David Schleifer
@davidschleifer.bsky.social
Associate Director of Programs at the Peterson Center on Healthcare, focused on affordability and transparency. Views are my own, or a least I hope so.
Health plan price data could get easier to use
www.benefitspro.com/2025/12/23/e... #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
www.benefitspro.com/2025/12/23/e... #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
Employer health plan price data could get easier to use
The Trump administration has drafted regulations aimed at making the transparency files fit in ordinary computers.
www.benefitspro.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Health plan price data could get easier to use
www.benefitspro.com/2025/12/23/e... #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
www.benefitspro.com/2025/12/23/e... #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
CMS said TiC data “has been difficult to access due to oversized files, duplicative data, and information that could not be easily compared across the health insurance landscape“
www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/cms-pro... #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/cms-pro... #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
CMS proposes updates to insurer transparency requirements
Proposed rule increases requirements for price comparison tools by aligning them with consumer protections established under the No Surprises Act.
www.healthcarefinancenews.com
December 24, 2025 at 3:13 PM
CMS said TiC data “has been difficult to access due to oversized files, duplicative data, and information that could not be easily compared across the health insurance landscape“
www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/cms-pro... #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/cms-pro... #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
CMS proposes tightening insurer price transparency requirements buff.ly/7g0kEfb #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
CMS proposes tightening insurer price transparency requirements
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a draft regulation that would change how negotiated rates are disclosed.
buff.ly
December 23, 2025 at 3:17 PM
CMS proposes tightening insurer price transparency requirements buff.ly/7g0kEfb #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
"David Muhlestein is out with another study that broadly finds insurers aren’t even publishing all the necessary data for the right things, which technically violates the law," via @bobjherman.bsky.social in @statnews.com buff.ly/X6xYl2E Full study at buff.ly/luPZM4l #healthcare #healthpolicy
Medicare’s $16 billion lifeline to Part D plans
buff.ly
December 15, 2025 at 3:17 PM
"David Muhlestein is out with another study that broadly finds insurers aren’t even publishing all the necessary data for the right things, which technically violates the law," via @bobjherman.bsky.social in @statnews.com buff.ly/X6xYl2E Full study at buff.ly/luPZM4l #healthcare #healthpolicy
Reposted by David Schleifer
25 years ago today, SCOTUS elected George W Bush president of the United States by blocking completion of a voting canvass in Florida. A subsequent canvass by the Associated Press showed that Bush's rival, Al Gore, had won the race in Florida—and thus the contest for the presidency—by 700 votes.
December 12, 2025 at 5:36 AM
25 years ago today, SCOTUS elected George W Bush president of the United States by blocking completion of a voting canvass in Florida. A subsequent canvass by the Associated Press showed that Bush's rival, Al Gore, had won the race in Florida—and thus the contest for the presidency—by 700 votes.
Research in AJMC Population Health, Equity & Outcomes "asserts that three of the country’s largest health insurers — Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare — have not fully complied with federal price transparency rules designed to help employers control #healthcare costs"
Costs for employer-sponsored health insurance plans outpace inflation in all 50 states
Costs for employer-sponsored health insurance plans outpaced inflation across all states from 2023 to 2024, according to an issue brief.
buff.ly
December 12, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Research in AJMC Population Health, Equity & Outcomes "asserts that three of the country’s largest health insurers — Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare — have not fully complied with federal price transparency rules designed to help employers control #healthcare costs"
Payers called out for price transparency failures: A study rates Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare on compliance with Transparency in Coverage requirements, finding major gaps among all three major U.S. payers buff.ly/IHMYnur #healthcare #healthecon #healthpolicy
Aetna, Cigna, United called out for price transparency failures | TechTarget
A study rates Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare on compliance with Transparency in Coverage requirements, finding major gaps among all three major U.S. payers.
buff.ly
December 11, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Payers called out for price transparency failures: A study rates Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare on compliance with Transparency in Coverage requirements, finding major gaps among all three major U.S. payers buff.ly/IHMYnur #healthcare #healthecon #healthpolicy
Three of the nation's biggest health insurers have provided an incomplete picture of their negotiated prices in transparency data that's required by federal rules, via Axios buff.ly/qkpuJPf #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
Big insurers provide incomplete transparency data: Study
Partial disclosure by UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Cigna could leave employers in the dark.
