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What We're Reading: Government Blocks Some Seamless Conversions Efforts in Medicare
What we're reading, October 28, 2016: Medicare blocks some efforts to automatically move customers eligible for Medicare into Medicare Advantage; the first lung cancer vaccine developed in Cuba will be tested in the US; and American Red Cross and Teladoc partner for disaster relief.
CMS is barring efforts from some health insurance companies to automatically move consumers eligible for Medicare into Medicare Advantage. According to Kaiser Health News, there are 29 insurers that are currently allowed to do seamless conversion to switch a customer from a commercial plan when they become eligible for Medicare at age 65. The problem is the conversion is not clear for some seniors, who first learn they’ve been moved into a new plan when they receive an expensive out-of-network provider bill or learn they’ve been given a new primary care doctor.
A lung cancer vaccine developed in Cuba will be tested in the United States for the first time. The trial at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, will enroll up to 90 patients and will take 3 years to complete, reported The Washington Post. The vaccine has already been approved in some other countries. The US trial will test the vaccine in combination with the immunotherapy Opdivo to see if pairing the 2 improves effectiveness.
A partnership between the American Red Cross and Teladoc will help deliver medical care to communities affected by natural disasters. The companies announced that the partnership will make Teladoc’s network of physicians available to people helped by Red Cross. The virtual services will make it possible for victims of natural disasters to access health services.
Government agencies have created an online portal for the public to report potential anticompetitive practices in health care; there are changes coming to the “boxed warning” section for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies (CAR T) to highlight T-cell blood cancer risk; questions about the safety of obesity medications during pregnancy have arisen in women on them who previously struggled with fertility issues.
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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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Gene, Light Therapy Combo Shows Promise Against Prostate Cancer Cells in Proof-of-Concept Study
April 18th 2024In their preclinical model, the researchers found efficacy both in vitro and in vivo by using CRISPR-Cas9 to mimic porphyria and combining the technology with light therapy.
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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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Many Patients With Psoriasis in Clinical Trials Experience Nocebo Effects, Study Finds
April 18th 2024Half of patients exposed to placebo in clinical trials experienced adverse events (AEs), which may be partially explainable by nocebo effects, according to a recent review and meta-analysis.
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