12 Jun Health Data News Roundup: MA Advantage Risk Adjustment Model Accuracy; Humana Opens 250th Primary Care Center; and Blue Cross MA Expands Mental Health Resources

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 Advantage Risk Adjustment Model Accuracy May Vary By Race
The CMS-Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) model used for Medicare Advantage risk adjustment may inaccurately estimate beneficiaries’ spending depending on the race or ethnicity of the beneficiary population, according to a new study.

AHIP: Most Consumers Are Satisfied with Employer-Provided Coverage
A new survey from AHIP on the opinions of US consumers in 2023 found that many prefer to receive coverage from their employer rather than through the state, and that they value coverage and affordability.

Humana Opens 250th Primary Care Center, Continues to Focus on Growth
Last week, Humana’s primary care arm opened its 250th clinic in Dallas, marking another milestone in the insurer’s growth in the provider space. The Medicare Advantage giant expects to open between 30 and 50 centers per year through 2025.

Blue Cross MA Expands Mental Health Resources, Provider Network
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (Blue Cross) continues to expand mental health resources for members, as spending on mental health services totaled over $1 billion in 2022.

FHIR Accelerator Announces Digitized Clinical Research Protocol Project
HL7 FHIR Accelerator Vulcan and standards development organization CDISC have announced a project to deliver an electronic exchange standard for the ICH M11 Clinical electronic Structured Harmonised Protocol (CeSHarP) to advance clinical research.

ONC Releases Draft USCDI+ Quality Data Element List for Comment
The ONC recently published the draft USCDI+ Quality data element list for public comment. Through USCDI+ Quality, ONC seeks to extend the USCDI standard to establish harmonized data elements for various CMS and other quality measurement use cases.

NY Health Plan Helps Members Navigate Health Insurance Renewals
New York-based health plan Healthfirst has launched a campaign to help members navigate health insurance renewals in a post-public health emergency (PHE) world.