Jose Figueroa, MD, MPH
@joefigs2
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Associate Prof of Health Policy & Management @HarvardHPM @HarvardHSPH | Doctor @BrighamWomens | Faculty Director, Healthcare Quality & Outcomes Lab
Boston, MA
Joined August 2014
RT @Bob_Wachter: We've lost another healthcare giant: Lucian Leape, the father of the modern patient safety movement and a person of remar….
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The true cost of the reconciliation bill will be measured in lives—over 50,000 per year. It’s a predictable result when you cut off insurance to people who are old, poor and sick. @eric_t_roberts and I discuss in @MSNBC @NBCNews @HarvardHPM @PennLDI .
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It will be interesting to see what happens to MA stock of top insurers if “GUARD Act” becomes law—which fixes MA/VA loophole—given that the majority of “veteran MA affinity plans” are offered by major 3 insurers. Based on @JAMAHealthForum paper, Veteran MA affinity plans in
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In Dec 2024, @Humana stocks fell 6.5% amid concerns that the MA insurer was exposed due to their potential reliance on “veteran MA affinity plans” after the @WSJ article called out issue of duplicative payment. Link:.
New bipartisan bill—the “GUARD” Act— aims to finally fix the duplicative MA & VA payment loophole. Estimated to save taxpayers >$12 billion per year. Informed by great research from @Brown_SPH @PennLDI @CornellLaw @BUSPH & @HarvardChanSPH + many others.
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Legislation calls for 3 key things:. 1. Allow VA to bill Medicare Advantage and Part D plans. 2. MA plans are prohibited from additional prior authorizations if ordered by VA. 3. Imposes penalties on MA insurers if they don’t pay the VA for services. Link to bill here:.
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New bipartisan bill—the “GUARD” Act— aims to finally fix the duplicative MA & VA payment loophole. Estimated to save taxpayers >$12 billion per year. Informed by great research from @Brown_SPH @PennLDI @CornellLaw @BUSPH & @HarvardChanSPH + many others.
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RT @davidevelasqu: In our (@joefigs2) @JAMANetworkOpen commentary, we discuss new research that underscores the vital role hospital leaders….
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Our new @JAMAHealthForum study adds more evidence on how MA plans enrolling veterans maximize profits by not paying for care. Veterans in high-veteran MA plans are much more likely to have surgical care paid by VA than plan itself—even when surgery occurs in non-VA hospitals….
Veterans enrolled in high-veteran Medicare Advantage plans are more likely to have their surgical care costs shifted to the Veterans Health Administration instead of being covered by the MA plans. #ARM25 @AcademyHealth .
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RT @JAMAInternalMed: Avoidable mortality increased in all US states between 2009 and 2021, while it decreased in other high-income countrie….
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RT @onceuponA: I want to emphasize that this is 18,000 avoidable deaths per year *of Medicare enrollees.* . They aren't in CBO's "uninsured….
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Estimates are based on our recent @NEJM showing that loss of subsidized coverage (the Part D Low-Income Subsidy) led to significant increases in mortality among low-income Medicare beneficiaries. @PennLDI @HarvardHPM . Link to @NEJM study:
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CBO projects that House reconciliation bill will cause 1.38 million low-income Medicare beneficiaries to lose Medicaid coverage. We estimate that this will lead to over 18,000 avoidable deaths/year stemming from loss of LIS. Link to memo led by @PennLDI:.
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RT @andreaducas: What happens when you kick 14 million people off their coverage? Illnesses and health care needs don't disappear - costs j….
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Last week was hard for us @HarvardChanSPH after losing all NIH grants. This week, we are forced to reckon with what’s next, including shutting down research, considering staffing cuts, and scrambling to cover salaries. HSPH: “ground zero” of NIH cuts.
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RT @NEJM: Special Article: Loss of Subsidized Drug Coverage and Mortality among Medicare Beneficiaries . #HealthPol….
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RT @tradeoffspod: Two new studies inject powerful evidence into the heated Medicaid debate in Washington, showing the public insurance prog….
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Grateful to the superstar @AdamLBeckman @BrighamMedRes + Chris Cai @PORTAL_Research, H. Elani @dental_harvard , D. Dai & J. Orav for helping lead this work!. 🙏@Arnold_Ventures for supporting work. @JAMA_current study link:.
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Therefore, the comprehensive CMS payments MA plans get to care for vets (especially those who get little to no medical care paid by MA) are not justified by the “extra” MA supplemental benefits. Urgent need for VA and CMS to fix this inefficiency to tune of $BILLIONS per year.
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Using national survey data, we find:. 1. No significant differences in total utilization or spending of dental & vision services between vets in MA vs TM. 2. MA plans only spend ~$82 per veteran enrollee on dental care and ~$6 more on vision aids than what TM vets get.
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