Insights Into Patient Portal Engagement Leveraging Observational Electronic Health Data

This analysis of more than 250,000 adults at least 50 years old with chronic conditions showed lower portal use among older, non–English-speaking, and Black patients, underscoring digital health equity gaps.

High-Intensity Home-Based Rehabilitation in a Medicare Accountable Care Organization

High-intensity home-based rehabilitation (HIHR) may substitute for facility-based postacute rehabilitation. Patients in HIHR had better functional outcomes at lower costs than patients in facility-based care.

Integrated Care for Chronic Conditions: A Randomized Care Management Trial

The authors sought to understand the differential impact of payer-led community-based care management approaches on stakeholder-oriented outcomes for publicly insured adults with multiple chronic conditions.

Temporal Shift in Prevalence of Heart Failure Diagnoses and Comorbidities Within 2 US Integrated Health Systems

The analysis highlighted a shift in heart failure diagnoses, with hypertensive heart disease with and without chronic kidney disease as prevalent diagnoses, underlining coding variability and implications for research.

Interventions Addressing Cost-Related Medication Nonadherence in Diabetes: A Scoping Review

Many US patients with diabetes cannot afford their medical care. The authors review the impact of interventions that reduced and/or eliminated diabetes-related costs.

An Assessment of Nurse Practitioner Low-Value Care Use in Primary Care

Primary care nurse practitioners were found to use low-value care at lower or relatively similar rates compared with the general clinician population.