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Health Insurance Enrollment Trends for Year-End 2018

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https://www.markfarrah.com/mfa-briefs/health-insurance-enrollment-trends-for-year-end-2018/

Mark Farrah Associates (MFA) assessed the latest year-over-year enrollment trends, comparing fourth quarter 2017 with fourth quarter 2018 segment membership based on data filed in statutory financial reports from the NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) and the CA DMHC (California Department of Managed Health Care).  As of December 31, 2018, almost 265.2 million people received medical coverage from U.S. health insurers.  This number is down from 265.6 million, or approximately 428,000 members, from a year ago. Year-end enrollment trends indicate membership gains for Medicare Advantage (MA) and Employer Group administrative services only (ASO) business while the managed Medicaid market, Individual, and Employer Group Risk segments experienced year-over-year declines.

Segment by Segment Enrollment Trends

As of December 31, 2018, the Individual segment lost over 1.0 million members year-over-year (YOY) and the Employer Group Risk segment, including Federal Employees Health Benefit Plans (FEHBP) business, experienced a decline of approximately 897,000 members. The Employer Group ASO segment persisted as the largest source of coverage in the industry, enrolling nearly 121.6 million people. Medicare Advantage experienced moderate growth in membership as over 736,000 more seniors chose an MA plan YOY.  Managed Medicaid saw a slight decrease YOY, by more than 36,000 members.  A more in-depth look at each segment follows.

  • The Individual segment experienced a significant decline of 6.7% from 15.5 million in December 2017 to 14.5 million in December 2018. Some factors that have led to a decrease in the individual market include increased costs for providers, increased premiums for members, and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACAs) individual mandate.
  • Managed Medicaid membership marginally declined by 0.1%, or approximately 36,000 enrollees between December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2018.  Despite the decline in membership, Medicaid continues to be the largest government-sponsored health program in the United States, measured by enrollment.
  • Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment increased from 20.7 million as of December 31, 2017 to 21.4 million at year-end 2018 according to plan-reported statutory reports. The MA segment remained the segment leader in terms of percentage increases – consistently growing YOY.

 

 

  • Employer Group Risk membership, including Federal Employees Health Benefit Plans (FEHBP) membership, experienced a 1.5% decline between 4Q17 and 4Q18. This equates to a segment decrease of over 897,000 as more employers continue to shift towards self-funded (ASO) insurance for their employees.
  • Employer group ASO (administrative services only for self-funded business) membership grew by over 814,000 members from December 2017 to December 2018.  YOY, the increase was 0.7%, nearly offsetting the decrease in the Employer Group Risk decline at a one-to-one ratio.  MFA identified 121.6 million ASO covered lives, which encompassed 46% of total health enrollment by segment for 4Q18.

Conclusion

As of December 31, 2018, almost 265.2 million people received medical coverage from U.S. health insurers, down approximately 428,000 members from a year ago. Year-end enrollment trends indicate membership declines for a majority of the health care segments. Health care will continue to be subjected to regulatory and political pressure as the upcoming presidential election approaches.

The Individual market continues to be the most volatile health care segment. Repealing the ACA remains a controversial topic that is gaining steam as 2020 swiftly approaches. While there has yet to be a popular front runner in terms of a conservative replacement plan, Medicare for All is a progressive replacement plan that aims for public sector health insurance.  In addition, managed Medicaid has expanded under the ACA but recently work requirements have gained popularity. Managed Medicaid work requirement waivers have already been approved or are currently pending in 15 states. Currently, 37 states including the District of Columbia have chosen to expand their Medicaid programs. Although Montana is counted in the 37 expanded states, a bill is currently being discussed that would extend the current expansion cutoff date past June 30, 2019.

 

About the Data

The data used in this analysis brief was obtained from Mark Farrah Associates’ Health Coverage Portal™ database. It is important to note that MFA estimated fourth quarter 2018 enrollment for a small number of health plans that are required to report quarterly enrollment but hadn’t yet filed.  Employer group ASO figures may be estimated by Mark Farrah Associates using credible company and industry resources.  Individual, Non-Group membership reported by some carriers may include CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program).

