Literature Review

Saturday newsletters focus on headlines and research - enjoy!

PBMs secretly profited from opioid crisis: New York Times Becker's Hospital Review; by Alexandra Murphy; 12/17/24 Pharmacy benefit managers were paid by drugmakers, including Purdue Pharma, to keep opioid prescriptions flowing even as overdose deaths soared across the U.S., according to an investigation by The New York Times. The Dec. 17 report highlighted how Express Scripts, CVS Caremark and Optum Rx, which control access to medications for millions of Americans, negotiated deals with opioid manufacturers to prevent restrictions on painkiller prescriptions in exchange for lucrative rebates. Between 2003 and 2012, Purdue Pharma paid PBMs roughly $400 million annually to avoid limits on opioid prescriptions, which included measures that could have curtailed overprescribing, such as requiring additional physician justifications or limiting the number of pills dispensed. Internal documents reviewed by the Times show how the PBMs repeatedly collaborated with opioid manufacturers to influence insurers' decisions and block restrictions.

Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness. ~ Anne Frank We honor Hanukkuh with this powerful quote from  Anne Frank when she was a young teenager. She died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration in February/March 1945. If she were still alive, she would be 95.

Increasing awareness of hospice services among Latinos on the border YouTube - Borderzine Reporting across fronteras; features Hospice El Paso; 12/25/24 El Paso's Latino Community is seeing a rise in the use of hospice care ... Hospice in Mexico is a place and so a lot of Hispanics--true Mexicans--feel that you're going to take a loved one out of their home when it comes to hospice care. ... Latino families make up a growing portion of hospice users, reflecting national efforts in bilingual outreach and cultural sensitivity programs I had heard. The term "hospice"--I didn't know I didn't know what it meant. I didn't know what it involved but after my dad was enrolled in hospice ... I realized [that it] provided emotional and medical support ... [and] comfort that respects their cultural values. We were very fortunate that the individuals that came in that met with us beforehand and after were bilingual. I noticed that they spoke in English and in Spanish so that they would look between myself, my mom my sister to make sure we were nodding, agreeing, listening, hearing. I think that made a difference. It was very comforting. My dad at one point even said, "They gave me a bath but they didn't get the bed wet." That was our big joke and the fact that he was very comfortable. As more Hispanic families turn to hospice they're finding it offers not just medical care, but a way to honor their loved ones with dignity respect and familiar comforts in their final days.Editor's note: For data on the Hispanic population in the areas you serve, click here for the 

Executive Personnel Changes - 12/27/24

CMS scraps value-based Medicare Advantage model [VBID]Modern Healthcare; by Bridget Early; 12/20/24Citing overspending, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is calling an early end to an initiative that aimed to provide better, more efficient care to Medicare Advantage enrollees. The Value-Based Insurance Design model, or VBID, will sunset at the end of 2025, CMS announced, just 20 months after the agency extended it until 2030. The latest data show “substantial and unmitigable costs” totaling $4.5 billion in 2021 and 2022, an amount "unprecedented in CMS innovation center models," CMS said in a news release Monday.

In Oregon and around the world, volunteer crafters are ready to finish your loved one’s projects The Oregonian - Homes & Garden; by Janet Eastman; 12/20/24, updated 12/24/24 Sue Heagy touches the colorful yarn circles her late daughter, Angie Kimmel, crocheted to relieve her pain and fear of dying. Kimmel was 39 and working in Corvallis eight years ago when she made her last stitch. ... Over the years, Heagy would take the pieces out to appreciate her daughter’s fine handwork. Late last year, Heagy decided it was time for the “complicated and unusual work” to be completed. She contacted the nonprofit Loose Ends Project and was matched to Bobbie Wallace, a volunteer “finisher” who lives in Arizona near Heagy. ... Heagy, who received the completed throw blanket this summer, said, “It’s so touching, so intimate” how finishers like Wallace work. “To have the sensitivity to delve into the creativity” of someone they never met. The place where Kimmel’s final stitch continued under Wallace’s hands is marked with a tiny heart-shape red button. “When I saw that, I burst out crying,” said Heagy, who has draped the throw blanket across her favorite reading chair. “Angie’s blanket hugs me,” said Heagy, “and it was a real comfort to talk to Bobbie, who has such an open heart, about my daughter.”

