Policy and Legislation
BCBS of Nebraska's decision cuts the number of insurers offering products on that state's exchange from four in 2016 to two in 2017.
However, the ballot measure doesn't earmark exactly how much of that money should go to doctors or other health providers.
Drop in competition on the insurance exchange threatens to drive up premiums for many in the state.
A disproportionate number of patients discharged from safety-net hospitals lack access to resources that are needed at that point, such as social support and primary care.
Average premiums in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program will remain steady at an estimated $34 per month.
Value-based care cannot be achieved without the interoperable exchange of data and analysis, to improve care and lower costs, experts say.
Policymakers could create a single, independent organization to develop standards for healthcare performance measures and the data used to populate those measures, the authors said.
Policymakers see the health law as a way to connect millions of ex-prisoners to care, cut recidivism and save money by reducing expensive visits to hospital emergency rooms.
Programs include payment models focusing on heart attacks, heart bypass surgery and hip fracture surgery.
Pending law allows taxpayers to apply for a state income tax credit for donations to these struggling facilities.