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TRILLIANT HEALTH RESEARCH
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Increased Outpatient Coding Intensity Following Hospital Adoption of AI-Enabled Scribing Warrants Examination but Likely Reflects Enhanced Rules-Based Documentation
Read the StudyMarch 12, 2026
Increased Outpatient Coding Intensity Following Hospital Adoption of AI-Enabled Scribing Warrants Examination but Likely Reflects Enhanced Rules-Based Documentation
Adoption of AI-enabled scribing in hospitals increased outpatient coding intensity, likely due to more accurate documentation, raising questions about impact on billing, reimbursement and fraud risks.
Katie Patton
StudiesMarch 05, 2026
As RPM Growth Slows, Medicare Expands Coverage While Commercial Insurers Question Effectiveness
RPM growth has slowed, with Medicare expanding coverage, but commercial insurers restricting requirements due to mixed evidence of effectiveness, concentrating use in cardiovascular and metabolic cases.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
FundamentalsMarch 03, 2026
Examining CMS’s National Health Expenditure Estimates for 2024
U.S. healthcare spending keeps rising, driven by higher prices, shifting care to outpatient settings and greater treatment intensity, even as overall care utilization remains flat or declines.
Clara Petrucelli • Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesFebruary 26, 2026
Cancer Survival Up 140% Since the Mid-1970s, but Mortality Improvements Are Uneven Across Racial Groups
ACS projects 2.1M new cancer cases and 626,140 deaths in the U.S. for 2026. Five-year survival has reached 70%, but disparities persist by race, region and socioeconomic status.
Clara Petrucelli • Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesFebruary 19, 2026
Intra-Market Rate Variation Can Lead to Spending Differences that Exceed $102M for a Single Orthopedic Procedure in Dallas-Fort Worth
Health plan price transparency data reveals notable price variation for the same procedures, enabling employers to cut costs by steering employees to high-value providers and optimizing network choices.
Katie Patton • Jim Browne • Chris Rash • David Taylor • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesFebruary 12, 2026
In the Same Market, Medicare Episodes of Care Can Range Up to 80x
Surgical volume for mandatory TEAM surgical procedures varies widely (one to 3,300 eligible Medicare procedures per hospital), while 30-day Medicare episode costs can differ up to 80x within the same market (e.g., $1,829 to $146,069 for a spinal fusion). These cost disparities exist despite minimal variation in quality. Even hospitals with strong occupancy and margins can exhibit inefficient downstream care. Consequently, TEAM reimbursement outcomes will be driven largely by cost management rather than quality differentiation.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • David Taylor • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StrategyFebruary 10, 2026
AI in Healthcare: Current Uses, Shared Challenges and Future Stakeholder Opportunities
As excitement around the healthcare applications of AI grows, understanding how health economy stakeholders are actually using AI, their challenges and future opportunities is crucial to navigate the rapidly shifting health economy.
Sarah Millender • Clara Petrucelli • Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D. • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesFebruary 05, 2026
While Quality Is Relatively Comparable Across TEAM Hospitals, Financial Health Is Highly Variable
An analysis of 724 hospitals in CMS’s mandatory TEAM model, examining operating margins, readmissions, payer mix and more.
Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D. • David Taylor
StudiesJanuary 29, 2026
More Americans Are Dying at Home but Hospital-Based Deaths Remain Most Common
Place of death in the U.S. is shifting: hospitals remain most common (34.6% in 2024), while deaths at home rose to 34.3% from 2018–2024.
Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
FundamentalsJanuary 27, 2026
Middlemen in the U.S. Healthcare System: Shaping Costs and Complexity
Middlemen such PBMs, GPOs, TPAs and health insurance brokers play a central role in connecting stakeholders across healthcare, but their influence is increasingly under scrutiny for contributing to financial waste.
Clara Petrucelli • Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesJanuary 22, 2026
Primary Care Panels Vary in Size Based on Demographic Factors and Employment Structure
Primary care patient panels vary widely across practice settings, with employment status emerging as a crucial indicator.
Katie Patton • Colin Macon • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesJanuary 15, 2026
Potential Revenue Impacts of Elimination of the Medicare Inpatient Only List
The average difference between IPPS and OPPS payment rates across all 285 procedures is -$16,334 per procedure.
Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D. • David Taylor
StrategyJanuary 13, 2026
Crunching the Numbers: Analysis of 2026 Healthcare Predictions
A structured analysis of 2026 healthcare predictions, highlighting six recurring themes across policy disruption, cost pressure and system capacity constraints.
Clara Petrucelli • Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesDecember 22, 2025
ABA Therapy Utilization Grew Nearly 300%, Driven by Increases in Medicaid
Explosive growth in ABA therapy reflects expanded access but also signals possible overuse driven by systemic incentives.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesDecember 15, 2025
State Hospital Pricing Law Signals 2026 Legislative Activity and Potential Federal Reform
Even a 1% reduction in commercial rates could lower total commercial health insurance premiums by $13B by 2032.
Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesDecember 08, 2025
High Polypharmacy Rates Underscore Pharmaceutical Reliance
The prevalence of polypharmacy across the U.S. population reflects both ongoing therapeutic innovation and the limitations of the U.S. healthcare system
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesNovember 26, 2025
Cash Rates Are Often Lower Than Negotiated Rates for Common Hospital Services
Hospital price transparency made discounted cash and negotiated rates publicly available, but this information is disconnected from actual payment decisions.
Katie Patton • Matt Ikard • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesNovember 18, 2025
Limited Network Options Offered to Employers Can Result in Thousands More for the Same Healthcare Service
With the advent of health plan price transparency, the cost of a provider network is now knowable, but rarely known.
Katie Patton • Matt Ikard • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesNovember 10, 2025
2025 Labor and Delivery Closures Disproportionately Affect Smaller Hospitals Serving Roughly One-Third of Local Births
Despite the financial reality that makes the closure of labor and delivery services inevitable in smaller markets, the health policy implications are amplified.
Clara Petrucelli • Austin Miller • Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesNovember 03, 2025
Growth in Emerging Chronic Conditions Signals a General Sense of Unwellness
Collectively, the challenge for health economy stakeholders is to consider its poor performance in managing predictable chronic health conditions.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesOctober 27, 2025
Projected Population Change and Market-Level Incidence Rates Influence Healthcare Demand
The lack of correlation between population trends and surgical incidence rates challenges assumptions about long-term growth in healthcare demand.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesOctober 17, 2025
Hospital Administrative Expenditures Exceed Direct Patient Care by Nearly 2x
Administrative expenditures at U.S. hospitals grew 87.2% from 2011 to 2023, outpacing direct patient care spending growth.
Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesOctober 13, 2025
How Regression to the Mean in Commercial Rates Would Impact Healthcare Costs
Although the hospital with the highest market share had the highest UHC rate, its Aetna rate was lower than two hospitals with lower market share.
Katie Patton • Matt Ikard • Jim Browne • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesSeptember 29, 2025
Younger Adults and Women Drive Growth in Nutrition Services
Data suggests that health economy stakeholders view nutrition as an ancillary service instead of the cornerstone of chronic disease prevention.
Katie Patton • Colin Macon • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesSeptember 22, 2025
Market Trends in Private Equity-Backed Healthcare, With Insights From Home Health
Scrutiny of the role of private equity (PE) firms in healthcare has increased in parallel with their investments in healthcare services.
Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesSeptember 15, 2025
The Proposed Elimination of the Inpatient Only List Will Further Accelerate the Shift of Surgeries to Outpatient Settings
CMS’s proposal to phase out the IPO list beginning in 2026 is expected to accelerate the shift of surgical care from inpatient to HOPDs and ASCs.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesSeptember 08, 2025
Surgical Procedures Are Increasingly Imperiled by New Pharmaceuticals
Rising GLP-1 use across the surgical patient care journey suggests increasing integration of pharmacologic treatment in weight management strategies
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesAugust 25, 2025
Minnesota's Novel 340B Financial Reporting Program Reveals Revenue Concentration Among Disproportionate Share Hospitals and Specialty Medications
Minnesota's 340B Program was associated with $630M in net revenue in 2023, with 80.2% concentrated among disproportionate share hospitals.
Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D. • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StrategyAugust 05, 2025
Winning in an Outpatient World: Preparing for Potential Changes to Medicare’s IPO List
Health systems can expect to lose more than 50% of their inpatient volume to ambulatory settings in the three years following the removal of a code from the IPO list.
