Aquina Blog

A recent Gallup poll - based on more than 45,000 interviews with adults aged 18 and older, from July 1 to Sept. 30, conducted as part of the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index - indicated the percentage of U.S. adults lacking health insurance rose in the third quarter of 2017 to 12.3%.

The uninsured rate is now the highest recorded since the last quarter of 2014 when it was 12.9%.

This increase in adults without health insurance
represents nearly 3.5 million Americans.

The study suggests several marketplace factors could be a contributing factor. Some insurance companies have stopped offering insurance through the exchanges, and the lack of competition could be driving up the cost of plans for consumers.

As a result, the rising insurance premiums could be compelling some to forgo insurance. The uncertainty about the healthcare law also may be driving the increase.

Some key poll findings include:

• The uninsured rate has risen by 1.8 points among those aged 35 to 64, compared with slightly smaller increases among younger (18 to 34) adults.
• The uninsured rate among black and Hispanic adults has increased by 1.5 and 1.6 points, respectively.
• The percentage of adults with self-paid plans has fallen by 1.3 points, from 21.3% to 20.0%, over this period.

Article by:

Chris Stenglein, Chairman & CEO

Chris Stenglein currently serves as Aquina Health's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors.  He has been involved with the company since September 2012 and is responsible for the overall vision and strategic direction of the company. During his tenure, Stenglein has led Aquina Health to sustained growth and profitability, establishing Aquina Health as an industry leader in healthcare FinTech.

HEALTHCARE NEWS UPDATE

The latest Republican attempt to repeal Obamacare, which is expected to hit the Senate floor for a vote this week, would keep much of the Obamacare tax structure in place, but it would give the money back to the states in the form of block grants and would allow states to design their own health care systems.

HIMSS released the results of its 2016 Connected Health Survey. The survey is reflective of 227 IT, informatics and clinical professionals in U.S. hospitals and health systems with regard to their organization’s current and future use of connected health technologies.

According to the results, more than half of the health systems surveyed say they're using at least three different types of mHealth technology, and more than half are looking at new platforms.

Providers Are Ready to Embrace Connected Health

Some interesting findings include:

• 52% of hospitals use three or more connected health technologies
• 69% are using a mobile-optimized patient portal
• 47% expect to expand their use of connected health technologies in the next few years

A recent article by McKinsey surveyed more than 11,000 people and uncovered some common misconceptions surrounding health care consumerism. The authors note there are several converging forces likely to make healthcare a more dynamic market.

One of the items explored was patient’s acceptance of using technology.  Due to higher deductibles and copayments, greater transparency into provider performance and costs, and the narrowing of available networks, consumers are embracing new technologies to better manage their healthcare.

Many patients are willing to use technology for health-related activities.

The article showed millennials (those between the ages of 18 and 34) were more likely to report using technology for health care purposes, but a considerable number of the older participants were doing so as well. In all age groups, the top two activities were communicating with doctors and scheduling appointments.

The role of a medical practice administrator goes beyond identifying best practices and finding ways to implement them.

Practice leaders also must identify where practice staff members can benefit from additional education and training so programs can be added and administered to help the organization run optimally.

The Medical Group Management Association polled 931 practice leaders and nearly half (47%) said that staff could use additional practice in customer service.