Research

While risk-adjusted Medicare Advantage bids have decreased compared with risk-adjusted traditional Medicare spending, total payments to MA plans have risen partly because of the growing impact of payment adjustments.

This study surveyed a representative US population about aspects of hospital-at-home care, including acceptability and willingness to perform caregiving tasks.

The study findings suggest that Medicaid IMD waivers are at least somewhat effective at impacting the population targeted by the policy.

Policies that reduce prescribing barriers may improve access to emergency contraceptives, particularly ulipristal.

The study sheds light on how the adoption of “all-or-nothing” contracting by multi-hospital systems can eliminate competitive constraints, enabling them to command significantly higher prices.

Deficit accumulation frailty tracks well with healthcare costs among adults with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity. It may serve as a useful marker to project healthcare needs and as an intermediate outcome in clinical trials.

The Dobbs decision was associated with declines in oral contraceptives, particularly ECs, in states enacting the most restrictive abortion policies.

Obstetric physician behavior change appears highly malleable and sensitive to the practice patterns of other physicians delivering newborns at the same hospital. Incentives and policies that encourage more appropriate clinical care norms hospital-wide could sharply improve physician treatment decisions, with benefits for maternal and infant outcomes.

Schaeffer experts recommend using competitive bidding for standardized benefits to set plan payments and enhance beneficiary choice in Medicare Advantage.

This cross-sectional analysis of commercially insured delivering mothers suggests that greater out-of-pocket spending is incurred when pregnancy spans 2 years, causing them to face out-of-pocket limits twice.