Dear Forum Friends,
In this newsletter you will find information on our upcoming November 12th All-Stakeholder Meeting, a new Price Crisis website and the governor candidates health policy positions.
While we always have plenty for you to read, I would like to highlight Mark Cuban’s comments in this article regarding how employers can save millions by working with transparent PBMs and a terrific Johns Hopkins panel discussion on Employer – Sponsored Health Insurance with Cynthia Fisher (Patient Right Advocates), Elizabeth Mitchell (Purchaser Business Group on Health), Bret Jackson (National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions), and Chris Pope (Manhattan Institute).
Gloria Sachdev
President and CEO, Employers’ Forum of Indiana
Inside the Forum
Upcoming Meeting
Mark your calendar for our EFI Member All-Stakeholder Meeting November 12th, from 12:30 – 5:00pm ET! The Agenda is below and a calendar invite will be sent to members in early October.
- Networking Cocktail Hour
- Networking Lunch
- Welcome and EFI Year in Review
- Value Based Payments
- Indiana All Payer Claims Database (APCD) Demonstration (Q/A will not be available during the meeting. If you have any questions regarding the Indiana APCD, please email them to Sara Otte at sara@employersforumindiana.org by October 16th)
- Panel Discussion: Improving Access to Maternal and Infant Care
- Awards / Closing
Presentations
In September, Gloria Sachdev was invited to give presentations regarding market and policy ideas to advance transparency, affordability, and competition to the following organizations:
- September 5th: Dallas Fort Worth Business Group on Health
- September 9th: Community Oncology Alliance
- September 11th: Cincinnati Business Coalition
- September 12th: Health Rosetta (received the Transparency Champion Award on behalf of all EFI members)
New Website to Address Healthcare Prices
Brought to you in partnership between Catalyst for Payment Reform and Employers’ Forum of Indiana, a new campaign called Price Crisis attempts to provide healthcare related educational materials and stories. This is a soft launch website, which will be refined and updated in the coming months.
Read more about this upcoming resource here.
Sage Transparency 2.0: Updated August 22, 2024
To provide you with the most current data we have available, Sage Transparency 2.0 data gets updated quarterly! On August 22nd, Sage Transparency was updated to reflect the July 2024 release of CMS Quality data and the July 2024 update of the NASHP hospital financial data.
Indiana Governor Candidates’ Healthcare Positions
The three candidates for Governor of Indiana have released their positions on healthcare.
Senator Mike Braun, the Republican primary candidate, partners with Hoosiers for Opportunity, Prosperity and Enterprise Inc. (HOPE) and HOPE released their healthcare policy agenda in an 11 page white paper, Freedom and Opportunity Agenda – Health Care Plan for Indiana, focusing on the below six pillars.
- Improve Quality
- Lower Costs
- Enhance Transparency
- Expand Access
- Promote Wellness
- Increase Competition
Jennifer McCormick, the Democratic primary candidate outlines her healthcare positions here.
- Access to Affordable Healthcare
- Public Health System to Achieve Positive Health Outcomes
- Access to care
Donald Rainwater, the Libertarian primary candidate outlines his positions on healthcare here.
- Health Coverage and Mandates
- Strengthening Legal Protections
- Parental Rights and Minor Children
- Indiana as a Beacon on Medical Freedom
Sister Healthcare Coalition Roundup
National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (NAHCPC)
In Person Conference: Manifesting a New Destiny: Employers Creating the Future of Healthcare
Date: November 18th – 20th
Registration: Link (EFI has a limited number of free registration codes. If you are an Employer Member of EFI and interested in attending this event, please contact Sara Otte at sara@employersforumindiana.org.)
Overview: The Annual Forum will take place in Arlington, VA, November 18-20, 2024. This event brings hundreds of employers, business coalition leaders, and healthcare stakeholders to discuss successful strategies and emerging trends in healthcare value; health policy; and benefits, wellbeing and health equity.
Order Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests
Available Now
As of late September 2024, residential households in the U.S. are eligible to receive another order of 4 free at-home tests at this link.
