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What We're Reading: California's Aid-in-Dying Law Takes Effect June 9
What we're reading: California's assisted suicide law will take effect June 9; a majority of drugs in Medicare Part D require coinsurance; and Senate passes opioid abuse bill 94-1.
California’s assisted suicide law, which allows doctors to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to terminally ill patients who want to hasten their death, will take effect June 9. According to the LA Times, the co-author of the law expects patients will begin having discussions with their doctors before June 9. The law, which was passed using controversial legislative tactics, still has vocal critics who plan to limit the law’s reach and prevent any expansion of the law.
A majority of drugs in Medicare Part D require patients to spend money for coinsurance, according to a new report. In 2014, only 35% of Medicare Part D drugs required coinsurance compared with 58% this year, reported CNBC. The report found that Medicare Advantage plans are less likely to have coinsurance: just 26% of the drugs in these plans had a coinsurance requirement in 2016.
The Senate passed legislation to combat the growing epidemic of heroin and painkiller abuse. The Washington Post reported that the upcoming elections may have played a role in support for the bill—some Republicans facing tough re-elections have been very vocal in their support and even supported the ultimately unsuccessful effort by Democrats to add $600 million to the bill. The bill has had wide bipartisan support and passed 94-1 with presidential candidates Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) missing the vote.
Prices for care at hospital trauma centers vary across hospitals; drug shortages reached a record high during the first quarter of 2024; although 3 of the biggest makers of asthma inhalers pledged to cap out-of-pocket costs for some US patients at $35, these do not apply to daily inhalers used by the youngest kids with asthma.
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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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The Biden administration recently launched the Global Health Security Strategy, a new effort to combat the spread of infectious diseases; lawmakers zeroed in on the risks of massive consolidation in health care during the first congressional hearing on the Change Healthcare hack; the FDA recently announced the recall of a pair of heart devices linked to numerous deaths and injuries.
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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.
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