These adjustments may have resulted in moderate understatement or overstatement of enrollment changes by segment. Findings reflect enrollment reported by carriers with business in the U.S. and U.S. territories.  Data sources include NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) and the CA DMHC (California Department of Managed Health Care).  As always, MFA will continue to report on important plan performance and competitive shifts across all segments.

 

About Mark Farrah Associates (MFA)

Mark Farrah Associates (MFA) is a leading data aggregator and publisher providing health plan market data and analysis tools for the healthcare industry.  Our product portfolio includes Health Coverage Portal™, County Health Coverage™, Medicare Business Online™, Medicare Benefits Analyzer™, and Health Plans USA™.  For more information about these products, refer to the informational videos and brochures available under the Our Products section of the website or call 724-338-4100.

Healthcare Business Strategy is a FREE monthly brief that presents analysis of important issues and developments affecting healthcare business today.  If you would like to be added to our email distribution list, please submit your email to the “Subscribe to MFA Briefs” section at the bottom of this page. 

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Medicine is a Team Sport

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https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/four-ways-show-appreciation-your-employees-regardless-cynthia-ring/

Four Ways to Show Appreciation to your Employees Regardless of Company Size

Several years ago, I was touched to receive a Patriot’s football signed by all my staff. I was working in healthcare at the time, myself and the CEO had a saying, “Medicine is a Team Sport”. The football, with the signatures and that saying written across it, symbolized the work we had been doing within our culture. It represented everyone on the team having an equal voice in the quality and delivery of care to our patients. It even represented my love for football. Receiving that very personal gift, was one of the moments I felt most appreciated in the workplace.

To me, employee appreciation means to feel valued for the contributions I make and bring to the success of the company’s mission and business objectives. I want to feel like I matter, like what I do and bring in the way of intellect and ideas matter, I am heard, respected, seen and have a sense of belonging.

Employee appreciation doesn’t need to require a huge budget or even a ton of time. Here are my top ways to show appreciation to your employees regardless of company size.

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Say Thank You – Really, Just Say It

The national research as well as our own, with our workforce, reinforces that a simple thank you is still the most important way and what most employees are hoping for in the way of feeling appreciated. A thank you can be delivered in person, a written note sent home, a public thank you during a department meeting, a word art email thank you, or even a simple text or phone call. Don’t overlook this often underestimated form of appreciation in the office.

Make Fun Mandatory

At Harvard Pilgrim, we like to show our appreciation to our employees in a variety of fun ways. Some examples include scavenger hunts, on-site bowling, on-site golf tournaments, cornhole tournaments, ice cream socials, chair massages, and even manicures. In addition, we have employee resource groups that host a variety of business and social events throughout the year like Chinese New Year parties and service projects. The events celebrate who we are as a collective people and show appreciation for what each of us bring to the mission of our organization. Plus, it strengthens bonds within teams and encourages people to make new connections.

Give Experiences

If you are going to provide something in the way of cash or gift cards, try and make them experiential. Pay for part of someone’s landscaping project so that every time they are outside with their family in the yard, they are reminded of the company while they are enjoying their new space. Work with a farmer’s market to gift an employee with an experience of someone coming to their home and doing a farm to table meal, or a gift card to a farm-to-table experience for themselves and nine of their friends. If your appreciation is going to be cash-based only, it will not create a sustainable culture of appreciation.

Make Holidays Worth Celebrating

Outline a communications plan that spans the calendar year and notes Employee Appreciation Day, professional appreciation days, holidays as well as days special to your organization and the communities your organization serves.

Consider, giving each employee their birthday off with pay or a half day so that they can spend it doing something for themselves or institute a small budget by department so that a monthly celebration can take place for everyone who celebrated a work anniversary or birthday during that month. Encourage employees to make it personal by sharing a story of their 5 years with the company or what they most like to do to celebrate their birthday while not at work.

