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What We're Reading: More Medicare Doctors Are High-Cost Prescribers
What we're reading, November 17, 2016: more Medicare doctors are considered high-dollar prescribers; the surgeon general releases a report tackling substance abuse and misuse; and the teen birth rate hasn't dropped as much in rural counties.
More Medicare doctors are prescribing more expensive drugs. A new investigation from ProPublica found that while only 41 Medicare doctors prescribed more than $5 million worth of medications in 2011, that number skyrocketed to 514 in 2015. The biggest reason for the huge jump was rising overall drug costs, and specifically, the expensive hepatitis C treatments. The physicians who topped the list typically prescribed Harvoni or Sovaldi, or drugs to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, released a report on Thursday tackling the issue of substance abuse and misuse. In an interview with NPR, Murthy discussed the prevalence of substance abuse in the United States, the economic impact of substance abuse disorders, and curbing the addiction epidemic. He emphasized that fighting the addiction epidemic starts with talking to children.
Although the teen birth rate steadily dropped from 2007 to 2015, the decrease was a lot slower in small towns. According to the Los Angeles Times, the teen birth rate in rural counties was 63% higher compared with counties with large cities. In large urban counties, the teen birth rate is 50% lower than it was in 2007. Meanwhile, rural counties, which had the highest teen birth rate in 2007, reported a decrease of 37% over the 8 years.
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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Commonwealth Fund Report Details Pervasive Racial and Ethnic Disparities in US Health Care, Outcomes
April 18th 2024Using 25 health system performance indicators, the Commonwealth Fund 2024 State Health Disparities Report evaluated racial and ethnic disparities in health care and health outcomes both within and across US states and highlighted the urgent need for equitable health care policies and practices in the US.
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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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