For more information about our latest policy efforts, please contact us at vbidcenter@umich.edu or 734-615-9635. We hope you enjoy this month's news highlights.

April newsletter highlights:

Panel on growing recognition for V-BID among policymakers
May 1, 2014: Michigan State Senate Health Policy Committee hearing on V-BID
Health Affairs blog: V-BID clinical nuance in Medicare Advantage
Chicago Health Policy: V-BID plans increase medication adherence
Fair Health interview with Dr. Michael Chernew
Rand: To innovate, new health technology should focus on value
American Academy of Pediatrics: HDHPs and primary care
Researchers determine link between income and medication adherence is unclear
Annals of Internal Medicine: V-BID improves primary care
Diabetes out-of-pocket expenses have decreased for some, but not all

Panel on growing recognition for V-BID among policymakers

On Tuesday, April 29th, in Washington, DC, Senator Tom Daschle and DLA Piper's Health Care Policy and Regulatory team hosted a panel discussion on value-based insurance design as a component of delivery system reform. In her opening remarks, Representative Diane Black (R-TN) noted that V-BID has bipartisan appeal and holds the promise of improving quality and reducing the cost of health care.

Panel participants included Senator Daschle, Senior Policy Advisor, DLA Piper, A. Mark Fendrick, MD, Director of the University of Michigan V-BID Center, and Dr. William Shrank, Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Medical Officer, Provider Innovation and Analytics, CVS Caremark. The panel was moderated by Krista Drobac, Senior Policy Analyst, DLA Piper.

For more information about this event, please contact us.

Michigan Health Policy Committee hearing features V-BID

On May 1st, the Michigan Senate Health Policy Committee, chaired by Senator Jim Marleau, will host a hearing on cost and quality transparency measures. The V-BID Center Director, A Mark Fendrick, MD, will present "Aligning Incentives for High-Value Health Care" and the role of V-BID in price transparency.

Health Affairs Blog: V-BID in Medicare Advantage

Adding to growing momentum for V-BID in Medicare Advantage, a Health Affairs blog post recognizes that clinically nuanced benefit design can align individual Medicare beneficiary needs with appropriate care by encouraging patients to seek care from high performing providers via reduced cost-sharing.

V-BID plans significantly increase medication adherence

Building on the recent evaluation of 76 V-BID Plans by Choudry and colleagues, a recent Chicago Health Policy Review supports findings that V-BID plans which are more generous, target high-risk patients, encourage mail-order prescriptions, offer wellness programs, and avoid disease-management programs significantly improve patient medication adherence.

Fair Health, Inc. interview with Dr. Michael Chernew

V-BID co-founder and the Leonard D. Schaeffer Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Michael Chernew discussed health care spending and how payment reform efforts including V-BID, bundled payments, and global payment models can be used to address health care costs and quality.

Rand: New medical technology should focus on value

A new Rand health report offers ten policy options to increase medical innovation, reduce total health care spending, and ensure that costly medical technology advances produce meaningful health benefits. The report encourages V-BID principles such as increasing the use of high-value drugs and devices and decreasing the use of products that increase spending without meaningful health improvements.

American Academy of Pediatrics: HDHPs and primary care

A policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics offers background information on high deductible health plans and discusses how out-of-pocket costs to meet the deductible may negatively impact families with children and pediatric care providers in primary care settings.

Link between income and medication adherence unclear

Researchers completed a systematic review of 56 studies to assess lower socioeconomic status (SES) as a risk factor associated with medication non-adherence for the treatment of hypertension. Several limitations, including using indirect measures of income measurement, suggest that the association is unclear and that other factors may impact medication adherence.

Annals of Internal Medicine: V-BID improves primary care

In the April issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers found that drug, patient and physician characteristics that lead to nonadherence in primary care may be reduced by using V-BID clinical nuance to lower prescription drug cost-sharing and to increase follow-up care efforts by physicians. These effects were especially true for low-income groups with chronic conditions.

Diabetes treatment costs decrease for some, but not all

According to a new study, out-of-pocket expenses for diabetes treatment have gone down for many U.S. patients over the past decade. Notably, out-of-pocket expenses declined for people with public insurance and for people with low income between 2001 and 2011, mostly because prescription drug costs decreased. Yet, almost 25% of people with diabetes still face high out-of-pocket treatment expenses.

The University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID) leads in research, development and advocacy for innovative health benefit designs.

For more information about V-BID, please visit our website and sign up to receive our newsletter.

To contact the V-BID Center, email us at vbidcenter@umich.edu or call 734-615-9635.

STAY CONNECTED