Sponsor White Papers – June 2021

Posted June 29, 2021

Anthem: Estimating Surprise Bills Among Members of Commercial Health Insurance Unexpected, and frequently unavoidable, bills for out-of-network services—commonly referred to as “surprise bills”—have drawn considerable attention. The No Surprises Act, signed into federal law in December 2020, provides new protections from surprise bills for consumers. This issue brief offers an analysis of the current occurrence of potential surprise bills across clinical settings and provider types as well as their associated costs for consumers.

Epstein Becker Green: Federal and State Cannabis Rules Are Moving in Different Directions While the Food and Drug Administration has broadened its net to target businesses making claims that their products can treat specific conditions, a growing number of states have passed bills that, among other things, legalize adult-use cannabis. Epstein Becker Green attorneys Delia Deschaine, Nathaniel Glasser, and Megan Robertson discuss how new developments in 2021 impact the cannabis industry and why all players, including employers, health care providers and retailers, and businesses operating in the cannabis space, need to pay close attention to the different nuances between federal and state laws.

Medecision: The Virtual Reality: 2021 Is the Time to Transform Your Virtual Health Capabilities The healthcare industry is certainly no stranger to change. But in the face of a global pandemic, the changes came at a rapid-fire pace. Almost overnight it seemed, the industry had to create or expand virtual health capabilities to continue providing much-needed services. And business operations needed to quickly pivot to accommodate new ways of communicating with and delivering care to patients and members. In this whitepaper you’ll learn how to secure a first-mover advantage, up-level your virtual capabilities and future-proof virtual health engagement so you can remain competitive and resilient. Want to learn more? Contact Aerial.

AMA: The AMA’s strategic plan to embed racial justice and advance health equity The American Medical Association (AMA) has released a new strategic plan focused on embedding racial justice and advancing health equity.

ProgenyHealth: An Unfair Fight: How Race and Social Determinants Impact Maternal and Infant Health A mountain of data shows that Black, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Native American, Alaska Native, and Latinx individuals are disproportionately likely to experience adverse health problems. Nowhere is this more evident than in maternal and infant health. Download a newly released position paper from ProgenyHealth that includes a framework for tangible impact by providers, payers and policymakers.

Newport Healthcare: Newport Healthcare’s Mental Health Treatment Efficacy Yields Industry-Leading Outcomes in 2020 “In a year defined by a global pandemic that included social isolation, collective trauma, and unprecedented stress, mental health emerged as a primary concern for families, with as many as three quarters of young people reporting increased mental health issues. Newport Healthcare, a national network of evidence-based healing centers for teens and young adults with primary mental health disorders, responded to the urgent demand for care and, in outcomes data compiled in collaboration with Drexel University’s Center for Family Intervention Science, is reporting statistically significant, industry-leading improvements of patient symptoms following treatment.” Read the full outcomes report here.

UnitedHealth Group: America’s Health Ranking Senior Report The United Health Foundation released the 9th America’s Health Rankings Senior Report in partnership with the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA). The report features 49 markers of health and provides a comprehensive portrait of the health and well-being of older adults prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the report’s key findings:

Pre-pandemic, seniors across the country saw improvements in clinical care factors – including a 13% increase in geriatric providers between 2018-2020.
Leading up to the pandemic, seniors experienced a number of worsening behavioral health outcomes – including a 39% increase in drug deaths.
Risk of social isolation linked to mental health challenges continues to play a role in understanding the health of seniors.
Health improvements for older adults were not experienced equally across the country, with populations in rural states and certain racial and ethnic populations facing greater challenges.

West Monroe: Transforming the healthcare supply chain: Better processes, better outcomes Overhauls to the healthcare supply chain post-pandemic may be challenging, but opportunities to scale exist. Here’s where to begin.

NTT Data: NTT Data Services, Remodeling Supply Chains for Resilience NTT Data recently participated in an article for Supply Chain Digital, sharing remodeling strategies for more resilient supply chains.