House GOP Leader Against ACA Insurer Payments
The same day a bipartisan deal was announced to extend payments to insurers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a GOP leader in the House spoke out against the deal. According to The Hill, Republican Study Committee Chairman Mark Walker, R-North Carolina, criticized the deal for helping to save the health law when Republicans were trying to dismantle it. The bipartisan proposal would extend payments for 2 years and was crafted in response to President Donald Trump's announcement that he would cease sending the payments to insurers.
Judge Invalidates Restasis Patents
Allergan attempted to protect its patents for the dry eye treatment Restasis by transferring it to a Native American tribe—a ploy which hasn’t worked. A judge in Texas has ruled the patents were invalid, which opens the door to generics, reported The New York Times. The company tried to protect the patents from a separate challenge by paying a tribe to take the patents, which would be leased back to the drug maker. Allergan plans to appeal the decision.
Hospitals Look to House the Homeless
In an attempt to reduce unnecessary emergency department visits and wasteful spending, hospitals across the country are taking steps to house the homeless. California Healthline reported that the housing programs place the homeless into apartments, pay rent for a few months, and set the individuals up with social workers. Hospitals have put between $75 million to $100 million into these initiatives over the last few years. In some instances, the individuals placed in temporary housing by the hospital can become eligible for permanent housing.
Navigating Health Literacy, Social Determinants, and Discrimination in National Health Plans
February 13th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the February 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on how health plans can screen for health literacy, social determinants of health, and perceived health care discrimination.
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Drs Raymond Thertulien, Joseph Mikhael on Racial Disparities in Multiple Myeloma Care Access
December 28th 2023In the wake of the 2023 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, Raymond Thertulien, MD, PhD, of Novant Health, and Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, discussed health equity research highlights from the meeting and drivers of racial disparities in multiple myeloma outcomes.
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