States are several months into Medicaid unwinding—a process that began in earnest this spring when Covid-era rules incentivizing states to halt Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility determinations ended after three-plus years.

Health officials in many states have approached redeterminations differently.

Some, for example, started the renewal process for certain cohorts as early as February, while most states began in April or later. The majority of states opted to spread the unwinding over 12 months, and two chose to do so over 10 months. Meanwhile, 22 states have prioritized individuals who they’ve determined are likely ineligible to renew their Medicaid or CHIP benefits.

The efforts have led to varying state-level results and complications—and some critics have described the process as “chaos.” All states and DC finished at least one full renewal cohort as of August 31, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Keep reading here.—SY

Do you work in healthcare or have information about the industry that we should know? Email Shannon at [email protected]. For confidential conversations, ask Shannon for her number on Signal.

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Near-term healthcare appointments, doctors with hospital affiliations, and dermatology consultations were among the top booking trends for 2023, according to a new report from Zocdoc, a healthcare booking platform and marketplace.

The report, released on December 12, is based on data from millions of patients who used Zocdoc to search for and book in-person or virtual appointments. The platform connects patients to nearly 100,000 providers across 250 specialties nationwide.

Here are some of the highlights:

Women snagged the appointments. About two-thirds of bookers (65%) were women, and of the users who made appointments on behalf of others, 56% were women. Zocdoc also noted that “while women in every age group were more proactive bookers than their male counterparts, the gap closed as patients age.”

Keep reading here.—AE

Do you work in healthcare or have information about the industry that we should know? Email Amanda at [email protected]. For confidential conversations, ask Amanda for her number on Signal.

The new year is approaching, and that means everyone is writing out their 2024 goals and priorities—including health systems.

NewYork–Presbyterian, one of the largest health systems in New York, has prioritized implementing its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy in 2024, Peter Fleischut, group SVP and chief transformation and information officer at the health system, told Healthcare Brew.

At the core of the health system’s AI strategy is streamlining workflows to make it easier for providers to care for patients, Fleischut said. “It is important for us to make sure that we don’t just implement technology for technology’s sake,” Fleischut said. “A big part of our role is to really understand the business, understand how we’re trying to take care of patients, and make sure we’re applying technology where technology should be applied.”

Keep reading here.—MA

Do you work in healthcare or have information about the industry that we should know? Email Maia at [email protected]. For confidential conversations, ask Maia for her number on Signal.

Today’s top healthcare reads.

Stat: Only about 15% of older adults sought out an RSV vaccine this year, despite the FDA approving the jabs in May. (the New York Times)

Quote: “Every other patient in the clinic has a respiratory tract infection due to prolonged exposure to cold and rain.”—Nicholas Papachrysostomou, emergency coordinator in Gaza with Doctors Without Borders, on the collapse of one Palestinian city’s health system (ABC News)

Read: Mississippi officials often see “no other option” than to temporarily jail people with substance use issues or serious mental illnesses because the state lacks sufficient healthcare facilities to treat these patients. (ProPublica)

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