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What We're Reading: Former Insys CEO Arrested in Fentanyl-Prescribing Scheme
What we’re reading, December 9, 2016: insurers haven’t taken advantage of 2011 Georgia law allowing interstate policy sales; 6 former executives of Insys Therapeutics arrested for fraudulently boosting sales of their fentanyl drug; with a month left in the year, 2016 has already seen decade-high mumps outbreaks.
Republican lawmakers have proposed allowing insurers to sell policies across state lines as a potential strategy if the Affordable Care Act is repea, but a trial of that idea in one state hasn’t yielded any results, according to Kaiser Health News. Insurers in Georgia can sell any policies they offer in other states to enrollees in Georgia, but no health insurer has taken advantage of it since the law was passed in 2011. It remains unclear whether a federal law allowing interstate insurance sales would be more successful.
The Department of Justice has announced the arrest of the former CEO of Insys Therapeutics, along with 5 other executives, for leading a “nationwide conspiracy” that bribed clinicians to prescribe the fentanyl-based painkiller Subsys. Prosecutors charged the executives with providing kickbacks to practitioners who wrote large quantities of Subsys prescriptions and defrauding the insurance companies paying for the drug. “In doing so, they contributed to the growing opioid epidemic and placed profit before patient safety,” said special agent Harold H. Shaw in the press release.
CDC data indicate that 2016 has already had the highest number of mumps cases since 2006, due in part to outbreaks on college campuses, The Wall Street Journal reports. As of November 26, 3832 mumps cases had been identified, almost triple last year’s total of 1329. This year, 6 states (Arkansas, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Oklahoma) reported more than 100 cases of mumps each.
The University of Utah Drug Information Service reports an unprecedented rise in shortages; cultural ethos and modern pressures contribute to sleep deprivation across the nation; rising death rates underscore the urgent need for expanded access to prevention and treatment measures
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Making Giant Strides in Maternity Health Through Baby Steps
April 9th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are kicking off a special month-long podcast series with our strategic alliance partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our first episode, which is all about the Baby Steps Maternity Program and its mission to support women throughout every step of their pregnancy journey.
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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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Liquid Biopsy Whole-Genome Sequencing Optimizes MRD Detection in DLBCL
April 13th 2024Using the newly created MAESTRO-Pool tool, whole genome sequencing revealed DNA that could be used to more effectively detect minimum residual disease (MRD) in patients who have diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
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