05 Jul Health Data News Roundup: Medicare Needs Increased Interoperability; Payers Addressing Health Equity; and Healthcare CFO Fears

Welcome to the Health Data Weekly News Roundup from IMAT Solutions. As the power of data continues to grow in the healthcare arena, today’s care organizations need to be on the forefront of all news and trends to help ensure that their data analytics efforts deliver accountable and informed care. Each week, we will provide you with the actionable news you need to meet these goals.

Medicare Needs Increased Interoperability for MA Data Exchange
With MA plans covering an increasing share of Medicare beneficiaries, traditional Medicare needs to build a better data exchange framework for interoperability, according to this recent EHR Intelligence article.

GAO: Gaps Remain in Medicaid Managed Care Direct Payments Oversight
Despite CMS efforts to expand oversight of Medicaid managed care direct payments and the US Government Accountability Office’s (GAO’s) previous recommendations to improve processes, the direct payment process in Medicaid still suffers from missing information, according to a GAO report.

AHIP 2022: How Payers Could Lead the Charge In Addressing Health Equity
As the healthcare industry grapples with health inequities and disparities across the country, health insurers are well positioned to lead the charge, according to discussions at the recent AHIP 2022.

FAST Becomes an HL7 FHIR Accelerator, Enhancing FHIR Scalability
The HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) at Scale Taskforce (FAST) initiative will continue its scalability work as an official HL7 FHIR Accelerator, according to a recent ONC blog post.

Alignment Healthcare Expanding Into 2 New States for 2023
Medicare Advantage insurtech Alignment Healthcare will expand its reach into Texas and Florida, allowing it to reach an additional 1.1 million seniors.

Health Plans Are Mapping Out a Technology Strategy for Home Care
Health plans are expanding their platforms to include home-based healthcare services, and sometimes acting as the primary care provider of record, according to this recent Health Leaders article.

Health Insurance Is The Third-Highest Living Expense For Americans
Health insurance premiums absorb a high share of the average American’s annual income and must compete with other essential expenses to be a priority in consumers’ minds, according to a recent study.

Survey: These Are Healthcare CFOs’ Biggest Fears
Recession, labor shortages, increasing costs and care delays due to insufficient capacity were among the top concerns chief financial officers and vice presidents of revenue cycle shared in a new survey.