A roundup of top healthcare news stories: January 30, 2017.
GOP’s Plan for Medicaid Could Reduce Access to Breakthrough Treatments
Republicans are considering overhauling the Medicaid program and instituting a spending cap. According to STAT, this proposal would mean the program will struggle to afford breakthrough treatments and reduce its beneficiaries' access to lifesaving medicines. The GOP plan would set a dollar amount for each person in Medicaid and states would have more flexibility to decide program eligibility and the care covered. Republicans argue this will help make the program fiscally sustainable. Opponents claim the strategy would hinder Medicaid’s ability to provide care.
President Trump’s Travel Ban Could Impact Science and Healthcare Progress
Protests broke out at airports across the United States as President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning people form 7 countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The ban could exacerbate the doctor shortage in the United States and subsequently reduce access to care for Americans, reported Forbes. There are 260 people from the 7 countries who have applied for medical residency, and they could potentially see 3000 patients each. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that nearly 20% of America’s scientific community is immigrants. Nearly 5000 academics have called the ban “fatally disruptive” and detrimental to the interest of the United States.
Merck Provides a Closer Look at Its Drug Pricing
Amid increasing scrutiny and widespread criticism regarding pharmaceutical pricing, Merck has decided to voluntarily offer more information about its pricing practices, according to The Wall Street Journal. The data released showed the average increase for Merck’s brand name drugs peaked at 10.5% in 2014, with list prices rising an average of 9.6% in 2015. The information does not include price increases for individual products. The company plans to release figures every January from now on. Johnson & Johnson has announced it will be the next company to release details about drug price increases.
Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Dr Dalia Rotstein: Physicians Must Be Aware MS Affects People of All Backgrounds
April 24th 2024Dalia Rotstein, MD, MPH, emphazises the importance of awareness that multiple sclerosis (MS) impacts patients from various backgrounds as clinicians think through ways to improve access to care and research efforts in MS.
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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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What We’re Reading: Abortion Privacy Rules; Alzheimer Drug Hurdles; Nursing Home Staffing Overhaul
April 23rd 2024New health privacy rules aim to protect patients and providers in an evolving abortion landscape; some physicians express concerns about efficacy, risks, and entrenched beliefs in treating Alzheimer disease; CMS addresses longstanding staffing deficits in nursing homes.
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Award-Winning Poster Presentations From AMCP 2024
April 23rd 2024At the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 2024 annual meeting, multiple poster presentations concerned with health equity, data collection, glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, and more were acknowledged for their originality, relevance, clarity, bias, and quality.
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