buff.ly
December 11, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Three of the nation's biggest health insurers have provided an incomplete picture of their negotiated prices in transparency data that's required by federal rules, via Axios buff.ly/qkpuJPf #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
Insurers not fully complying with price transparency rules, via Becker's buff.ly/BiFWx7N #healthcare #healthecon #healthpolicy
Insurers not fully complying with price transparency rules: Study - Becker's Payer Issues | Payer News
Insurers are publishing incomplete price transparency data, with hospital inpatient information particularly sparse, according to a study published in the American Journal of Managed Care in…
buff.ly
December 11, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Insurers not fully complying with price transparency rules, via Becker's buff.ly/BiFWx7N #healthcare #healthecon #healthpolicy
Insurers are required to a monthly files listing their negotiated rates with every #healthcare provider. New research finds that UnitedHealthcare is only reporting prices for 8% of hospital inpatient services & Cigna is only reporting 20% of prices for hospital outpatient services
Price Transparency With Gaps: Assessing the Completeness of Payer Transparency in Coverage Data | AJMC
In analyzing 2025 Transparency in Coverage (TIC) files from national insurers, the authors found vast payer-level differences; overall, physician/outpatient data were more complete, and hospital…
buff.ly
December 10, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Insurers are required to a monthly files listing their negotiated rates with every #healthcare provider. New research finds that UnitedHealthcare is only reporting prices for 8% of hospital inpatient services & Cigna is only reporting 20% of prices for hospital outpatient services
Health insurers' Transparency in Coverage (TiC) data is a powerful resource for understanding and controlling #healthcare costs. But new research from David Muhlestein & Yuvraj Pathak finds that some of the largest insurers are posting incomplete TiC data. buff.ly/luPZM4l #healthpolicy #healthecon
Price Transparency With Gaps: Assessing the Completeness of Payer Transparency in Coverage Data | AJMC
In analyzing 2025 Transparency in Coverage (TIC) files from national insurers, the authors found vast payer-level differences; overall, physician/outpatient data were more complete, and hospital…
buff.ly
December 10, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Health insurers' Transparency in Coverage (TiC) data is a powerful resource for understanding and controlling #healthcare costs. But new research from David Muhlestein & Yuvraj Pathak finds that some of the largest insurers are posting incomplete TiC data. buff.ly/luPZM4l #healthpolicy #healthecon
Johnson & Johnson ERISA suit over drug costs dismissed by federal judge, who ruled that plaintiffs failed to show they had standing to allege that the company had breached its fiduciary duty. Plaintiffs were given 30 days to file a third amended complaint. buff.ly/Q7cyH58 #healthcare #healthpolicy
Johnson & Johnson ERISA suit over drug costs dismissed by federal judge
Judge Quraishi ruled that the connection between premiums paid by plan participants and out-of-pocket costs and the administrative fees the plans paid to their pharmacy benefit manager was…
buff.ly
December 4, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Johnson & Johnson ERISA suit over drug costs dismissed by federal judge, who ruled that plaintiffs failed to show they had standing to allege that the company had breached its fiduciary duty. Plaintiffs were given 30 days to file a third amended complaint. buff.ly/Q7cyH58 #healthcare #healthpolicy
December’s Lipid of the Month, alpha-pinene, one of the compounds in conifers which contribute to the distinctive pine forest smell
December’s #LipidoftheMonth travels from Norway to London every December within a Christmas tree
lipidmaps.org/updates/lipi...
lipidmaps.org/updates/lipi...
December 4, 2025 at 7:19 PM
December’s Lipid of the Month, alpha-pinene, one of the compounds in conifers which contribute to the distinctive pine forest smell
There are several jobs open at the Peterson Center on Healthcare & the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in communications, grant operations, and programs:
Careers
The Center seeks creative, engaged, and knowledgeable professionals interested in innovative solutions to address America’s greatest healthcare challenges.