Sarah Millender • Katie Patton • Allison Oakes, Ph.D. • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesJuly 28, 2025
Antibiotic Overprescribing Remains High in Certain Provider Types, Care Settings and Regions
Antibiotic overprescribing is a persistent public health challenge with significant implications for treatment efficacy and patient safety.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesJuly 21, 2025
Medicare Advantage Utilization Remained Relatively Flat from 2022 to 2023, While Utilization by Care Setting Was Variable
Increase in Medicare Advantage utilization across all care settings and enrollment suggesting some correlation between the two.
Katie Patton • Colin Macon • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesJuly 14, 2025
Despite Regulatory Scrutiny, Increases in Adult ADHD Diagnosis and Off-Label Stimulant Prescribing Continued Through 2023
An increasing proportion of patients prescribed stimulants do not have a documented ADHD diagnosis.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesMay 14, 2025
Changes in Coding Intensity Suggest How Upcoding Is Happening Across Outpatient Settings
A trend toward higher-acuity billing across care settings has raised concerns about upcoding, the effects of which extend beyond payer reimbursements.
Katie Patton • Colin Macon • Allison Oakes, Ph.D.
StudiesJanuary 10, 2025
Outpatient Utilization Rates in Cancer Care Reflect Procedure-Specific Shifts
The shift to outpatient cancer care reflects lower costs, patient demand and treatment innovations, offering more options for patients.
Katie Patton • Colin Macon • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesNovember 24, 2024
Lower-Cost Care Settings Can Offer Better Value
Lower-cost care settings like ASCs and urgent care can enhance value, improve outcomes and align with patient expectations, but fragmentation risks remain.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Colin Macon • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesSeptember 22, 2024
Whether a Market Has an Oversupply or Undersupply of Hospital Beds Is Defined by Market-Level Demographic and Demand Characteristics
Demographic differences between markets with an oversupply and undersupply of hospital beds suggest likely variations in local surgical demand.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesSeptember 15, 2024
Whether a Market Has an Oversupply or Undersupply of Hospital Beds Is Defined by Market-Level Demographic and Demand Characteristics
Hospital bed data at the local level shows supply imbalances, expansion opportunities, and the market’s capacity to meet service demand.
Katie Patton • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesAugust 25, 2024
Increased Patient Volumes for Select Skin Conditions Align With Evolving Dermatologic Treatment Patterns
Because of the increasing demand for new dermatologic treatments, we examined recent trends in skin disease prevalence and prescription volumes.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesJune 09, 2024
Telehealth Demand: An Update Four Years After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Telehealth saw early growth but has tapered, highlighting limited use cases. Policymakers must assess its clinical value, costs, and patient preferences.
Katie Patton • Colin Macon • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesJune 02, 2024
Liver-Related Mortality and Healthcare Utilization Among Younger Men Is Growing
Increase in alcohol consumption as a result of lockdown policies contributed to the rise in liver-related mortality among young men.
Katie Patton • Colin Macon • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesMay 12, 2024
The Marked Shift in Urgent Care Utilization: Two Years Later
The pandemic inflated urgent care patient volumes, overwhelming urgent care centers and reshaping the landscape of patient demand and care provision.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesMay 05, 2024
Analyzing the Wide Range of Value for High-Volume Outpatient Preventive Procedures
The dynamics influencing market-level price and quality, especially in colorectal cancer screening, highlight increasing consumer choices for care.
Katie Patton • Matt Ikard • undefined • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesApril 28, 2024
Exploring Reimbursement Differences Between Nonprofit and For-Profit Health Systems
Healthcare pricing is influenced by hospital competition, payer dynamics, patient demographics and regulatory frameworks, among other factors.
Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesApril 21, 2024
Exploring Reimbursement Differences Between Nonprofit and For-Profit Health Systems
This analysis shows the disparate unit economics among secular nonprofit, for-profit, faith-based nonprofit, and government/public health systems.
Katie Patton • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesApril 07, 2024
Match Day 2024: Primary Care Residency Positions Continue to Go Unfilled
Despite more residency positions, primary care specialties faced high unfilled slots, underscoring the need for policies to address workforce challenges.
Sarah Millender • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesMarch 31, 2024
Leveraging Risk Adjustment to Analyze Health Status of Patients Receiving Cancer Treatment in 2017 and 2022
Utilizing risk adjustment reveals that, for certain cancers, patients being treated in 2022 were generally healthier than patients in 2017.
