In light of the increasing demand for mental health treatment and simultaneous provider shortages, the private insurance industry is rolling out targeted initiatives to increase mental health support for members by mitigating many of the barriers to entry facing the mental health industry today.Continue Reading Payor-Led Initiatives to Strengthen Mental Health Resources
Assembly Bill 2080[1] (“AB 2080”), known as the “Health Care Consolidation and Contracting Fairness Act of 2022,” was approved by the California Assembly on May 26, 2022, and if passed by the Senate and signed into law before the August 31st recess, will significantly affect healthcare M&A activity in California for a broad spectrum of healthcare providers, payors and other stakeholders.[2] Continue Reading Putting the Brakes on Healthcare M&A and Provider/Payor Contracting: AB 2080 Poised to Dramatically Impact Healthcare Transactions in California
On January 25, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury (collectively the Tri-Agencies) published the first annual report on group health plans’ and health insurance issuers’ compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). The Report noted that none of the comparative analyses reviewed “contained sufficient information upon initial receipt.” The Tri-Agencies made preliminary determinations of non-compliance for many plans and issuers, but the Report stressed that no final determinations had been made yet. Instead, plans and issuers may still take corrective action and, in so doing, avoid the triple-whammy of being named in next year’s report, having notice of noncompliance sent to plan participants and enrollees (essentially rolling out a red carpet for class action litigation), and the Tri-Agencies notifying the state regulator. Plans and issuers should not count on the Tri-Agencies exercising such restraint in the future.
Continue Reading Tri-Agencies Report MHPAEA Compliance Lacking, But Don’t Name and Shame Plans and Issuers . . . Yet
State and federal regulators, Congress, and the plaintiffs’ bar are increasingly focused on compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPEA), particularly given the opioid epidemic and
Continue Reading The Clock is Ticking on MHPAEA Compliance
On October 29, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) released the Transparency in Coverage Final Rules (the “Final Rules”), which require non-grandfathered group health plans and health insurance issuers offering non-grandfathered health insurance coverage in the individual and group markets to disclose certain information including negotiated rates with providers and estimated out-of-pocket expenses to enable consumers to make informed health care purchasing decisions.
Continue Reading Trump Administration Finalizes The Transparency in Coverage Rule
MedCity News, a media property of Breaking Media (publisher of Law360) hosted the third annual ENGAGE conference Nov. 6-7 in San Diego. The conference highlighted technology tools that increase patient engagement and strategies deployed by health plans and health systems to align patient incentives with promoting wellness and reducing healthcare delivery costs. There is increased interest from the healthcare industry, investment community and patient advocacy groups in fostering programs, technologies and services that focus on empowering patients to be a driving force in healthcare. As many speakers reinforced at the conference, patient engagement has gone from an afterthought to a driving force in healthcare. The following are key themes:
Continue Reading Connection and Innovation Take Center Stage at the Patient ENGAGE Conference
San Francisco (Tuesday, January 9, 2018): Day 2 of the 2018 JP Morgan Healthcare Conference provided concrete examples of the trends that have been discussed in recent years – the impact of shifting healthcare delivery modalities on hospitals, the opportunity for retail medicine, the need for more effective management of chronic conditions and the increasing relevance of the Chinese markets. While some attendees complained about a lack of blockbuster announcements, today’s presentations were intriguing as an example of how the consulting and conference recommendations of the 2010 – 2014 period now are being played out in the real world of healthcare today. As the CEO of Advocate Health Care said, with tongue in cheek and quoting Game of Thrones, “Winter is coming….” and healthcare delivery will become even more difficult. There also was cause for optimism as well, as we saw multiple vibrant strategies for growth, including a continuing shift to value-based and risk-based reimbursement structures.
Continue Reading Notes on Day 2 of the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference