 recaps the top managed care news of the week.

This week, the top managed care news included reports of 2 vaccines’ efficacy against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); a study finds no risk reduction in cardiac events with fish oil; calls for long-term follow-up to understand effects of lingering COVID-19.

Listen above or through one of these podcast services:

Read more about the stories in this podcast:

What We’re Reading: Pfizer Vaccine 95% Effective; At-home COVID-19 Test Approved; Amazon Launches Online Pharmacy

What We're Reading: Vaccines in EUA Process; Alkermes Receives CRL; California Tightens Restrictions

Fish Oil Debate Continues as Study Finds No Risk Reduction From Omega-3 Combo

Long-term Follow-up Needed to Understand Effects When COVID-19 Lingers, Fauci Says

Driving Transparency, Payment Reform in Employer Health Care Coverage

Paper of the Week: Effects of Health Education on Glycemic Control During Holiday Time in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Podcasts

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.

Podcast: This Week in Managed Care—COVID Vaccines' Efficacy and Other Health News

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has required health care systems to overhaul their ways of delivering care to patients in order to keep patients, families, and clinicians safe. For medical home visit programs accustomed to visiting patients in person, this task has required creative use of new technologies and relied on regulatory flexibility to facilitate their work.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we’re talking with the authors of a Commentary article published in our November issue. The article, “

Medical Home Visit Programs During COVID-19 State of Emergency

,” describes the experience of reimagining how a home health program can deliver care amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

The authors, from Northwell Staten Island University Hospital in Staten Island, New York, are Donna Seminara, MD; Anita Szerszen, MD; John R. Maese, MD; and Zeel Shah, MD.

Ensuring Access to Health Care by FQHCs as States Reopen Amid COVID-19

Could COVID-19 Become a Policy Tipping Point? A Q&A With Kavita K. Patel, MD, MS

Who Should We Treat: Elective Surgical Admissions or Patients With COVID-19?

Hands Down, COVID-19 Will Change Medical Practice

Crisis Into Opportunity: Can COVID-19 Help Set a Path to Improved Health Care Efficiency?

The authors of a Commentary in the November 2020 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care describe the experience of reimagining how a home health program can deliver care amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

A Medical Home Visit Program’s Takeaways From COVID-19

As the health care industry continues to combat health and cost-related issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, employers remain a key figure in the pursuit for higher-value care. Recently, the Leapfrog Group partnered with the Health Transformation Alliance, or HTA, to help delineate high-value health care services with a particular focus on transparency and payment reform.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Leah Binder, president and chief executive officer of the Leapfrog Group, about her organization’s partnership with the HTA, the significance of their 20th anniversary this year, and how transparency and employer leverage may shape the transition toward value-based health care.

How Halting Telehealth Waivers May Impact Cost, Deferral in Care

Reforming Oncology Care Payments: Interviews From the QCCA Leadership Summit

Implications of Justice Barrett’s Confirmation on Employment Law Rulings, ACA Case

How Employers Think About Addressing Rising Prices of Health Insurance

How Can Health Care Purchasers, Providers Better Coordinate to Improve Value-Based Care Delivery?

Over Time, Health Care Costs Move to Forefront for All Patients

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group about her organization’s partnership with the Healthcare Transformation Alliance and how transparency and employer leverage may shape the transition toward value-based health care.

 recaps the top managed care news of the week.

This week, the top managed care news included the Supreme Court signaling willingness to uphold the Affordable Care Act; Pfizer’s coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine shows 90% efficacy; racial disparities in lung cancer screenings and prescribing biologics.

Supreme Court Signals Willingness to Uphold ACA

Pfizer Says Vaccine 90% Effective; Biden Team Announces COVID-19 Transition Panel

Lung Cancer Screening Criteria Miss Young, High-Risk Black Smokers

Black Patients With RA Less Likely Than White Counterparts to Be Prescribed a Biologic

Bang for the Buck: How Health Care Innovation Affects Life Expectancy and Patient Well-Being

Paper of the Week—Beyond Black and White: Race/Ethnicity and Health Status Among Older Adults

Podcast: This Week in Managed Care—SCOTUS Indicates a Willingness to Uphold the ACA and Other Health News

As the costs of cancer care continue to rise in the United States, eyes are increasingly turning to payment reform. Research by the Northeast Business Group on Health found that in 2015, employers spent $125 million on cancer care, and since then, cancer therapy costs have increased substantially with greater use of immunotherapy and the introduction of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies that can easily cost half a million dollars for treatment.

The federal government is taking the lead with the Oncology Care Model, which will transition into Oncology Care First in 2022 after a 1-year extension due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, but commercial payers are also testing payment reform models.

Speakers who participated in the Quality Cancer Care Alliance’s Fall Leadership Summit weighed in on the payment reform space for cancer care.

