Aetna Will Leave Iowa’s ACA Exchanges
This week, Aetna announced it will not offer plans on Iowa’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange in 2018. According to The Washington Post, the company cited financial risk, as well as uncertainty surrounding the future of the marketplace, as reasons for its decision. The announcement follows a decision earlier in the week from Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield to also stop selling on the Iowa marketplace next year. As a result, the majority of the state’s counties will only have 1 insurer.
Cigna Reports Drop in Opioid Use
In the last 12 months, Cigna has cut prescription opioid use among customers by nearly 12%. The company has pledged to cut prescriptions of opioids by 25% by 2019, reported Reuters. Cigna is keeping physicians informed of opioid prescriptions in order to detect potential misuse by individuals and inform physicians of their own prescribing patterns. Another way Cigna has sought to combat the opioid epidemic is by removing a policy that required doctors to seek authorization in order to treat addicts.
A $15B Addition to GOP Health Bill
The Republican healthcare bill may not be completely dead. GOP leaders have been working with the House Freedom Caucus and the White House to try to revive the bill with changes, according to The New York Times. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) has negotiated the addition of a $15 billion fund to create a risk-sharing program to help insurers pay for their sickest customers and lower premiums. The proposal would prevent patients with high-cost diseases from being placed into a separate high-risk insurance pool.
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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Patient-Reported Outcomes Help to Uncover Frailty Patterns in Those With Acute COPD Exacerbations
April 22nd 2024Study findings demonstrate the pivotal role of patient-reported outcomes in identifying frailty among individuals experiencing acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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Drs Raymond Thertulien, Joseph Mikhael on Racial Disparities in Multiple Myeloma Care Access
December 28th 2023In the wake of the 2023 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, Raymond Thertulien, MD, PhD, of Novant Health, and Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, discussed health equity research highlights from the meeting and drivers of racial disparities in multiple myeloma outcomes.
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