Effects of state reinsurance programs on health insurance exchange premiums and insurer participation

Objective

The aim of the study was to estimate the effect of the state-based reinsurance programs through the section 1332 State Innovation Waivers on health insurance marketplace premiums and insurer participation.

Data Source

2015 to 2022 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Insurance Exchange Compare Datasets.

Study Design

An event study difference-in-differences (DD) model separately for each year of implementation and a synthetic control method (SCM) are used to estimate year-by-year effects following program implementation.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

Not applicable.

Principal Findings

Reinsurance programs were associated with a decline in premiums in the first year of implementation by 10%–13%, 5%–19%, and 11%–17% for bronze, silver, and gold plans (p < 0.05). There is a trend of sustained declines especially for states that implemented their programs in 2019 and 2020. The SCM analyses suggest some effect heterogeneity across states but also premium declines across most states. There is no evidence that reinsurance programs affected insurer participation.

Conclusion

State-based reinsurance programs have the potential to improve the affordability of health insurance coverage. However, reinsurance programs do not appear to have had an effect on insurer participation, highlighting the need for policy makers to consider complementary strategies to encourage insurer participation.     

A meta-analysis for Lianhua Qingwen on the treatment of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

BackgroundTraditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been proven to played a great important role on the treatment of COVID-19. As one of the drugs recommended in Chinese guidelines, Lianhua Qingwen Granules or Capsules (LQ) are widely used.This systematic review and meta-analysis amis to evaluate the clinical efficacy of LQ on the treatment of COVID-19.MethodsSeven databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CNKI, VIP, CBM and Wanfang) were searched to include all appropriate clinical trials that explore the efficacy of LQ on the treatment of COVID-19.ResultA total of 3 trials including 245 COVID-19 patients were eventually enrolled.Compared with the control group,the LQ group showed great significant difference on reducing the rate of clinical change to severe or critical condition[RR = 0.38, 95 %CI (0.17,0.85), P < 0.05]and the fever time (SMD =-0.57,95 %CI (-0.96,-0.17), P<0.05),as well as the significant improvement on the disappearance rate of the clinical symptoms: fever [RR = 1.36,95 %CI (1.14,1.61), P < 0.05],cough[RR = 1.99,95 %CI (1.39,2.86), P < 0.05],fatigue[RR = 1.52,95 %CI (1.15,2.01), P < 0.05] and anhelation [RR = 4.18,95 %CI (1.99,8.81), P < 0.05], but no significance on expectoration[RR = 2.46,95 %CI (0.81,7.51), P < 0.05].ConclusionThe clinical application of LQ on the treatment of COVID-19 has significant efficacy in improving clinical symptoms and reducing the rate of clinical change to severe or critical condition. Nevertheless, due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, more and higher quality trials with more observational indicators are expected to be published.     

Barrett’s esophagus: Review of natural history and comparative efficacy of endoscopic and surgical therapies

Barrett's esophagus (BE) is the precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Progression to cancer typically occurs in a stepwise fashion through worsening dysplasia and ultimately, invasive neoplasia. Established EAC with deep involvement of the esophageal wall and/or metastatic disease is invariably associated with poor long-term survival rates. This guides the rationale of surveillance of Barrett’s in an attempt to treat lesions at an earlier, and potentially curative stage. The last two decades have seen a paradigm shift in management of Barrett’s with rapid expansion in the role of endoscopic eradication therapy (EET) for management of dysplastic and early neoplastic BE, and there have been substantial changes to international consensus guidelines for management of early BE based on evolving evidence. This review aims to assist the physician in the therapeutic decision-making process with patients by comprehensive review and summary of literature surrounding natural history of Barrett’s by histological stage, and the effectiveness of interventions in attenuating the risk posed by its natural history. Key findings were as follows. Non-dysplastic Barrett’s is associated with extremely low risk of progression, and interventions cannot be justified. The annual risk of cancer progression in low grade dysplasia is between 1%-3%; EET can be offered though evidence for its benefit remains confined to highly select settings. High-grade dysplasia progresses to cancer in 5%-10% per year; EET is similarly effective to and less morbid than surgery and should be routinely performed for this indication. Risk of nodal metastases in intramucosal cancer is 2%-4%, which is comparable to operative mortality rate, so EET is usually preferred. Submucosal cancer is associated with nodal metastases in 14%-41% hence surgery remains standard of care, except for select situations.