Biological drugs, or biologics, are innovative therapies for people with debilitating and life-threatening diseases; but these drugs are expensive. In this Q&A, AIR’s Thiyagu Rajakannan, senior researcher and lead for Drug Coverage and Payment Practice in the Health Division at AIR, explains how lower-cost versions of these drugs and promising ...
In the March 2021 report to the Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recommended that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services continue to cover telehealth services after the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). This would allow for a study focused on the effects of telehealth ...
Findings from this brief suggest that steps by Medicare to relax prescribing requirements during the pandemic, such as allowing early refills and larger quantities of medication, likely helped maintain medication adherence for high blood pressure and prevent racial and ethnic disparities in adherence from worsening. ...
Colleges and universities increasingly rely on part-time faculty to meet instructional demands and rein in costs, but rising benefit costs and increased hiring for other types of positions have undercut those savings, a new report by the Delta Cost Project at the American Institutes for Research (AIR) finds. ...
To support the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in developing performance metrics to rate Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, AIR assembled a team of health economists, pharmacoepidemiologists, seasoned SAS programmers, health IT specialists, and research analysts with experience and capacity in CMS methodology and application of statistical ...
This study examined how spending for different categories of Medicare services—inpatient, hospital outpatient, and professional providers, including physicians, physician assistants, clinical social workers, and nurse practitioners—changed from the start of the pandemic through the end of 2021.
A data brief from the Delta Cost Project at AIR focuses on financial struggles of colleges and universities two years after the onset of the Great Recession. Among other findings, the data show that among nonprofit colleges and universities, community colleges suffered the greatest financial hardships of the decade. ...
This spotlight takes a look at the history of Title I, how the program has changed over time, and how it affects children, schools, families and education policy. Experts weigh in on the program's past and future in interviews, briefs, and blogs.
Despite rapid growth spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth visits offset less than half of the decline in in-person visits for elderly Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries five chronic conditions. Additional research is needed to assess the impact of ending telehealth flexibilities on equitable healthcare access and quality. ...
AIR has been awarded a five-year contract to continue to provide support to a federal program that rewards clinicians that provide high-value, high-quality care for Medicare enrollees. AIR will support clinicians’ participation in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) on behalf of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for ...