Katie Patton • Colin Macon • Allison Oakes, Ph.D. • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesFebruary 25, 2024
The Factors Influencing Cancer Disease Burden Are Evolving
The analysis of factors influencing cancer incidence, prevalence and mortality underscores the challenges and complexities of curbing disease burden.
Katie Patton • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesFebruary 04, 2024
Local Analysis of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Underscores Need for Targeted Treatment
Despite estimates of adults with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, there are no approved medicines to treat the condition and research is limited.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesJanuary 14, 2024
Part 2: Harnessing Price Transparency Data to Analyze True Cost of Care
Combining data about negotiated rates, utilization and provider info enables market-level strategic insights and optimization of healthcare costs.
Katie Patton • Jim Browne • Matt Ikard • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesJanuary 07, 2024
Part 1: The Economic Framework of Price Transparency Data
Understanding the identity of services rendered by every provider is foundational to connecting a negotiated rate to a specific provider and location.
Katie Patton • Jim Browne • Matt Ikard • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesDecember 17, 2023
The Market Rate Has Been Revealed, and It Is Lower Than You Think
Our research reveals that rates vary widely within and among markets for the same healthcare services, even high-volume preventive procedures.
Katie Patton • Matt Ikard • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesSeptember 10, 2023
GLP-1 Utilization in New York City Is Not Correlated with Clinical Indication
GLP-1s can revolutionize clinical treatment of obesity and diabetes, but current utilization patterns are not correlated with clinical disease.
Sarah Millender • Austin Miller • Allison Oakes, Ph.D. • David Taylor
StudiesAugust 13, 2023
The Cell and Gene Patient Journey Is Determined by Access to Treatment Sites
Implementing comprehensive patient support programs could address barriers, including travel costs, compliance challenges and care coordination.
Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesJuly 23, 2023
Employers Have a Critical Role in Containing U.S. Healthcare Spending
Health plan price transparency should compel health economy stakeholders to compete based on cost, quality and access, which are elements of value.
Katie Patton • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesJune 18, 2023
National Distribution Reveals Variation in Quality, Financial and Competitive Performance Among Renowned U.S. Hospitals
Accounting for factors such as services rendered, bed size and market characteristics is critical for identifying true hospital peers.
Katie Patton • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesMay 21, 2023
While Originally Intended for Consumers, Health Plan Price Transparency Will Ultimately Promote Value-Based Competition
Challenges in leveraging health plan price transparency data, including errors in cardiology rates, limit accessibility and analysis for data experts.
Katie Patton • Colin Macon • Matt Ikard • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesMay 14, 2023
Patients Prescribed Drugs Like Ozempic® and Mounjaro® Have Increased Over 300%
The combination of demand and America’s obesity crisis has established telehealth companies to target the obesity and weight management market.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesMay 07, 2023
Eating Disorders Among Child and Adolescent Patients Incrementally Spiked Following the Pandemic’s Onset
The pandemic exacerbated social isolation and introduced disruptions to daily routines and structure, particularly for children and adolescents.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesApril 30, 2023
Life Science Investments Signal a Continued Focus on Oncology and Immunology
Oncology, immunology and rare disease continue to be therapeutic areas where companies have identified significant market opportunity.
Katie Patton • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesMarch 19, 2023
Most Behavioral Health Patients, Particularly Those with Alcohol or Substance Use Disorder, Do Not Receive Follow-Up Care After an Emergency Department Visit
Most behavioral health patients, particularly those with alcohol or SUD, do not receive follow-up care after an emergency deptartment visit.
Katie Patton • Austin Miller • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesFebruary 05, 2023
Anxiety, Depression, Chronic Pain Among Common Diagnoses Preceding Endometriosis and PCOS Diagnosis
Research reveals delays in diagnosing individuals with endometriosis, delaying timely intervention to treat associated risks such as infertility.
Katie Patton • Kelly Boyce • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesJanuary 29, 2023
The Share of Younger New Patients Seeing Oncology Providers Is Increasing Over Time
Notably, the youngest age cohorts account for the largest increase in share of new oncology patients over time.
Katie Patton • Kelly Boyce • Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
StudiesJune 19, 2022
Sharp Uptick in Adderall Prescribing for Adults Ages 22-44 Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
More adult prescriptions for Adderall and ADHD diagnosis discrepancy shows the number of individuals using a direct-to-consumer, self-pay service.
Sanjula Jain, Ph.D.
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