Newsroom
Read about our latest research, initiatives, announcements, and other news.
Economic Toll of Opioid Crisis in U.S. Exceeded $1 Trillion Since 2001
February 13, 2018 | Press Release
The cost of the country’s opioid crisis is estimated to have exceeded $1 trillion from 2001 to 2017, and is projected to cost an additional $500 billion by 2020, according to analysis released today by Altarum, a nonprofit health research and consulting institute.
Altarum Introduces MIPScast™: A Scoring Tool that Helps Clinicians Achieve the Highest Possible Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Scores
January 23, 2018 | Press Release
Altarum announces MIPScast™, a user-friendly, interactive web-based tool designed to help clinicians predict and improve their Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) scores in order to comply with the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).
National Health Spending Holds Steady at 18% of GDP
January 12, 2018 | Press Release
U.S. health sector spending continues to grow at a more sustainable rate, driven in part by a slowdown in hiring, hospital spending, and price growth in hospitals, physician and clinical services, and prescription drugs, according to Altarum’s latest Health Sector Economic Indicators briefs.
Michigan Association of Health Plans Selects Payformance Solutions to Ease Medicaid Value-Based Contracts
January 08, 2018 | Press Release
Payformance Solutions, a leading provider of value-based reimbursement solutions and services, today announced a pilot program with the Michigan Association of Health Plans (MAHP) in which the state's Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) will have the opportunity to use Payformance's TrustHub solution to collaborate through data sharing and strategic planning to uncover the best opportunities in value-based contracting.
We Can't Let Infant Mortality Disparities Continue
January 05, 2018 | Perspective
The rate at which children die in the first year of life—a basic measure of population health—has declined in the U.S. over the past decade, but remains higher than peer nations, and varies dramatically for populations across the country.
Health Care Spending Growth Appears to Stabilize in 2016, 2017
December 15, 2017 | Press Release
New data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which show slower growth in 2016, combined with other slow-growth trends in 2017, suggest overall national health spending is stabilizing, according to Altarum’s monthly Health Sector Economic Indicators briefs.
WIC Pilot Program Launches Preventive Dental Services to Children in Detroit and Beyond
December 14, 2017 | Press Release
A partnership between several nonprofit and government organizations has led to more than 1,000 children over the past year visiting a dentist in Wayne County. The pilot program, funded by the Delta Dental Foundation, brings together Altarum’s Michigan Caries Prevention Program and McMillen Health to provide oral health training and program evaluation to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.
Altarum's Response to CMS's Request for a "New Direction"
December 01, 2017 | Announcement
Altarum responded to the CMS Innovation Center’s informal Request for Information on a new direction to promote patient-centered care and test market-driven reforms that empower beneficiaries as consumers, provide price transparency, increase choices and competition to drive quality, reduce costs, and improve outcomes.