buff.ly
December 2, 2025 at 7:50 PM
There are several jobs open at the Peterson Center on Healthcare & the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in communications, grant operations, and programs:
I volunteer with Neighbors Together because their model is powerful and unique: They provide people with delicious food, connect them to housing and social services, and advocate for policies to end hunger and poverty. I hope you will consider donating at
Holidays Without Hunger 2025 Event
I'm fundraising for Neighbors Together's Holidays Without Hunger campaign. Neighbors Together serves thousands of our neighbors. Help me make an impact with them here:…
buff.ly
December 2, 2025 at 3:17 PM
I volunteer with Neighbors Together because their model is powerful and unique: They provide people with delicious food, connect them to housing and social services, and advocate for policies to end hunger and poverty. I hope you will consider donating at
Ghost rates in #healthcare payers' Transparency in Coverage (TiC) data can significantly increase the size of data files and make data cleaning far more difficult than necessary academic.oup.com/healthaffair... #healthpolicy #healthecon
High prevalence of ghost rates in transparency in coverage data
In 2019, an executive order1 required hospitals and insurers to release negotiated rates for services—hospitals in 20212 and insurers in 2022.3 In 2025, an
academic.oup.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Ghost rates in #healthcare payers' Transparency in Coverage (TiC) data can significantly increase the size of data files and make data cleaning far more difficult than necessary academic.oup.com/healthaffair... #healthpolicy #healthecon
Ghost rates 👻 negotiated rates for services that providers never perform👻 make insurers' Transparency in Coverage (TiC) files very large & difficult to analyze. New research shows nearly 92% of negotiated rates in TiC data are useless ghost rates buff.ly/lAMotWZ #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
High prevalence of ghost rates in transparency in coverage data
In 2019, an executive order1 required hospitals and insurers to release negotiated rates for services—hospitals in 20212 and insurers in 2022.3 In 2025, an
buff.ly
November 21, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Ghost rates 👻 negotiated rates for services that providers never perform👻 make insurers' Transparency in Coverage (TiC) files very large & difficult to analyze. New research shows nearly 92% of negotiated rates in TiC data are useless ghost rates buff.ly/lAMotWZ #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
Dermatologist don't do heart transplants. But the transparency in coverage files that insurers release often have rates for providers that do not provide services. David Muhlestein quantifies ghost rates in TiC in Health Affairs Scholar buff.ly/lAMotWZ #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthinsurance
High prevalence of ghost rates in transparency in coverage data
In 2019, an executive order1 required hospitals and insurers to release negotiated rates for services—hospitals in 20212 and insurers in 2022.3 In 2025, an
buff.ly
November 20, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Dermatologist don't do heart transplants. But the transparency in coverage files that insurers release often have rates for providers that do not provide services. David Muhlestein quantifies ghost rates in TiC in Health Affairs Scholar buff.ly/lAMotWZ #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthinsurance
"We’ve been telling Americans to prioritize low-fat dairy products “based on almost no evidence” showing they’re better for health, said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and the director of the Food Is Medicine Institute at Tufts University." Amen to that!
Is Full-Fat Dairy Healthier?
Americans have been told to prioritize low-fat dairy for decades, but Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called that recommendation into question.
buff.ly
November 18, 2025 at 7:50 PM
"We’ve been telling Americans to prioritize low-fat dairy products “based on almost no evidence” showing they’re better for health, said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and the director of the Food Is Medicine Institute at Tufts University." Amen to that!
"New Jersey's largest health insurer agreed to pay $100 million to resolve allegations that the health-insurance company had ripped off taxpayers by overpaying for care, in a pact made public on Friday." buff.ly/LPzsdG5 #healthcare #healthinsurance #healthpolicy #newjersey
buff.ly
November 17, 2025 at 3:17 PM
"New Jersey's largest health insurer agreed to pay $100 million to resolve allegations that the health-insurance company had ripped off taxpayers by overpaying for care, in a pact made public on Friday." buff.ly/LPzsdG5 #healthcare #healthinsurance #healthpolicy #newjersey
Since 2017, the Lown Institute has held its annual Shkreli Awards to shine a light on egregious examples of profiteering and dysfunction in #healthcare. Ahead of this year’s awards on December 11, they checking in to see what their most disreputable alums have been up to
Past Shkreli winners: Where are they now? - Lown Institute
Ahead of this year’s Shkreli’s on Thursday, December 11, we’re revisiting several past winners who reappeared in headlines this year—a Shkreli “class reunion” of sorts—to see what our most…
buff.ly
November 13, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Since 2017, the Lown Institute has held its annual Shkreli Awards to shine a light on egregious examples of profiteering and dysfunction in #healthcare. Ahead of this year’s awards on December 11, they checking in to see what their most disreputable alums have been up to
Legal immigrants face loss of Obamacare help, threatening insurance markets
Legal immigrants face loss of Obamacare help, threatening insurance markets
The GOP megabill stripped subsidies from hundreds of thousands of green card holders and other legal migrants. Experts predict ripple effects for citizens.
buff.ly
November 11, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Legal immigrants face loss of Obamacare help, threatening insurance markets
New analysis from 46brooklyn Research raises questions about Cigna's role in setting #pharmaceutical prices, as its subsidiary Quallent Pharmaceuticals sells generics at prices that skew higher than many competing suppliers buff.ly/YZJjdmy #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
buff.ly
November 7, 2025 at 7:50 PM
New analysis from 46brooklyn Research raises questions about Cigna's role in setting #pharmaceutical prices, as its subsidiary Quallent Pharmaceuticals sells generics at prices that skew higher than many competing suppliers buff.ly/YZJjdmy #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
How are states using #hospital price caps to save money? buff.ly/nyBc2hH #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
Health Affairs Journal
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buff.ly
November 7, 2025 at 3:17 PM
How are states using #hospital price caps to save money? buff.ly/nyBc2hH #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon