Decoding the State of the Union for Health Care

Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.This week, Health Affairs released the annual national health care spending data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Using data from 2020, the first data which relates to the COVID-19 pandemic, the report found health spending reached a record high in 2020.  But Health Affairs had some of its own news this week as well. We are rebranding our respected Health Affairs Blog into a new digital publication named Health Affairs Forefront.  Health Affairs' Rob Lott and Chris Fleming convene on Health Affairs This Week to discuss CMS' new national health care spending data and what's behind the rebrand to Health Affairs Forefront.Related Links:National Health Care Spending In 2020: Growth Driven By Federal Spending In Response To The COVID-19 Pandemic (Health Affairs)Welcome to Health Affairs Forefront (Health Affairs Forefront)Innovation At The Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services: A Vision For The Next 10 Years (Health Affairs Forefront)The Workforce for Non-Police Behavioral Health Crisis Response Doesn't Exist - We Need To Create It (Health Affairs Forefront)Podcast: LIVE with with Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator (A Health Podyssey)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.In January 2021, Health Affairs posted an announcement regarding its new Health Equity Project.Since then, Health Affairs has been ramping up its efforts to advance equity in scholarly publishing and health services research.Last month, the organization announced the members of the Health Affairs' Health Equity Advisory Board. This week, the Health Affairs Blog published a cluster of blogs related to various topics on health equity. Join Health Affairs' Director of Health Equity Vabren Watts and Senior Editor Rob Lott as they discuss the journal's latest efforts to highlight and advance health equity through a new blog cluster, the new Health Equity Advisory Committee, and the Health Equity Fellowship for Trainees.  Related Links:Clinically Driven Payment and Benefit Design To Improve Health Equity: The Case of Obesity Prevention and Treatment (Health Affairs Blog)Medical Algorithms Are Failing Communities of Color (Health Affairs Blog)A New Effort To Address Racial and Ethnic Disparities In Care Through Quality Measurement (Health Affairs Blog)Apply to the Health Equity Fellowship for Trainees at Health AffairsSubscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.Listen to Health Affairs' Ellen Bayer and Rob Lott review the state of the health care workforce in this Labor Day themed episode of Health Affairs This Week.Related Links:Primary Care Beyond COVID-19 (Health Affairs Forefront)New Behavioral Health Workforce Database Paints A Stark Picture (Health Affairs Forefront)Addressing Health Worker Burnout (U.S. Surgeon General)Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Hospital and Outpatient Clinician Workforce (HHS)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.This week, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) updated measures in the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS). This year, the organization included measures related to health equity for data and quality measurement.NCQA Executive Vice President Eric Schneider joins Health Affairs' Rob Lott on today's episode of Health Affairs This Week to discuss the measurement changes.  Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Related Links:HEDIS MY 2023: See What's New, What's Changed and What's Retired (NCQA)A New Effort To Address Racial and Ethnic Disparities In Care Through Quality Measurement (Health Affairs Forefront)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.