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What We're Reading: Health Insurers Offer Free Doctor's Visits
What we're reading, January 4, 2016: health insurers offering free doctor's visits for some plans; some consumers find paying the Affordable Care Act penalty cheaper than buying insurance; and clinicians and patients are increasingly worried about opioid dangers.
In more than a dozen markets across the countries, health insurers will be offering plans that include free doctor’s visits—no copays, coinsurance or expensive deductible. According to Kaiser Health News, the move is a response to reports that despite signing up for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many Americans have found high copays and deductibles make actually using their new health insurance too expensive.
Although 2016 is the year that penalties under the ACA’s individual mandate reach a tipping point so that purchasing health insurance is more affordable than paying the fine, this is not the case for all Americans. While the number of new enrollees is 29% higher than the same time last year, there are plenty of holdouts remaining, reported The New York Times. These individuals earn too much to qualify for federal subsidies and would prefer to hope they stay healthy throughout the year.
Clinicians and patients are increasingly concerned about the dangers of opioids. About two-thirds of health professionals believe patients are frequently taking more than prescribed and 69% said they are prescribing fewer opioids than in the past. In addition, almost half (46%) of patients agreed these drugs are being used in ways other than they had been prescribed, reported Medscape. However, only 23% of consumers report disposing of unused opioids, while 42% store these unused pills for future use, WebMD found.
Real-World Study Reveals Key Insights into DLBCL Treatment Patterns, Outcomes
April 18th 2024A recent study offers valuable insights into the characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in patients across different lines of therapy, providing a look into the landscape of DLBCL management.
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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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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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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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Collecting SDOH Data Can Assess Risk of Medical Nonadherence, Improve HEI and Star Ratings
April 18th 2024At the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 2024 annual meeting, a panel of presenters explored changes coming to Medicare that incorporate social determinants of health (SDOH) data to improve patient and health system outcomes.
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