Speaking of Employers: Purchasers Detail the Challenges of Getting a Handle on Oncology Care Costs

Three Ways COVID-19 Makes the Oncology Care First Model More Attractive

Infrastructure of OCM Helps Practices Through COVID-19, Chong Says

A Closer Look at 3 Oncology Payment Reform Projects

Cancer Does Not Stop for COVID-19, but Reform Becomes a Challenge

Community Oncology Alliance Payment Reform Brief Details 35 Oncology Payment Models Underway or Planned Across Country

As the costs of cancer care continue to rise in the United States, eyes are increasingly turning to payment reform.

 recaps the top managed care news of the week.

This week, the top news in managed care included top health care takeaways from the 2020 general election; a Q&A with William Shrank, MD, MSHS, on connecting Medicare Advantage providers and patients; Managed Care Cast discusses balancing evidence with action amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Top 5 Health Care Takeaways From the 2020 General Election

Medicare Advantage Providers, Patients Connect Without a Playbook: A Q&A With William H. Shrank, MD, MSHS

Balancing Evidence With Action: Dr Patricia Salber Interviews Dr Denise Basow

Libtayo Accepted for FDA Priority Review in NSCLC With PD-L1 Expression

Paper of the Week: Second-line and Third-line Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer: Use and Cost

Podcast: This Week in Managed Care—Health Care Takeaways From the Election and Other Health News

With the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, new research is quickly being released as more and more is learned. However, the flood of new research needs to be balanced with appropriate review before action is taken.

In the latest Managed Care Cast, Denise Basow, MD, president and CEO of clinical effectiveness at Wolters Kluwer, speaks with Patricia Salber, MD, MBA, of The Doctor Weighs In, about the onslaught of information, the risk of misinformation, the wide range of information sources available, and more.

Experts Discuss Myths of COVID-19 and Clarify Misunderstandings

Study Dispels Misinformation on Contact Lens, Spectacle Use and COVID-19

In Wake of Measles Outbreaks, Another Study Dispels Myths Surrounding MMR Vaccine

 recaps the top managed care news of the week.

This week, the top managed care news included updates on coronavirus disease 2019 therapies and vaccine candidates; a discussion on keeping physicians independent through value-based care; an overview of the 2020 Community Oncology Alliance Virtual Payer Exchange Summit.

What We’re Reading: COVID-19 Vaccine Trials to Restart; Record 2-Day Infections; Stress-Reducing Strategies

What We're Reading: Eli Lilly Ends Antibody Trial; Pros, Cons of Telehealth; AAP Issues New Opioid Guidelines

What We’re Reading: Hospitals Strained; Pfizer Trial Enrollment; Variation in Virus Mitigation

Researchers Warn of Heightened Risk of HIV With Certain COVID-19 Vaccines

Keeping Physicians Independent: Dr Patricia Salber Interviews Dr Farzad Mostashari

Community Oncology Alliance Conference Coverage

Paper of the Week: Value-Based Insurance Design for Diabetes Mellitus: Approaches to Optimal Pharmacoeconomic Implementation

Podcast: This Week in Managed Care—An Update on COVID-19 Vaccine and Therapies and Other Health News

The company Aledade was created 6 years ago to help physicians stay independent by implementing a value-based care business model. Overall, Aledade has helped practices save $377 million and improved care by reducing hospitalizations and skilled nursing facility utilizations.

In this episode of Managed Care Cast, Patricia Salber, MD, MBA, of The Doctor Weighs in, speaks with Aledade co-founder, Farzad Mostashari, MD, about what his company has accomplished and why these efforts are important for all stakeholders.

Read more about Aledade, accountable care organizations (ACOs), and value-based care:

Mostashari, Gilfillan Highlight the Spillover Effect of ACOs Across the Entire Healthcare System

MedPAC's MIPS Vote Meant to Encourage Physicians Into High-Risk Payment Models, Says Aledade's Broome

ACOs and Healthcare Transformation: Dr Patricia Salber Interviews Travis Broome

Patricia Salber, MD, MBA, of The Doctor Weighs in, speaks with Aledade co-founder, Farzad Mostashari, MD, about how his company is keeping physicians independent through value-based care.

 recaps the top managed care news of the week.

This week, the top managed care news included coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) delays in breast cancer surgery; targeted therapies associated with decreased mortality risk for non–small cell lung cancer; an inside look at a patient’s perspective of early-onset Parkinson disease.

Cancer Care Delays in COVID-19 Could Lead to Higher Morbidity, Mortality

Propelled by Targeted Therapies, NSCLC Mortality Fell Between 2013 to 2016

A Patient Perspective on Early-Onset Parkinson Disease

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Nexus

The American Society of Nephrology's Kidney Week

Medical Home Transformation and Breast Cancer Screening