Meet
Joanna Young

Joanna Young provides clients with data-driven policy analysis using her quantitative skills, modeling expertise, and knowledge of Medicare and other public health insurance programs.

Joanna creates analytical models that support analysis of the policy impact on different business lines and the overall healthcare market. Her work includes assessments of impact on covered lives and federal budgetary costs and savings associated with proposed legislative changes. She also focuses on data and policy analysis for pharmaceutical products, including the 340B Drug Pricing Program as well as market access, reimbursement, and commercialization issues.

Prior to joining Avalere, Joanna worked at Integrity Management Services, where she designed and conducted analytics in support of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' program integrity efforts to combat fraud and assure compliance in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Joanna has an MPP with a concentration in healthcare policy and statistics from The College of William and an MA and BA in sociology from the University of Warsaw's Institute of Applied Social Sciences in Poland.

Authored Content

January 23, 2020 | Insights & Analysis > Federal & State Policy

Avalere Analysis Finds Variation in Generic Substitution Rates Among Part D Plans
New analysis from Avalere finds 52% of Part D plans achieve generic substitution1 rates above 75%.
January 3, 2020 | Insights & Analysis > Value-Based Care

Healthcare Organizations See Reduction in ED Visits and Inpatient Admissions when Focusing on Value
Avalere worked with a healthcare organization to assess the impact of their quality improvement program over a 4-year period. The organization prepared primary and specialty care providers/practices to transition from fee-for-service (FFS) to value-based payment arrangements. Avalere’s analysis found participation in the program led to a reduction in both emergency department (ED) visits as well as inpatient (IP) admissions over the period reviewed.
December 9, 2019 | Insights & Analysis > Federal & State Policy

Medicare Advantage Plans May Be Paid Below Actual ESRD Patients’ Costs in Large Metropolitan Areas in 2021
Avalere analysis finds that payment to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients in highly populated regions may be significantly below actual patient costs.
November 19, 2019 | Insights & Analysis > Federal & State Policy

Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries Will Again See a Jump in Supplemental Benefit Offerings in 2020
Medicare Advantage (MA) plans continue expanding coverage of supplemental benefits following administration’s policy changes from a year ago.
October 10, 2019 | Insights & Analysis > Federal & State Policy

Issue Brief: OOP Costs Among Medicare Part D Enrollees Reaching the Catastrophic Threshold
As policymakers consider reforms to the Part D benefit to address rising out-of-pocket (OOP) costs by adding a maximum OOP cap, an Avalere analysis examines the types of beneficiaries mostly likely to be helped by such a policy.
June 21, 2019 | Insights & Analysis > Federal & State Policy

Transitioning RA Drugs from Part B to Part D Would Increase Catastrophic Benefit Fills
New Avalere analysis finds that shifting Part B-covered rheumatoid arthritis (RA) drugs to Part D benefit would increase the share of prescriptions occurring in the catastrophic phase for impacted beneficiaries by more than 5 times.
June 21, 2019 | Insights & Analysis > Federal & State Policy

Avalere Analysis Examines Drug Spending in Medicare Part D
As policymakers increasingly consider policy options to reform Medicare Part D and reduce program expenditures, an Avalere analysis examines spending across classes with various availability of brand and generic drugs.
February 28, 2019 | Insights & Analysis > Federal & State Policy

Effect of Potential Policy Change to Part D Generic Tiering on Patient Cost Sharing and Part D Plan Costs
In a new analysis, Avalere examines the implications of CMS’ potential new requirement that Part D plans place generics only on generic tiers.
November 20, 2018 | Insights & Analysis > Drug Pricing

Patients Use Generics More Frequently than Brands in Medicare’s Protected Drug Classes
New Avalere research finds high utilization of generic medications in the 6 protected drug classes under Part D.
October 19, 2018 | Press Releases > Social Determinants of Health

Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries Will See a Jump in New Supplemental Benefit Offerings in 2019
MA plans expand coverage of supplemental benefits following administration’s policy change.
April 26, 2018 | Insights & Analysis > Federal & State Policy

Patient Out-of-Pocket Assistance in Medicare Part D: Direct and Indirect Healthcare Savings
Avalere examines the effect of foundation-sponsored financial assistance on out-of-pocket costs and federal spending.
January 29, 2018 | Press Releases > Federal & State Policy

Medicare Part B Payment Increases Will Offset 340B Drug Reimbursement Cuts for 85% of Hospitals
Rural hospitals will see an average 2.7% net increase of Part B payments.
December 13, 2017 | Press Releases > Federal & State Policy

California, North Carolina, and New York Will See the Largest Provider Payment Cuts and Beneficiary Savings Due to 340B Program Changes
Analysis also finds that 62% of impacted facilities will experience less than a 5% reduction in Medicare Part B revenue due to the drug cuts, but 6% of applicable hospitals will experience cuts greater than 10%.
March 11, 2016 | Insights & Analysis > Value-Based Care

New Avalere Analysis Finds Profit Margins for Freestanding Skilled Nursing Facilities in Pennsylvania Decreased Almost 30 Percent between 2007 and 2014
According to a new analysis by Avalere, total profit margins for freestanding skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in Pennsylvania decreased 28 percent between fiscal years (FY) 2007 and 2014, from 3.2 percent to 2.3 percent.
February 3, 2016 | Insights & Analysis

New Analysis Finds Proposed Telehealth Policy Changes Would Decrease Federal Spending by $1.8 Billion
A new analysis by Avalere Health estimates that three proposed policy changes to expand Medicare reimbursement of telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM) would collectively decrease federal spending by $1.8 billion between FY2017 and FY2026.