Population Health

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General recommends Medicare develop its own source for race and ethnicity data collection in the Medicare population, says Ann Maxwell, HHS-OIG deputy inspector general for evaluations.  

Blue Cross NC will acquire 55 FastMed locations, with the intent to improve access and the patient experience.

Every language model demonstrates instances of racist tropes, or a repetition of unsubstantiated claims about race, study says.

Large language models help leverage the social determinants of health for better care navigation, says Karl Ulfers, cofounder and CEO of DUOS.  

Having individuals connected by one identifier is good for information sharing and for attracting the private-public partnerships that are essential to moving forward, says Bogi Eliasen, director of health at the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies.  

This will reach about 1.6 million Medicare-eligible adults, pending regulatory approvals, companies say.

HHS wants to ensure affordable access for beneficiaries in public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and for the uninsured.

A Kaiser health plan did not make the 5-star list for 2024, but two plans by lesser known Devoted Health did.

Sign language interpreters can prep providers prior to appointments on cultural differences that impact health equity, says Kathryn Jackson, VP of language operations at AMN Healthcare.  

GLP-1 medications, originally designed for diabetes management, have skyrocketed in popularity over the past year.