Too many people still think that appreciation involves money and that if you don’t have a spot bonus program you can’t appreciate your staff adequately. Appreciation is not about rewards. Appreciation evokes a feeling or response to being valued for who you are and your contribution.

People naturally want to do well, to do their best, to make a difference and to help others. If we create an environment where we are visibly celebrating what people do, how they do it and what it does for the company, the customer or the community, we will inspire them to continue to do what comes naturally; i.e., their best. Like Maya Angelo once said, “People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, but they will never forget the way you made them feel”.

Maryland’s Experiment With Capitated Payments For Rural Hospitals: Large Reductions In Hospital-Based Care

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https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05366?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=The+Veterans++Health+Advantage+Program%3B+Capitated+Payments+For+Rural+Hospitals&utm_campaign=HAT+4-29-19

Image result for Welcome to Maryland

ABSTRACT

In 2010 Maryland replaced fee-for-service payment for some rural hospitals with “global budgets” for hospital-provided services called Total Patient Revenue (TPR).

A principal goal was to incentivize hospitals to manage resources efficiently. Using a difference-in-differences design, we compared eight TPR hospitals to seven similar non-TPR Maryland hospitals to estimate how TPR affected hospital-provided services. We also compared health care use by “treated” patients in TPR counties to that of patients in counties containing control hospitals.

Inpatient admissions and outpatient services fell sharply at TPR hospitals, increasingly so over the period that TPR was in effect.

Emergency department (ED) admission rates declined 12 percent, direct (non-ED) admissions fell 23 percent, ambulatory surgery center visits fell 45 percent, and outpatient clinic visits and services fell 40 percent.

However, for residents of TPR counties, visits to all Maryland hospitals fell by lesser amounts and Medicare spending increased, which suggests that some care moved outside of the global budget.

Nonetheless, we could not assess the efficiency of these shifts with our data, and some care could have moved to more efficient locations. Our evidence suggests that capitation models require strong oversight to ensure that hospitals do not respond by shifting costs to other providers.

 

Trump administration appeals association health plan ruling

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https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payer/dept-labor-defends-rights-small-businesses-to-expanded-health-plans?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTXpCbFpXWXpPR1JtTTJSayIsInQiOiIyUWdwd0NuaU9YSUFYcmg1UnlDUm84Tk4yXC8weWpLOG5hT0lXWHJSRjIzMllDUFZmU05XSFpKWmRrQ3R0NjhPV3VSbk5KTFVYbEdPMXZmMHF1Q0JRbCtRNzZzSWFPV1Y2N1hnMmpRVlNtS1wvNmRZSE1YREZnbUNLM3ZnMXE2ejhBIn0%3D&mrkid=959610

Gavel court room lawsuit judge

The Trump administration will appeal a judge’s ruling that struck down much of its rule expanding association health plans (AHPs).

The rule made it easier for an association of employers to establish an employee welfare plan—regulated under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Affordable Care Act—as a single employer plan. In other words, small employers can work together with others in their industry or geographic area to purchase a larger health plan.

The Department of Labor filed a notice of appeal (PDF) Friday.

Eleven states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit saying that the definition of “employer” in ERISA was not reasonable. A federal district court agreed and set aside regulations for qualifying associations, saying that the Labor Department failed to put a limit on the types of associations that can qualify to sponsor an AHP.

“This appeal is welcomed by associations across the country who have invested their time, money and reputation to launch health plans under the 2018 regulation,” Kev Coleman, president and founder of AssociationHealthPlans.com, said in a statement. “This regulation marked a watershed in health policy inasmuch as it corrected a basic unfairness existing in health coverage costs between small companies and large companies.”

Critics, meanwhile, argue the plans offer skimpy coverage that can leave consumers at risk.

Currently, there are an estimated 30,000 small-business employees and their dependents using these plans. According to a 2019 healthcare survey by AssociationHealthPlans.com, four out of five respondents supported small businesses working together to offer large company health insurance plans.

