Medical Economics Pulse, Feb. 14, 2025: Physician groups on Medicaid cuts, health care spending gaps, AI-powered diabetes care

Hello and welcome to Medical Economics Pulse, a quick-hitting news podcast that keeps busy physicians in the know. We offer concise updates on the most important developments affecting your practice, your bottom line, and the broader health care landscape, delivered to you by our editorial team at Medical Economics.

It’s February 14, 2025, and here are today’s headlines:

Leading physician organizations that represent family physicians, internists, pediatricians and others are urging lawmakers to shield Medicaid from potential funding cuts and policy changes that may occur during the Trump administration. They emphasize Medicaid’s essential role in providing health coverage for vulnerable populations. The groups wrote: “For decades, the Medicaid program has provided health care coverage for millions of people in communities large and small, urban and rural. Cuts to Medicaid will have grave consequences for patients, communities and the entire health care system.”

There's a new study out in which researchers examined a massive data set on health care spending, county by county. They found a wide range in per capita spending, from about $3,400 in Clark County, Idaho, to more than $13,000 in Nassau County, New York. Researchers found that per person spending was driven more by variation in utilization rates than variation in price and intensity of care. The researchers intended the study to be the most comprehensive review of American health care spending yet. They examined more than 40 billion insurance claims and nearly 1 billion facility records.

Finally, the University of Virginia is piloting a cutting-edge project that uses artificial intelligence to optimize insulin delivery for patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The system continuously analyzes blood sugar levels and adjusts insulin doses in real time, aiming to reduce the risk of complications. Experts believe this AI-driven approach may offer more personalized diabetes management and better quality of life for patients. If successful, it could pave the way for broader implementation of similar technologies in chronic disease care nationwide.

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