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White House Report Urges Broader Coverage for Chronic Diseases in HSA-Qualified High-Deductible Health Plans On December 3rd, 2018, the White House released its 119-page report, Reforming America's Healthcare System Through Choice and Competition. In this report, HHS, in collaboration with the Department of Treasury, Labor, the FTC, and the White House, sets forth many formal recommendations aimed toward developing a better health care system. The report highlights the need for HSA reform and, more specifically, advocates for the expansion of the scope of preventive care and chronic condition services covered before the minimum deductible is met.  An excerpt from pages 82 and 83 is included below: "As noted above, an additional constraint on the availability and use of HSAs is the requirement that HSA-qualified plans can only provide certain preventive care benefits before the minimum deductible is met. Reconsideration of the scope of [...]

On August 10, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced refinements to the design of the second year of the Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design (MA V-BID) model.  The MA-V-BID model is an opportunity for Medicare Advantage plans, including MA plans offering Part D benefits, to offer clinically nuanced benefit packages aimed at improving quality of care, while also reducing costs. In the second year of the model, beginning January 1, 2018, CMS will 1) open the model test to new applicants; 2) conduct the model test in three new states - Alabama, Michigan, and Texas; 3) add rheumatoid arthritis and dementia to the clinical categories for which participants may offer benefits; 4) make adjustments to existing clinical categories; and 5) change the minimum enrollment size for some MA and MA-PD plan participants.  Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID) generally refers to health insurers’ efforts to structure [...]

Washington, July 13, 2016 - According to the American College of Physicians (ACP), consumer cost-sharing, particularly deductibles, may cause patients to forgo or delay care, including medically necessary services.   ACP's position paper, "Addressing the Increasing Burden of Health Insurance Cost-Sharing," recommends the implementation of value-based insurance design (V-BID) as a potential solution to make patient cost-sharing more equitable. The ACP's endorsement of V-BID builds on multi-stakeholder and bipartisan support, including the incorporation of V-BID principles in Section 2713 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requiring the elimination of consumer cost-sharing for specified preventive care services, the CMS MA-VBID demonstration project set to begin in seven states in January 2017, and the H.R. 5652, "Access to Better Care Act of 2016," that allows high deductible health plans the flexibility to provide coverage for services that manage chronic disease prior to meeting the plan deductible. Each of these programs align with the ACP's [...]

On Monday, April 4, Health Affairs reported that one state's Value-Based Insurance Design employee insurance program, which was designed to improve health while reducing costs, has successfully encouraged more use of screenings and preventive services, increased medication adherence for chronic conditions, and reduced visits to the emergency department.Researchers from the V-BID Center say, not unexpectedly, that it's too early to tell after two years of study if Connecticut's Health Enhancement Program has saved the state money.Their findings are reported in the April edition of Health Affairs.  The Health Affairs article and related materials can be found below. Health Affairs Article IHPI Press Release HEP Infographic