JANUARY 2017 EDITION
 
Medicaid expansion boosted Michigan's economy and will continue to do so IHPI study finds

Michigan's expansion of Medicaid health insurance coverage has boosted the state's economy and budget, and will continue to do so for at least the next five years, according to a new study released by lead author and IHPI Director, John Ayanian, M.D., M.P.P., and Helen Levy, Ph.D., research professor at the Institute for Social Research.


The expansion's total economic impact will generate more than enough funds for the state budget to cover the cost of the program in the current fiscal year, the researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine.  READ THE PRESS RELEASE


ALSO: A new IHPI  study shows that soon after the Medicaid expansion happened in Michigan, many hospitals saw a major drop in uncompensated care - a measure that includes unpaid bills and charity care.  READ THE STORY
 
 
Video spotlight: How IHPI is tackling some of the toughest issues in health care

As highlighted in the introduction to our new video about IHPI, "Innovation is at the core of everything we do. It has to be. It takes creativity, imagination and vision to affect change in healthcare. IHPI is a place where intellectual energy and passion for improving public health converge."

IHPI is a vibrant home for health services researchers collaborating to tackle some of the toughest issues in health and healthcare, a place where intellectual energy and passion for improving public health converge. See why in this new video.

 
  NEWS
National VA effort reduced risky opioid prescriptions for veterans

Fewer veterans received prescriptions for risky dosages of opioid painkillers after a national initiative took aim at reducing high doses and potentially dangerous drug combinations, a new study finds.


The study, published in the journal Pain and led-by Mark Ilgen, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry, and co-authored by Amy Bohnert, Ph.D., M.H.S., associate professor of psychiatry, and others, looked at the effect of the Opioid Safety Initiative rolled out by the Veterans Health Administration in late 2013 to promote safer opioid prescribing. The study examined implementation of the OSI across all of the nation's 141 VA hospitals.

 
 
Five-minute chats in the waiting room may prompt families to eat more fruits and vegetables

In five-minute conversations in the waiting room of a health clinic, A University of Michigan-led team told eligible participants about a program called Double Up Food Bucks that matches food assistance dollars spent on fruits and vegetables. This brief interaction prompted increased fruit and vegetable consumption and led to an almost fourfold increase in program use among families, according to the findings published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

 
 
Where hospitals send surgery patients to heal matters a lot for health care costs

But a new U-M study published in Health Affairs finds huge variation in where they end up, depending on where they had their operation. And that variation in turn leads to huge differences in how much their care costs, the research shows. 

 
 
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MORE IHPI NEWS
 
Looking for an expert? Start your search on our Experts page. Use category filters, or search by name or keyword.

The Institute brings great minds together to address healthcare's biggest challenges. More than 490 investigators come to IHPI from U-M's top-ranked schools of medicine, nursing, public health, engineering, social work, law, business, and public policy, among others, as well as members of affiliated local research organizations.
 
Innovations in hospital payment models: the pros and cons of bundled payments

As health care costs for the nation's growing population of older adults continue to rise, the federal government has been considering different measures to help rein in spending while ensuring incentives to improve the quality and efficiency of care remain in place.


One such approach is by "bundling" Medicare payments to hospitals for a range of health care services required to treat a particular condition. These alternative payment models are intended to spur coordinated care between hospitals and other providers to reduce potentially unnecessary services that may be contributing to big variations in costs.

A University of Michigan team of researchers is informing the conversation about these models, and their work is likely to help shape how they are refined and implemented in the near future.

 
 
Rural America could be most harmed by promise to repeal the ACA

In a piece for The Conversation, University of Michigan emergency medicine physicians Margaret Greenwood-Ericksen, M.D., M.P.H.,and Mahshid Abir, M.D., M.Sc., argue that Medicaid expansion through the ACA has resulted in critical gains toward improving rural population health by expanding insurance coverage and stabilizing rural hospitals.


They write, "The repeal of Medicaid expansion and collapse of the individual insurance market, which could occur as part of repeal of the ACA, could threaten strides the country has made in advancing the health of rural America."

 
  EVENTS
See all upcoming events on our Events page
 
People, Place, and Public Health: Reflections from Detroit

Date: February 17, 2017
Time: 3:00 ---4:00 p.m.
Location: North Campus Research Complex, Building 10, Research Auditorium
Featured Speaker: Abdul El-Sayed, M.D., D.Phil., executive director, Detroit Health Department, and health officer, City of Detroit

 
Dr. El-Sayed
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is a public health physician and epidemiologist. He serves the City of Detroit under Mayor Michael E. Duggan as Health Officer and Executive Director of the Detroit Health Department.

In his role as Detroit's top health official, Dr. El-Sayed also serves on several public health boards, including the Governor's Childhood Lead Elimination Board, created in the wake of the Flint Water Crisis, as well as the Advisory Committee to the US Secretary of Health & Human Services to elucidate forthcoming Healthy People 2030 objectives. Dr. El-Sayed is an internationally recognized expert in health policy, the social determinants of health, and health inequalities.
 
 
Pandemic! Contagious Crises From AIDS to Zika

Date: April 7, 2017
Time: 1:00 --- 6:30 p.m.
Location: University of Michigan, Biomedical Science Research Building,
Kahn Auditorium, 109 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Mark your calendars for this national conference on pandemics, co-sponsored by the U-M Center for the History of Medicine and the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.

Speakers include Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder, Partners In Health, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN medical correspondent.

 
Healthy Minds Study: Research on adolescent and young adult mental health

 
The Healthy Minds Study (HMS), an annual survey based in the School of Public Health with significant involvement from the Institute for Social Research and the U-M Depression Center, launched in 2007. HMS examines mental health service utilization and related issues among undergraduate and graduate students. It has been fielded at more than 125 college and university campuses across the U.S. and internationally, with over 150,000 survey respondents.

Check out more historic milestones in U-M health professional education, health services research, and health policy through IHPI's interactive timeline.
 
ABOUT IHPI
The Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation is committed to improving the quality, safety, equity, and affordability of healthcare services.

To carry out our ambitious mission, our efforts are focused in four areas:
  • Evaluating the impact of healthcare reforms
  • Improving the health of communities
  • Promoting greater value in healthcare
  • Innovating in IT and healthcare delivery

SUPPORT IHPI
If you are interested in supporting health services and health policy research at the University of Michigan, click here

IHPI Informs is published monthly by the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation.
 
CONTACT US
U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation
North Campus Research Complex (NCRC)
2800 Plymouth Road, Building 16
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Christina Camilli-Whisenhunt
IHPI Communications Manager
camillic@umich.edu
734-764-9782

Kara Gavin
IHPI Research & Policy Media Relations Manager
734-764-2220
 
Eileen Kostanecki
IHPI Government & External Relations Director
202-554-0578

Patrick Cliff
IHPI Associate Director of Development
pcliff@umich.edu
734-998-7705
 
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