Elevance Health Public Policy Institute

Medicaid is a critical source of healthcare coverage for women during pregnancy, covering nearly half of U.S. births. Yet, our study suggests that many eligible pregnant women may delay enrolling in a Medicaid plan, with just under two thirds enrolled six months prior to birth. These enrollment delays may limit access to essential prenatal care and services, like care coordination, early in pregnancy. Our report explores some policy considerations to expedite health plan enrollment and increase access to maternal care. Read the full report ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eCyr9FVX #MaternalHealth #Medicaid

Our newest paper examines the role that collaboration between health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, and community pharmacies can have in improving healthcare utilization and effectiveness, while reducing costs for Medicaid members with chronic conditions. The paper contributes new findings to research evaluating the effects of these partnerships. Read more ➡️ https://bit.ly/4g7oH97

PPI's 2022 research, written in partnership with the Urban Institute, American Benefits Council, and Deloitte, examines the critical issue of how to improve the collection of race and ethnicity data to advance health equity.   Since then, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has updated the federal guidelines for collecting race and ethnicity information. Read the new blog post on Health Affairs Forefront from our partners at the Urban Institute that relates this development to several of the opportunities, challenges, and other considerations for race and ethnicity data collection uncovered during our 2022 research. Read more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ep6f8E99

#Diversity matters in healthcare. Research from one of our studies showed that the number of White physicians was proportionate to the number of White patients, while the number of Black and Asian physicians was not proportionate to the population in Virginia.   To bolster communication and trust between physicians and patients—especially in cases where the race/ethnicity of patients and providers are not the same—experience and training in cultural competencies is critical.   Further, it may also lead to better patient outcomes. As evidenced by our study, patients with physicians with a racially/ethnically diverse patient panel had higher odds of colorectal cancer screening.   Read more ➡️ https://bit.ly/3TE62Hm

A new study published in the Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics provides insights into the causal effects of health system acquisition of independent hospitals on costs and quality. The research found that when health systems buy independent hospitals, 1️⃣ Hospital quality does not improve and may even decline. 2️⃣ Negotiated inpatient prices increase, especially if the target and acquirer are in the same market. 3️⃣ The acquired independent hospitals get large operating-cost benefits. 📄 Read the full paper: https://lnkd.in/ehuFMCTj 💡 Read PPI’s summary of the study: https://lnkd.in/exvHhHui Authors: Elena Andreyeva, Atul Gupta, Catherine I., Gosia Sylwestrzak, Benjamin Ukert

#Pharmacy Value-Based Payment (VBP) models often hold pharmacy partners accountable for medication adherence measures. These metrics can be influenced by pharmacists and help individuals improve intermediate outcomes such as blood pressure and blood sugar control, ultimately reducing morbidity and mortality. Our report, written in partnership with KNG Health Consulting, LLC, found that within Medicare Advantage, an increase in diabetes or hypertension medication adherence was associated with an increase in individuals with HbA1c and blood pressure control, respectively.  These results illustrate the importance of medication adherence measures and their impact on clinical outcomes, and in turn help validate the focus on these measures in #VBP arrangements for pharmacies. Read the paper ➡️ https://lnkd.in/efKm52c2

Interested in learning more about Medicare Advantage (MA)? Check out our comprehensive primer that takes the complexity out of MA, offering valuable insights into MA enrollment trends and plan types, plan payment, risk adjustment, and the benefits of MA over traditional Medicare.   Read our paper ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gdwufePg

State Medicaid programs are in a unique position to implement innovative and effective housing interventions, as evidenced by our paper, which highlights outcomes from two such interventions offered by our affiliated Medicaid health plan in Nevada. The study found that more than 90% of participating members had successfully remained in housing. Further, there were minimal race and ethnicity disparities in housing outcomes after the intervention. 📰 #ICYMI, these results were featured in an OPEN MINDS Circle news report: https://lnkd.in/e5JxyKET 🔎 Read our PPI paper: https://bit.ly/4deSr29 #Housing #Medicaid

Did you catch PPI at the 2024 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting? We had two podium presentations and three posters at the event. Congratulations to all our researchers who presented their work! To learn more about our research from the event, see below and stay tuned for our upcoming publications!

We're thrilled to announce that PPI is presenting at the Annual Research Meeting hosted by AcademyHealth in Baltimore, MD! #ARM24 serves as a collaborative platform for health researchers, policymakers, and providers to convene, share novel research findings, and explore diverse data sources. Our team will present our recent work on topics including: #MedicareAdvantage supplemental benefits, #maternalhealth outcomes from doula care, arbitration outcomes for out-of-network medical bills under the No Surprises Act, and the relationship between wildfire smoke exposure and childhood asthma. To learn more about the event ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gas4Qw38