�鶹Ů��

Hospitals nationwide charge payers more than double for healthcare services covered under commercial plans than they do for the same insurer’s Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, according to a recent Johns Hopkins analysis of hospitals’ published pricing data. (Muoio, 8/9)

Most Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries are satisfied with their health plan, but many enrollees feel they are overbilled, have struggled navigating the prior authorization process or are confused by the features of their plan, a new survey from Retirement Living recently revealed. (Tong, 8/9)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is revising its patient experience survey to address low response rates and expand data on care quality. Announced Aug.1 as part of the agency's inpatient prospective payment system final rule, the modifications to the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey have been years in the making. (Devereaux, 8/9)

The U.S. is dismantling one of the last major pillars of its Covid-era safety net. For President Joe Biden, the timing couldn’t be worse. States across the country, both blue and red, are purging their Medicaid programs of millions of low-income enrollees for the first time in three years, after a pandemic policy meant to prevent vulnerable people from suddenly losing health coverage expired earlier this spring. (Cancryn and Messerly, 8/9)

In the first look at Medicaid renewals following the end of a pause to eligibility determinations, the Minnesota Department of Human Services said Wednesday nearly 50,000 people renewed their public insurance eligibility. But coverage stopped for about 32,600 people whose status is unknown. (Thamer, 8/9)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Medi-Cal Covers Gender-Transition Treatment, But Getting It Isn’t Easy 

From an early age, Pasha Wrangell felt different. Societal expectations of boys, and many characteristics of masculinity, did not match how Wrangell felt inside. Bullied and ostracized, Wrangell started repressing those feelings in middle school and kept them bottled up for a long time. That led to decades of sadness, isolation, and even a couple of suicide attempts. What gnawed at Wrangell was gender dysphoria, a condition widely acknowledged in the medical community, which causes severe distress to people whose sexual identity does not match their sex assigned at birth. (Wolfson, 8/10)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Lost Medicaid Health Coverage? Here’s What You Need To Know 

The nation’s health insurance system is undergoing tremendous upheaval as an estimated 8.2 million people will need to find new coverage since pandemic protections for Medicaid enrollees came to an end this spring. That’s leaving many patients confused about how to get new medical insurance. “It’s an overwhelming task,” said Taffy Morrison, who is working to connect Louisiana residents to new coverage through the nonprofit Southwest Louisiana Area Health Education Center. But Morrison reminds people: “Don’t panic. There is help.” (Liss, 8/10)