In June, we explored how policy dialogue surrounding value-based care often disguises its meaning and purpose. It’s almost as if our ever-present challenge of escalating costs and worsening outcomes in the U.S. will be magically solved by simply uttering the phrase “value-based” as though it’s a spell or incantation that will erode decades-long practices of...
If there is an annoyingly vague policy term that gets bandied about when discussing Medicaid, it’s “value-based care.” How do we define “value-based care?” What are the policy triggers that indicate “value-based care?” How do we know if “value-based care” is being achieved? Frankly, “value-based care” gets thrown out so often and so casually that...
In March of 2020, under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), all individuals who were enrolled in Ohio Medicaid or became enrolled after March 18, 2020 were not permitted to be disenrolled from the program unless the individual met one of the following circumstances: voluntarily requested the discontinuance of Medicaid coverage was no...
On September 14th, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center announced they will cease to provide emergency and inpatient services, including emergency psychiatric services, in Cleveland. In addition to the impact this will have on the local service delivery landscape, there is also the economic consequences of the loss of 600 jobs in the city’s Center. Ironically,...
On March 10, 2020, Ohio recorded its first case of Covid-19. In the two years after that case, the state Medicaid program played a critical role in ensuring access, providing coverage, and enabling budget stability as the state grappled with the complexities of the pandemic and its effects. And while the clinical science has not...
With the launch of Ohio’s new managed care program in July, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) is ramping up its efforts to educate and connect with providers and beneficiaries about the forthcoming changes. But what does that include and how can you get connected? SIGN-UP FOR UPDATES First, ODM has created a mailbox and...
Benjamin Franklin once said “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The original goal of this commonplace idiom was to encourage Philadelphians to remain vigilant about fire awareness and prevention. Coal, the common source of heating in homes during the time, was often carried “live” from room to room, up and...
Earlier this month, the United States hit a terrifying milestone with over 100,000 annual opioid related deaths. According to an analysis by the Ohio Alliance for Population Health, Ohio’s overdose trends have reflected national data, with recent increases in mortality tied to fentanyl and an acceleration in those overdoses driven by access limitations induced by COVID. This trend, however, only...
A mentor of mine once told me that if I wanted to understand the stakeholders in a given public policy issue, I must first figure out how who gets paid. While this may be a pessimistic lens through which we can understand policy, it’s useful. Ohio Medicaid represents 4 percent of our state’s economy. And...
