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The Medicare program ... reimburses screening colonoscopy without an upper age limit [so researchers sought to] evaluate the effectiveness and safety of screening colonoscopy to prevent colorectal cancer (CRC) in persons aged 70 to 74 and those aged 75 to 79 years [through a] large-scale, population-based, prospective study. ... In beneficiaries aged 70 to 74 years, the 8-year risk for CRC was 2.19% ... in the screening colonoscopy group and 2.62% ... in the no-screening group .... Among those aged 75 to 79 years, the 8-year risk for CRC was 2.84% ... in the screening colonoscopy group and 2.97% ... in the no-screening group .... Screening colonoscopy may have had a modest benefit in preventing CRC in beneficiaries aged 70 to 74 years and a smaller benefit in older beneficiaries. The risk for adverse events was low but greater among older persons. (García-Albéniz et al., 9/27)

Many observers are calling for modification of Medicare’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) to relieve an unfair burden on safety-net hospitals, which serve low-income populations and consequently have relatively high readmission rates. To broaden the perspective on this issue, we addressed the fundamental question of whether the HRRP has been an effective tool for reducing thirty-day readmissions in safety-net hospitals. In the first three years of the program, these hospitals reduced readmissions for heart attack by 2.86 percentage points, heart failure by 2.78 percentage points, and pneumonia by 1.77 percentage points, and they also reduced the disparity between their readmission rates and those of other hospitals. (Carey and Lin, 9/21)

According to a new Avalere analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), premiums for stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) will increase and the number of PDPs available in 2017 will decrease. Conversely, the Medicare Advantage market appears strong as nearly 8 in 10 beneficiaries have access to MA plans that offer prescription drug benefits. (9/28)

In Spring 2016, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) conducted case studies to gain an on-the-ground view of ACA implementation in four states, Colorado, Connecticut, Kentucky, and Washington .... In the four study states, eligibility systems were working well, and Medicaid and Marketplace enrollment continued to grow. Consumer awareness of available coverage options has improved as has their knowledge of how to navigate enrollment and renewal processes and where to go to get help. Outreach and consumer assistance in year three built on successful strategies from prior years and remained an important component of state efforts to find and enroll eligible individuals. (Artiga et al., 9/20)

This brief provides an on-the-ground view of Medicaid delivery systems and access to care in four states—Connecticut, Colorado, Kentucky, and Washington—three years into implementation of the ACA .... these four states have had significant enrollment growth in their Medicaid programs through the Medicaid expansion. With this growth, they have increasingly turned attention to delivery of and access to care for the increasing population covered by the program. The case study states vary in how they deliver care through their Medicaid programs, but all include elements to coordinate care for enrollees. Overall, these case study and focus group findings suggest that, despite the large enrollment growth since implementing the ACA, Medicaid enrollees generally are able to access the preventive, primary, and specialty care they need. However, they do face some access challenges. (Artiga et al., 9/20)