The Commonwealth Fund

Truck drivers spend most of their day sitting, which puts them at a high risk of obesity, heart disease, and high blood pressure, among other health problems.

But a visionary doctor who cares for union truck drivers in Tulsa, Oklahoma, came up with a plan to integrate exercise into their daily routine. When they stop to check the tires, for example, they can walk around the truck six times instead of just once.

On this episode of The Dose, Shanoor Seervai interviews Mark Blum of America’s Agenda, an alliance of labor unions, employers, health care providers, and government leaders, about how innovative unions are changing the way care is delivered.

State Medicaid programs have played a key role by making naloxone affordable for low-income people struggling with opioid use disorder. This role has grown since 2014 as 36 states and the District of Columbia have expanded eligibility for Medicaid to cover low-income, childless adults.

There are “Choosing Wisely” campaigns to combat the overuse of health care in more than 20 countries. In each country, campaigns partner with national clinician societies to making recommendations about unnecessary and commonly overused medical practices that can harm to patients.

Telehealth, which uses telecommunications to support virtual health care delivery to improve access to and quality of health care, is moving from promise to reality. The benefits are appealing: Patients can interact with their providers remotely, which improves access to care and can help providers manage chronic conditions from afar.

High-quality primary care is critically important for health. Unfortunately, for low-income people, it often falls short of meeting needs. Over the past year and a half, the Commonwealth Fund held focus groups with more than 100 low-income patients and 30 primary care physicians (PCPs) serving them. Patients and their doctors identified several barriers that hinder access and ability to provide high-quality primary health care and discussed potential solutions.

The Trump administration has made the formation of association health plans (AHPs) — those offered by business or professional associations to their members — a central focus of its health policy agenda by significantly expanding their reach, but a federal court decision made in March has found the new rules violate federal tax law.

It is estimated that up to 30% of all health care offers no clinical value to patients.

On March 1, 2019, New Hampshire restricted its Medicaid eligibility expansion to require adults ages 19 to 64 to work at least 100 hours per month. Beginning in June, those who fail to report sufficient working hours for two or more months will be dropped from the Medicaid rolls.

Choosing Wisely Australia is an initiative of NPS MedicineWise, who provide evidence-based information and tools to improve appropriateness and quality of prescription medicines in Australia.