Diabetes

Changes with health plans can be disruptive to patients with diabetes who face changes in supplies and medications that make it difficult to manage their disease, said Jaime A. Davidson, MD, FACP, MACE, professor of medicine, Touchstone Diabetes Center, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

In the last 2 decades, the cost of healthcare has risen, but the expectations of self-management for people with diabetes has stayed the same, which has made it more challenging to live with the disease, said Kellie Rodriguez, RN, MSN, MBA, CDE, director, Global Diabetes Program, Parkland Health & Hospital System.

Vermont's Attorney General has sued the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, for allegedly directing a deceptive opioid marketing campain; drug manufacturer Eli Lilly has offered a half-priced, generic version of Humalog insulin; asthma rates for children fell in Los Angeles after air quality improved.

The May issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) featured research on diabetes drug cost-effectiveness, patient-centered medical homes, and value-based insurance design. Here are 5 findings from research published in the issue.

This study evaluates the long-term cost-effectiveness of treatment involving combination therapy with dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors compared with an alternative with sulfonyureas prior to insulin initiation on a background of metformin.

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

This week, the top managed care news included HHS announcing a finalized rule requiring the disclosure of drug prices in television ads; a report finding high satisfaction with employer health coverage despite the cost; a study finding heart failure is surging among young adults.

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

This week, the top managed care news included CMS Administrator Seema Verma calling for more disruption to the healthcare system; former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, reflecting on the agency’s record of innovation; liraglutide demonstrating promise for youth with type 2 diabetes.

The Trump administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is urging federal courts to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act; a Florida hospital is suing Aetna over the insurer’s Readmission Payment Policy; diabetic amputations disproportionately affect black and Latino individuals.

The move comes a month after FDA issued a Complete Response Letter on the drug, despite pleas from patient advocates to approve a new treatment option in type 1 diabetes.

Here are the top 5 articles for the month of April.

Some large employers and policy makers advocate for retail competition that relies on providers competing on healthcare performance. Using diabetes care in Minnesota as an example, researchers examined whether the public reporting of care measures encouraged health systems to improve their clinics’ diabetes care performance in the latest issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®.