Insights & News

An increasing amount of health plans are turning their sights to the social determinants of health. But why?

As the number of CKD patients continues to grow, so does the need for home dialysis.

After discharge from an acute care facility, patients covered by Medicaid and those covered by commercial insurance tend to have different requirements in several subtle, yet important ways.

Highlighting the 4 steps that health plans can take to create an effective infused medication management strategy.

As the nation’s senior population booms, and more of them turn to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans for coverage, expect growing reliance on home-based population health palliative care solutions, especially now that CMS has approved coverage of supplemental benefits.

The costs of post-acute care have been rising faster on average than those of all other sectors of the healthcare market, with a 70% increase in a decade. As much as 40% of the total costs of a hospitalizable event is spent on post-acute care.

When it comes to healthcare, proper attunement to and interpretation of patients’ non-verbal communication is particularly important.

The traditional one-size-fits-all benefits strategy is facing a new era of complexity with 2018 finalized guidance and policies from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) enabling Medicare Advantage (MA) programs to expand the supplemental benefits1 afforded to beneficiaries.

Loneliness and social isolation, the complete or near-complete lack of contact between an individual and society, can be acutely troublesome for seniors. That is particularly true for those who are experiencing a serious or advanced illness, where symptoms and impaired mobility make the effort required to socialize with friends and family challenging.

Health disparities and complex social determinants of health (SDoH) have historically compromised patient access to quality care. But policy changes announced recently from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are expected to mitigate these challenges.

One of the most notable synergies in this current healthcare environment is the growing complement between two disciplines: population health, which focuses on improving the health of populations, with a special emphasis on reducing disparities in health outcomes and improving the value of health care, and palliative care, which focuses on improving the quality of life for patients and families facing the challenges of a serious or advanced illness.

Feeling lonely and isolated from friends, family and familiar places is more than simply an emotional quagmire for millions of Americans.