In Congress, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, joined Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming, in introducing legislation to prevent small business employees from losing their healthcare coverage. The legislation would ensure a pathway for small businesses to offer AHPs under the Labor Department’s final rule.

 

 

 

 

Why Your Doctor’s White Coat Can Be a Threat to Your Health

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A defining symbol of a profession may also be teeming with harmful bacteria and not washed as often as patients might hope.

A recent study of patients at 10 academic hospitals in the United States found that just over half care about what their doctors wear, most of them preferring the traditional white coat.

Some doctors prefer the white coat, too, viewing it as a defining symbol of the profession.

What many might not realize, though, is that health care workers’ attire — including that seemingly “clean” white coat that many prefer — can harbor dangerous bacteria and pathogens.

A systematic review of studies found that white coats are frequently contaminated with strains of harmful and sometimes drug-resistant bacteria associated with hospital-acquired infections. As many as 16 percent of white coats tested positive for MRSA, and up to 42 percent for the bacterial class Gram-negative rods.

Both types of bacteria can cause serious problems, including skin and bloodstream infections, sepsis and pneumonia.

It isn’t just white coats that can be problematic. The review also found that stethoscopes, phones and tablets can be contaminated with harmful bacteria. One study of orthopedic surgeons showed a 45 percent match between the species of bacteria found on their ties and in the wounds of patients they had treated. Nurses’ uniforms have also been found to be contaminated.

Among possible remedies, antimicrobial textiles can help reduce the presence of certain kinds of bacteria, according to a randomized study. Daily laundering of health care workers’ attire can help somewhat, though studies show that bacteria can contaminate them within hours.

Several studies of American physicians found that a majority go more than a week before washing white coats. Seventeen percent go more than a month. Several London-focused studies had similar findings pertaining both to coats and ties.

A randomized trial published last year tested whether wearing short- or- long-sleeved white coats made a difference in the transmission of pathogens. Consistent with previous work, the study found short sleeves led to lower rates of transmission of viral D.N.A. It may be easier to keep hands and wrists clean when they’re not in contact with sleeves, which themselves can easily brush against other contaminated objects. For this reason, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America suggests clinicians consider an approach of “bare below the elbows.”

With the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer — often more effective and convenient than soap and water — it’s far easier to keep hands clean than clothing.

But the placement of alcohol-based hand sanitizer for health workers isn’t as convenient as it could be, reducing its use. The reason? In the early 2000s, fire marshals began requiring hospitals to remove or relocate dispensers because hand sanitizers contain at least 60 percent alcohol, making them flammable.

Fire codes now limit where they can be placed — a minimum distance from electrical outlets, for example — or how much can be kept on site.

Hand sanitizers are most often used in hallways, though greater use closer to patients (like immediately before or after touching a patient) could be more effective.

One creative team of researchers studied what would happen if dispensers were hung over patients’ beds on a trapeze-bar apparatus. This put the sanitizer in obvious, plain view as clinicians tended to patients. The result? Over 50 percent more hand sanitizer was used.

Although there have been fires in hospitals traced to alcohol-based hand sanitizer, they are rare. Across nearly 800 American health care facilities that used alcohol-based hand sanitizer, one study found, no fires had occurred. The World Health Organization puts the fire risk of hand sanitizers as “very low.”

An article in The New York Times 10 years ago said the American Medical Association, concerned about bacteria transmission, was studying a proposal “that doctors hang up their lab coats — for good.” Maybe one reason the idea hasn’t taken hold in the past decade is reflected in a doctor’s comment in the article that “the coat is part of what defines me, and I couldn’t function without it.”

It’s a powerful symbol. But maybe tradition doesn’t have to be abandoned, just modified. Combining bare-below-the-elbows white attire, more frequently washed, and with more conveniently placed hand sanitizers — including wearable sanitizer dispensers — could help reduce the spread of harmful bacteria.

Until these ideas or others are fully rolled out, one thing we can all do right now is ask our doctors about hand sanitizing before they make physical contact with us (including handshakes). A little reminder could go a long way.