Paula Blankenship – The Hertel Report

Paula Blankenship

Communications professional with two decades of award-winning work in journalism, corporate communications, promotional video, public relations and higher education. Always seeking opportunities to serve the public good.

Author's Posts

Arizona News

HealthCare.gov Enrollment - Arizona Week 5 Results - Plan Selections Down 15% YOY

As the enrollment period comes to an end for HealthCare.gov on Dec. 15, total Arizona enrollment for week five closed with 55,090 plan selections - down from 2017's week five enrollment toal of 67,266. The 39 states using HealthCare.gov reported...

News

Finally, National Healthcare Spending Slows to Lowest Levels Post 2007-2009 Recession

U.S. healthcare spending in 2017 increased 3.9 percent for a total of $3.5 trillion, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); the growth rate in 2016 was 4.8 percent. Spending remained steady at about 18 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), meaning health spending kept pace with the growth of...

Arizona News

Medical Diagnostic Imaging Group Expands in Arizona with Steward Agreement

MDIG now has an agreement to provide sub-specialty diagnostic, vascular and interventional radiology services to three Steward hospitals in the state: Luke's Behavioral Health Center, St. Luke's Medical Center, and Mountain Vista Medical Center. Effective December 1st, 2018MDIG will be the exclusive professional radiology services...

News

Steward Health Care Will Operate Former Florence Hospital in Anthem

Steward will reopen and rebrand the hospital in January 2019 purportedly to stave off Banner Health and Dignity Health's encroachment into the service area southeast of Phoenix. In a presentation to the Florence Town Council last week, Steward announced its plans to brand the facility as a campus of its Mesa hospital. The Florence...

National News

Envision & UnitedHealthcare Call Truce - Settle Contract Dispute

The public squabble has lasted nearly a year, but now the two have agreed to extend their nationwide contract effective January 1, 2019. UnitedHealthcare (UHC) has threatened for months to end its contract with Envision Healthcare. Envision fired the first shot this spring and missed its target when it was forced into arbitration...

News

2019 Winter State of the State - Register Today!

2019 Winter State of the State Presenters Jeff Buehrle, CFO at Banner and current AZ HFMA President, will welcome attendees and speak about collegiality, community cooperation and the path toward value. Pele Fisher of Peacock Legal will address pending legislation,...

National News

New PBM Price Model From CVS - 100% RX Rebate to Government, Commercial Insurers

The ink is barely dry on its $69 billion merger with Aetna and now CVS drops the news on its new Guaranteed Net Cost pricing model designed to simplify the financial arrangements underlying PBM contracts. CVS said it can deliver savings through PBM cost management strategies such as formulary, utilization management and performance...

Arizona News

New Board Leadership for MIHS

Mark Dewane will now chair the five-member board that oversees Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS), which includes Maricopa Medical Center, McDowell Healthcare Center, the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic, the Arizona Children’s Center, two behavioral health centers, and a dozen neighborhood Family Health Centers. Chairman...

National News

Aetna & CVS Health Seal $70 Billion Deal

One of the nation's pharmacy giants merges with one of the biggest health insurers with a vision of improving healthcare. When announcing the deal on Wednesday, CVS Health President and CEO Larry Merlo said, Today marks the start of a new day in health care and a transformative moment for our company and our industry. By delivering...

Arizona News

The Revolutionary Thrombectomy - Saving Lives in a Comprehensive Stroke Center

The new, revolutionary treatment is only available at 175 hospitals across the nation. This week, The Wall Street Journal reported on the challenges stroke victims face when a comprehensive stroke center isn't in the neighborhood. Quoting Ryan McTaggart, director of interventional neuroradiology at Rhode Island Hospital, There is...

Arizona News

Members Only November Newsletter

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National News

Trump Administration Proposes Help for Women Whose Employers Exclude Contraception

The proposed rule follows a final rule published earlier this month that says it "will provide conscience protections for Americans who have a religious or moral objection to health insurance that covers contraception methods." The proposal allows women with employer-based insurance that excludes contraceptives to attain them under...

National News

AMA Sets New Policy for Medicare & Medicaid Prior Authorization

According to the American Medical Association the words patients and physicians use to describe the current prior authorization process: Time-consuming, tedious and horrendous. During its annual meeting of delegates, The American Medical Association announced it wants government officials to carefully consider evidence that prior...

National News

Big Deals at Walmart: Contracting with Hospitals, Health Systems & ACOs

Caring for more than 1 million employees requires lots of dealmaking; the retail giant is launching insurance products tied to value-based contracts. Walmart works with ACOs linked to Banner Health in Arizona and last month the retailer partnered with Ochsner Accountable Care to offer a plan to workers in the New Orleans Metro, Baton...

Arizona News

Envision Healthcare Signs Agreement With Cigna

The statewide, multiyear agreement impacts about 2,000 physicians in Arizona practicing at Banner Health, Dignity Health and HonorHealth hospitals. While Envision clinicians will be in-network for Cigna’s commercial, Medicare and individual plan customers in Arizona, UnitedHealthcare and Envision are facing a termination of their...

Arizona News

CMS Invites States to Submit IMD Exclusion Waivers to Expand Coverage for SMI Populations

Originally created to ensure Medicaid beneficiaries with a serious mental illness (SMI) weren't warehoused in facilities by the government, the IMD exclusion means state Medicaid agencies can't pay for mental healthcare services received in a residential treatment center with more than 16 beds. This week, (November 13) Medicaid...

National News

MACPAC "Highly Concerned" Wants Arkansas to Pause Work Requirement Disenrollment

In a letter this week, the nonpartisan commission continued its criticism of the state's work requirement to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar; Arkansas has no plans to pause the program, the first in the nation. So far about 8,500 beneficiaries have been kicked off Arkansas' Medicaid program since its work requirement...

National News

Express Scripts' New National Preferred Flex Formulary Promises Lower Drug Prices

Drugs with alternative drug codes, including hepatitis C treatments Epclusa (sofosbuvir/velpatasvir) and Harvoni (ledipasvir/sofosbuvir) will be among the first listed on the new formulary when released January 1. 2019. The formulary is available for commercial plans only. It's a move the pharmacy benefit manager is betting will gain...

Arizona News

AHCCCS Director Scheduled to Speak at NAMD Conference This Week

Retiring AHCCCS Director Tom Betlach will join Missouri Medicaid Director Dale Carr and a senior leader from the Center for Program Integrity at CMS to discuss how states and the federal government are partnering to identify and address inappropriate or unnecessary spending in the healthcare system. Department of Health & Human...

Arizona News

AHCCCS Director Tom Betlach Schedules Retirement Date: January 2019

A local and national leader on managed Medicaid and healthcare policy, Betlach spent nearly two decades with the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona's Medicaid agency; Betlach served nine years as AHCCCS director and eight as its deputy director. Governor Doug Ducey announced Betlach's retirement today,...

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