FDA May Gain New Regulation Powers
Congress is considering expanding FDA’s regulatory powers to give it oversight over beauty products. According to The Wall Street Journal, the potential to give the FDA the power to regulate these products is a result of litigation, reports of treatments sickening salon workers and customers, and even support from the cosmetics industry itself. There are at least 10 cosmetic makers who back a bipartisan Senate bill that would require the FDA to evaluate at least 5 cosmetic ingredients a year to determine safety.
ACA Health Plan Surcharge Approved
California has approved allowing health plans to combat the uncertainty of the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by enacting a surcharge. Health insurers will have the ability until September 30 to add a 12.4% surcharge to the silver ACA plans, reported the Washington Examiner. The surcharge would be used to offset the possibility that President Donald Trump ends the cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers. Another change in California could have the state pay for some unanticipated losses due to changes in existing federal policies from 2019 to 2021.
Shifting From Value-Based Care Could Cost Taxpayers
CMS recently announced it would end 2 mandatory bundled payment programs and leave these payment reform programs voluntary—a move that could cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Forbes reported that slowing the movement toward value-based care could damage the solvency of Medicare’s Hospital Trust Fund and cause it to run out sooner. For example, the joint replacement payment program was slated to save Medicare $294 million from 2018 to 2020, but making it voluntary means it is now expected to only save $204 million.
Brodalumab Is Effective, Safe in Patients With Moderate to Severe Psoriasis
March 18th 2024Posters presented at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting demonstrated both short- and long-term efficacy and safety profiles of brodalumab in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis.
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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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AstraZeneca joins efforts to address high drug prices by capping out-of-pocket costs for its inhalers; Opill, the first OTC birth control pill, is now accessible through online sales; expansion prompts questions on the effectiveness and regulation of remote monitoring technology.
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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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Health Equity and Access Weekly Roundup: March 16, 2024
March 16th 2024This week, the Center on Health Equity and Access highlighted expert opinions on a mental health paradigm shift in the workplace, the impact health care algorithms can have on patient outcomes, and social factors linked with hidradenitis suppurativa severity, in addition to addressing the health needs of justice-involved populations.
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