The power of top 100 relationships in leadership success Forbes; by David Nour; 12/18/24 In today’s fast-paced, hyper-connected world, leadership success often hinges on one defining factor: the depth, health, and relevance of your most valuable relationships. Yet, many leaders mistakenly equate having an extensive network with having a meaningful or impactful one. ... However, authentic leadership thrives not in the breadth of relationships but in their depth, quality, and relevance. As leaders, we must embrace a critical shift: moving away from collecting contacts and toward cultivating authentic, intentional, and strategic relationships. These top-tier relationships—our Top 100—are not merely assets but the foundation of professional and personal success. This fundamental mindset shift must also cascade throughout our organizations ...

MCS students make gifts for Iowa River Hospice patients Times-Republican; by Lana Bradstream; 12/26/24 Marshalltown Christian School students put their creativity to work and brought some Christmas cheer to Iowa River Hospice patients this year. “This is the first time we have initiated this type of request,” said Pamela Wells, Iowa River Hospice volunteer coordinator and community liaison. “We thought it would be a wonderful collaboration for the holidays. I’m hoping that we can continue to work with them throughout the year.” Seventeen first-grade students gave 40 patients cards or door hangers, using designs they created. Before the holiday arrived, the handmade gifts were delivered to the patients via chaplains, nurses, aides, social workers and volunteers. 

For young adults, caregiving isn't just hard. It can shape you for life. National Public Radio - CAI - Local NPR for the Cape, Coast & Islands; by Kat McGown; 12/23/24 ... There are days when Jordyn Glick, 27, can't eat or drink at all. She gets so tired and weak she can barely stand up. She has gastroparesis, where food stalls out in her stomach and doesn't get digested. It comes with unpredictable bouts of nausea, periods of agony in her guts, and malnutrition. ... Dakota Heath, her 26-year-old boyfriend of four years, is her watchman, "always picking up on the small things," he says. He's on alert for her next flareup, the kind that can leave her bedridden for a week. ... Young caregivers have always been there, doing all the same things that adults do — ... About one-quarter of all family caregivers are between 18 and 36, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving. One survey suggests that almost half of them are men. They're more likely to be Latino or Black; a survey in 2018 found that only 17% were white. They've just been invisible. "They fall into every potential crack that exists," says Melinda Kavanaugh, a professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee who is one of the few researchers who study this population. In terms of resources, "Nothing is targeted for a 22-year-old. Nothing."

U.S. health care spending reaches $4.9 trillion Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 12/20/24 The nation’s total health expenditures rose 7.5% to $4.9 trillion in 2023, a new analysis by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) found. This growth took place at a faster pace in 2023 than prior years. In 2022, health care spending rose at a rate of 4.6%. Total Medicare hospice spending accounted for $25.7 billion last year, according to a separate report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). ... About 21% of U.S. health care spending in 2023 was via Medicare, with private insurance representing a 30% share. Medicaid accounted for 21%, and the remaining 10% were out-of-pocket costs. “Hospital care, physician and clinical services, and nursing care facilities and continuing care retirement communities, which collectively accounted for 33% of all out-of-pocket spending in 2023, were the main contributors to the faster growth in 2023,” CMS indicated.

Beyond the logo: The healthcare executive’s guide to creating genuine healthcare technology partnerships Healthcare IT News; by Notable; 12/23/24 Understanding both the perspective of the healthcare technology buyer and that of builders and sellers can give healthcare executives greater insight into vendor-customer dynamics and what goes into successful partnerships. Healthcare vendor-customer relationships can vary greatly: some are built on trust and some lack it; some succeed and some don’t; some meet expectations and some fall short. Following these best practices can help both parties to achieve their strategic goals, maximize success, minimize frustration and find true joy in their work. 

Hospice sues Medicare over alleged recouped overpayment errors Bloomberg Law; by Ganny Belloni; 12/23/24 A hospice sued the Biden administration over allegations an agency unlawfully attempted to recoup millions in purported overpayments through inaccurate sampling and extrapolation methods. The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Missouri, claims that a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services contractor had extrapolated the amount the Medicare program incorrectly paid to a handful of beneficiaries under the agency’s hospice benefit to the full “universe” of claims made to Kansas City-based Crossroads Hospice from Nov. 1, 2008, through Oct. 31, 2010.