Quote of the Day

"The frequency and intensity of these price fluctuations [for generic drugs] make it difficult for consumers to afford their needed medications and for pharmacists and hospitals to maintain their inventory and plan their budgets. [Price increases] prevent patients from getting the drugs they need...."



— Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said in a letter to HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson.

Composition of the Newly Insured

According to a recently released study from RAND Corporation:

• 22.8 million Americans became newly insured between September 2013 and February 2015
• 5.9 million lost coverage, for a net of 16.9 million newly insured Americans
• 42% of new enrollees used an employer-sponsored health plan
• 6.5 million enrolled in Medicaid
• Individual marketplaces claimed 4.1 million of the newly insured
• 5% (1.2 million) enrolled in nonmarketplace individual plans
• 1.5 million used other insurance sources

Source: RAND Corporation, May 6, 2015

Nearly 70%

of the U.S. population lives in localities served by accountable care organizations, and 44% live in areas served by two or more ACOs, according to a new report from Oliver Wyman.

23% of workers

say they did not make any contributions to their health savings accounts (HSAs), up from 11% in 2011, according to a report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Datapoint

5.3 million gallons of gas were saved in 2014 by Aetna Inc.'s telecommuting policy, which reduced the insurer's carbon footprint by 46,700 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the company.

Today's Datapoint

3% to 4% of the roughly $5.4 billion Anthem, Inc. spends on all forms of cancer care coverage for its fully insured members are the estimated savings the insurer will experience as a result of its Anthem Cancer Care Quality Program, four years into implementation.

Quote of the Day

"Managing drug costs is a highly complex area. There isn't a lot of market control, particularly over single-source drugs that come out, so the focus tends to be more on appropriateness and, in some instances, plans have used economic incentives — coinsurance, for example — to make it more difficult for people to get those drugs. I think what [Oregon's proposed "Cap the Copay" bill, H.B. 2951] is trying to do is eliminate that practice and force plans to make more value-based judgments in terms of formulary and other mechanisms that determine whether or not their members will have access to these medications."



— Mike Thompson, a senior analyst at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, told AIS's Health Plan Week.