Patient advocacy and medical groups launch an ad campaign in opposition to proposed changes to Medicare; patients often turn to GoFundMe to help pay for medical costs; and new diet guidelines are aiming to save more lives and the planet.
Patient advocacy and medical groups have launched an advertising campaign against proposed changes that would allow private Medicare prescription drug plans to use methods like prior authorization and step therapy, which they say will “put patients’ lives at risk,” reported STAT News. The ads will run in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and the campaign includes the American Cancer Society’s advocacy arm, the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Medical fundraisers account for 1 in 3 of GoFundMe’s campaigns and bring in more than any other GoFundMe category, the website’s chief executive officer told Kaiser Health News. In addition to raising money for medical bills and costs for doctor visits, the crowdsourcing also assists patients with paying for indirect costs of medical needs, including gas, hotels, and food. GoFundMe said that contributors have raised more than $5 billion from 50 million donations in the 8 years its been in business.A new set of diet guidelines developed by an international team of scientists is focusing on cutting meat and sugar consumption in half and upping intake of fruits, vegetables, and nuts, reported CNN. The “planetary health diet” can prevent up to 11.6 million premature deaths without harming the planet, according to the researchers, who warn that a global change in diet and food production is needed as 3 billion people across the world remain malnourished and food production is overstepping environmental targets, driving climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
The Supreme Court seems likely to reject a challenge to the abortion pill mifepristone; the FDA is inspecting far fewer pharmaceutical companies conducting clinical research; AstraZeneca has sued to block an Arkansas law that it said would unlawfully expand the 340B program to include for profit-pharmacy chains.
Read More
Exploring Medicare Advantage Prior Authorization Variations
March 26th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the March 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on variations in prior authorization use across Medicare Advantage plans.
Listen
Covered Preventive Services at Risk: V-BID Summit Breaks Down the Braidwood v Becerra Case
March 20th 2024For more than a decade, certain high-value preventive care services have been covered at no cost to patients under the Affordable Care Act, but a current legal challenge has the coverage at risk.
Read More
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.
Listen
Most private health insurers have yet to publish criteria for when they will cover postpartum depression drug, zuranolone; state lawmakers are increasingly opposing health care mergers that they believe do not serve the public interest; Medicaid extensions made in 2021 led to a 40% decline in postpartum lack of insurance.
Read More
President Biden will preview his plan to more than double the size of Medicare’s new drug price negotiation program in the upcoming State of the Union address; Mexicans and Central Americans were most affected by the pandemic in terms of all-cause mortality; two Alabama fertility clinics said they expect to resume in vitro fertilization (IVF) services after a bill was passed to protect doctors.
Read More