Four Republicans Don’t Support Senate Bill
Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) came out almost immediately against the Senate healthcare bill when it was released on Thursday. According to The Washington Post, the 4 senators said they cannot support the current bill. Cruz, Paul, and Lee want the bill to go further to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), while Johnson wants more time before voting on the bill—currently, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) wants to vote on the bill next week, before senators go home for the Fourth of July recess.
Opioid Funding in Senate Healthcare Bill
The Senate healthcare bill does not just rollback pieces of the ACA and reform Medicaid, it also includes funding for opioid addiction treatment. While some Republican senators had been looking to get $45 billion in funding over 10 years, the bill only includes $2 billion for 1 year, reported The Wall Street Journal. Reactions were mixed with Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) approving of the funding while Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) likely to push for more funding during negotiations.
Humana Is Done With Individual Market
Humana’s CEO said that the insurer is done with the individual insurance market. Regardless of whether Republicans reshape the market through a bill repealing the ACA or if Obamacare stays the law of the land and stabilizes, Humana has no plans to reenter the individual market, according to Reuters. In February, the insurer announced it was leaving the market in 11 states—instead it will focus on Medicare Advantage, according to its CEO.
Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen
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.
Read More
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.
Listen
What We’re Reading: Abortion Privacy Rules; Alzheimer Drug Hurdles; Nursing Home Staffing Overhaul
April 23rd 2024New health privacy rules aim to protect patients and providers in an evolving abortion landscape; some physicians express concerns about efficacy, risks, and entrenched beliefs in treating Alzheimer disease; CMS addresses longstanding staffing deficits in nursing homes.
Read More
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.
Read More