29 Jul Health Data News Roundup: Rising Inpatient Hospital Days for Medicare Advantage Enrollees; ACO Models Can Support Patient Engagement; and Health Data Access

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 Enrollees Account for a Rising Share of Inpatient Hospital Days
Medicare Advantage grew from 13 percent to 23 percent of inpatient hospital days, and as of 2022, nearly half (48 percent) of all Medicare inpatient hospital days were attributable to Medicare Advantage enrollees, according to a recent KFF analysis.

How ACO Models Can Improve to Support Patient Engagement
Better communication, benefit design and patient input could enhance patient engagement with and understanding of accountable care organizations, according to a new report from the Health Care Transformation Task Force (HCTTF) and the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS).

Breaking Barriers: How Care Management Can Bridge the Gap in Health Data Access
Payers and care managers should adopt data management strategies to generate better, more holistic insights for use across the healthcare ecosystem, according to this recent Wolters Kluwer analysis.

Data, Technology Strategies Boost Payer Patient Education
Analytics platforms, omnichannel engagement tools, telehealth, and other technological and data advancements have been pivotal to successful payer patient education, according to this recent Health Payer Intelligence article.

Healthcare Stakeholders Are Mostly Optimistic About HTI-2
Healthcare leaders have begun to digest the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s recently proposed HTI-2 interoperability rule, and many have offered their reaction to its various components, as highlighted in this recent Healthcare IT News article.

CBO Finds Factors that Contribute to – or Limit – Cost Savings in ACOs
A new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report found that certain types of ACOs result in greater savings, particularly those led by independent physician groups, those with a larger proportion of primary care providers (PCPs), and those whose initial baseline spending was higher than the regional average.

Cigna Launches $9 Million Health Equity Fund
Last week, Cigna announced the creation of The Cigna Group Health Equity Impact Fund, a community program in which The Cigna Group Foundation will commit $9 million over three years to reduce key health barriers by specifically targeting health disparities most prevalent in local communities.