Medicare Trustees Project Solvency Through 2029, Avoiding Cuts
Medicare’s trustees have forecasted that the program will remain solvent through 2029, making the formation of an Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) unnecessary for now, Reuters reports. Last year, the trustees’ report projected that Medicare would become insolvent a year earlier and that expenditures in the coming year of 2017 would trigger a provision in the Affordable Care Act creating the IPAB, which would be tasked with cutting costs. In response to the rosier forecast released yesterday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held a press conference, during which he declared that Medicare and Social Security “are secure and will remain secure.”
Handwritten Opioid Prescriptions Carry High Risk of Error
New research finds an alarmingly high rate of errors in opioid prescriptions written by hand. According to the study in the Journal of Opioid Management, 89% of handwritten opioid prescriptions contained an error, compared with 0% of the electronic health record (EHR) computer-generated prescriptions. The computer-generated prescriptions all adhered to best practice guidelines and contained 2 patient identifiers, and all prescriptions from the EHR fully complied with rules set by the Drug Enforcement Agency. “Inconsistencies in opioid prescribing remain common,” the study authors concluded.
GOP Senator Develops ACA Repeal Back-up Plan
If the Senate’s bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) fails next week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) is working on a fallback plan, according to Politico. It would redirect most of the federal ACA funding to the states, which would “empower each individual state to choose the path that works best for them.” Developed with the help of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), a physician, the bill will likely be offered as an amendment to the bill devised by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), rather than a competing piece of legislation.
Dr Dalia Rotstein: Physicians Must Be Aware MS Affects People of All Backgrounds
April 24th 2024Dalia Rotstein, MD, MPH, emphazises the importance of awareness that multiple sclerosis (MS) impacts patients from various backgrounds as clinicians think through ways to improve access to care and research efforts in MS.
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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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Polatuzumab Vedotin and R-CHP Appropriate for Untreated DLBCL
April 24th 2024Population pharmacokinetic and exposure-response analyses revealed a favorable benefit-risk profilane for the treatment combination of polatuzumab vedotin and rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (R-CHP).
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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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Award-Winning Poster Presentations From AMCP 2024
April 23rd 2024At the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 2024 annual meeting, multiple poster presentations concerned with health equity, data collection, glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, and more were acknowledged for their originality, relevance, clarity, bias, and quality.
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