- Each order includes 4 individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests (COVIDTests.gov has more details about at-home tests, including extended shelf life and updated expiration dates).
In the News
EFI in the News:
- Federal Trade Commission Staff Submission to Indiana Health Department Regarding the Certificate of Public Advantage Application of Union Health and Terre Haute Regional Hospital (FTC)
- Braun Health Care Plan Builds Upon Legislative Action That Previously Failed (ICC)
- Podcast: “Baby Steps” in the Fight Against Facility Fees (An Arm and Leg)
Employers:
- US Employers Expect Nearly 6% Spike in Health Insurance Costs in 2025, Mercer Says (Reuters)
- Workers, Employees Likely to See Another Stiff Increase in Health Benefits (IBJ)
- These Alabama Workers Were Swamped by Medical Debt. Then Their Employer Stepped In. (KFF)
- 32BJ Labor Industry Cooperation Fund Releases Interactive Tools to Help Employers and Unions Achieve Lower Hospital Prices (Morning Star)
Public Health:
- Addressing the Crisis in Rural Maternity Care (CHQPR)
- First on CNN: US Faces Maternity Care Crisis, with 1 in 3 Counties Lacking Obstetric Doctors to Provide Care, Report Warns (CNN)
Hospitals:
- FTC Opposing Union Health Acquisition of Terre Haute Regional Hospital (Inside Indiana Business)
- Former State Officials File Medicaid Fraud ‘Whistleblower’ Lawsuit Against Insurers, Hospitals (WVPE)
- Whistleblowers: Indiana Medicaid Overpaid Up To $700M Amid Lobbying, Political Pressure (IndyStar)
- Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing U.S. Health System (Commonwealth Fund)
Providers & Physicians:
- How a Leading Chain of Psychiatric Hospitals Traps Patients (NYT)
- Jury Finds BCBS Louisiana Shortchanged Surgical Center by $400M (Beckers)
- Insurer-Provider Contract Impasses Leave Many Patients Without Care (IBJ)
Insurance:
- CVS’s Medicare Woes Continue to Fuel More Cuts to Its Outlook (WSJ)
- HCSC Offering Large Employers Health Plan With No Deductible (Modern Healthcare)
- Elevance Health Acquiring IU Health Plans (IBJ)
- Insurers Expand Coverage Of Prescriptions Written By Pharmacists (Forbes)
Pharmacy:
- Humira Biosimilar Price War Update: Should We Be Glad that CVS Health and Express Scripts Are Using Private Label Products to Pop the Gross-to-Net Bubble? (Drug Channels)
- Vermont Attorney General Files Unfair Trade Practices Lawsuit Against Caremark and Express Scripts for Inflated Drug Costs (Frier Levitt)
- When Is The Price Of A Drug Unjust? The Average Lifetime Earnings Standard (Health Affairs)
- Walgreens to Pay $106.8 Million Over Alleged Fraudulent Healthcare Billings (WSJ)
- Cigna Demands FTC Retraction in Escalating Drug-Price Fight (WSJ)
- Sanders: Ozempic Generics Could Cost 90% Less Than Brand-Name (Beckers)
- 5 Ozempic Updates (Beckers)
- PBM: FTC Accesses Drug Middlemen of Inflating Insulin Prices (Fox)
- FTC Sues Pharmacy Insurance Managers, Alleging Unfair Drug Prices (Washington Post)
- FDA Approves First Self-Administered Flu Vaccine Spray (CBS)
- LinkedIn Post from Chris Deacon Regarding PBMs
Policy:
- Op-ed: Shawn Gremminger and Bret Jackson: What is Hospital Dumping and Why Should Legislators, Employers and Patients Care? (Washington Reporter)
- Statement of Russell DuBose, Testimony to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce (National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions)
- PBM Audit Report for Indiana Employee Health Plan and Medicaid Plans (RX Connection)
Other Healthcare News
Do you have a suggestion or contribution for our next newsletter? Contact us.