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What We're Reading: Valeant Could Reduce Prices of Expensive Heart Drugs
What we're reading, April 28, 2016: Valeant officials express remorse over price hikes of heart drugs; Paul Ryan proposes placing consumers with serious medical conditions in high-risk pools; and a British medical organization is urging smokers to switch to e-cigarettes.
Faced with unhappy lawmakers, Valeant Pharmaceuticals could reduce the prices of 2 heart drugs that the company previously marked up. According to STAT, the drug maker’s board could meet to discuss reducing the prices of Isuprel and Nitrpres by 30%. Unlike when former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli appeared unrepentant on Capitol Hill, Valeant board member Bill Ackerman, outgoing CEO Michael Pearson, and former executive Howard Schiller express contrition for the raising prices to aggressively.
Paul Ryan has called for consumers with serious medical conditions to be placed in high-risk pools. The US House of Representatives Speaker said protections for very sick individuals under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has raised costs for healthy consumers and he suggested that putting individuals with health issues into high-risk pools would open up competition and increase choice for everyone, according to Reuters. This proposal may be part of a Republican alternative to the ACA.
While American public health officials remain concerned about the use of e-cigarettes, a major British medical organization is urging smokers to make the switch to e-cigarettes. The Royal College of Physicians summarized a growing body of evidence that found the benefits e-cigarettes far outweigh the potential harms, reported The New York Times. The report found that e-cigarette devices are helping people more than harming them.
Making Giant Strides in Maternity Health Through Baby Steps
April 9th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are kicking off a special month-long podcast series with our strategic alliance partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our first episode, which is all about the Baby Steps Maternity Program and its mission to support women throughout every step of their pregnancy journey.
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NSAIDs vs bDMARDs: Sex Disparities in Treatment Initiation for Axial Spondyloarthritis
April 12th 2024New research examining treatment initiation patterns among patients with axial spondyloarthritis revealed significant sex-based disparities, shedding light on the process from diagnosis to therapeutic intervention.
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Navigating Health Policy in an Election Year: Insights From Dr Dennis Scanlon
April 2nd 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Dennis Scanlon, PhD, the editor in chief of The American Journal of Accountable Care®, about prior authorization, price transparency, the impact of health policy on the upcoming election, and more.
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Most Patients With Mucinous Ovarian Cancer Don't Need Perioperative GI Endoscopy
April 12th 2024A new study suggests routine gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy is not needed for most patients with mucinous ovarian cancer in the perioperative setting due to a lack of statistically significant overall survival benefits.
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Study Suggests Walking 10K Steps Daily Improves QOL in Severe Hemophilia
April 12th 2024Among a small group of patients with severe hemophilia, researchers found that getting in more than 10,000 steps each day was linked to significant improvements in perceived physical health and quality of life (QOL).
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