WCOE: UnitedHealthcare’s Expanded Participation and Consumer Understanding of Insurance Basics
What Caught Our Eye (WCOE) Each week, we take a closer look at the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. Many new insured individuals under the Affordable Care Act do not understand their plans. In “Biggest Insurer Drops Caution, Embraces Obamacare,” Jay Hancock of Kaiser Health News ...
WCOE: Pediatric Cancer Survivorship Challenges and an ACA Progress Report
What Caught Our Eye (WCOE) Each week, we take a closer look at the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. A PBS Newshour segment, “Pediatric Cancer Survivors Face a Lifetime of Health Challenges,” discusses the late effects and potential secondary cancers that survivors of pediatric cancers face ...
Medicare Care Choices Program and Cancer Care Planning for Medicare Beneficiaries
An op-ed authored by NCCS CEO Shelley Fuld Nasso and published in the Santa Barbara Independent today championed hospice care, the Medicare Care Choices Program, and cancer care planning for Medicare beneficiaries. "Just as the hospice program will give the patient the power to decide the elements of their care, ...
Meeting Consumer Expectations and Health Needs in the New Health Insurance Exchanges
Cancer Policy Matters Guest Post by Tanisha Carino, Executive Vice President, Avalere Health The Affordable Care Act provides an unprecedented opportunity for millions to gain coverage through the exchange marketplace by enrolling in a qualified health plan (QHP) that covers essential health benefits and limits financial exposure to excessive out-of-pocket ...
New York Times Opinion Piece “No, There Won’t Be a Doctor Shortage”
An opinion piece recently published in the New York Times challenges concerns of a pending doctor shortage and offers suggestions for innovations that could improve the health care system. Some have predicted a shortage of physicians and health care resources caused by a shift in demographics due to the aging American population ...
NCCS Comments on Quality Measures for PPS-Exempt Cancer Hospitals
NCCS filed comments in support of proposed cancer care quality measures that will be utilized to assess the cancer care provided by the prospective payment system (PPS)-exempt cancer hospitals. In its comments, NCCS focused on the outcome measure that will assess the performance of PPS-exempt institutions in preventing inpatient admission ...
The ACA: Health Affairs Explains Upcoming Implementation and Exchanges
October 1, 2013 is rapidly approaching. That’s the beginning of open enrollment for insurance through state exchanges created to satisfy the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new health policy brief from Health Affairs explains the different models for exchanges, including both state-based and federally affiliated. It also lays out upcoming ...
Cancer Leadership Council Submits Comments on the Proposed Rule on Medicaid Cost-Sharing and Other Issues
NCCS joined colleagues in the cancer advocacy community in submitting comments regarding proposed standards for the expanded Medicaid program that was established by the Affordable Care Act. The rules that have been proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would grant a state great flexibility in the design ...
States Need “Navigators” for Insurance Exchanges — Difficult Task Ahead
The Washington Post reports on the daunting task of enrolling 30 million Americans through the health insurance exchanges that will be in place in 2014. During the enrollment period from October 1, 2013, through March 2014, states will have to enroll thousands of people each day. States are hiring navigators ...
Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel Opinion Piece “We Can Be Healthy and Rich”
In an online “Opinionator” piece in the New York Times, Ezekiel J. Emanuel makes a case for bending the health care cost curve to spur economic growth. Dr. Emanuel reminds the reader the bending the cost curve means preventing the day when health care spending reaches $4 trillion annually, compared ...
