The Senate Unanimously Confirms Shulkin
David J. Shulkin is a holdover from the Obama administration and is, so far, President Donald Trump’s only Cabinet pick with rare bipartisan support. According to The Washington Post, Shulkin was confirmed 100-0 and will lead the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) after 18 months as the undersecretary for health. The VA is still troubled by long wait times and shortages of frontline nurses and doctors. Despite talk from the president, Shulkin promised senators that he would not privatize the VA.
In Texas, Experiment to Privatize Medicaid Transportation Fails
A state program to transport Texans to medical appointments has cost the state more and served fewer people, reported the Houston Chronicle. The move to privatize the state transportation program was supposed to reduce fraud, but the number of poor Texans using the program has fallen from 350,000 to 150,000; meanwhile, costs per ride have nearly tripled for the public. Despite the costs and the drop in users, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission renewed all of the contracts until 2018.
A Look at the GOP’s Talking Points on Healthcare
Kaiser Health News has analyzed the Republicans Party’s 4 most common talking points about the shortcomings of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). More than that, the piece, written by Julie Rovner, determined that political fights over the law may have contributed to its issues. For example, one talking point is that the individual health insurance market is collapsing. Both House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, have said this, yet more than 10 million Americans are getting covered by the ACA’s exchanges, which experts suggest means this claim isn't true.
Standard Criteria for Loss of Ambulation Needed in DMD
April 19th 2024A recent study suggests the differences between ambulation definitions for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) can impact the identification of ambulant vs nonambulant individuals, and standard criteria across settings are needed.
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
An Overview of Health Care and Pharmaceutical Trends, 2023-2024
April 19th 2024Douglas M. Long, BA, MBA, was featured as the keynote speaker on the closing day of The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2024 annual meeting, with a session dedicated to surveying the health care and pharmaceutical trends of the last year.
Read More
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.
Listen
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.
Read More