Volume 44, Issue 4

Health care providers in the United States operate in a complex regulatory and business environment that presents many risks. Providers need to manage compliance risks inherent in operating in this environment. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) assesses risks across HHS programs, including Medicare and Medicaid,…

“Drug prices are too high.” With these five simple words, Alex Azar II, former president of Lilly USA LLC, and now the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, captured the essence of the drug pricing war. It is a conflict that pits the pharmaceutical companies against doctors, hospitals, insurers, regulators, and consumers. The…

Peril to Medicaid exists on many different fronts. In 2017, Congress nearly succeeded in fundamentally altering Medicaid by capping federal expenditures on it, regardless of need, and ending eligibility for many Americans. Medicaid reimbursement to providers is also very much at risk, jeopardizing not only access to coverage for Medicaid beneficiaries, but access to care,…

The population of Minnesota is rapidly becoming more racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse. People of color (those self-identifying as one or more races other than white and/or Latino) who made up 14 percent of the population in 2005 will increase to 25 percent by 2035, adding more than 500,000 people of color between now  and…

“Life is messy and full of compounding consequences.” Although environmental law professor Sanne Knudsen was writing about the cumulative public health risk of exposure to chemicals and pesticides, these words could just as easily apply to the various public health risks managed by healthcare organizations. Little is known about the cumulative risk for healthcare organizations.…