May 26th 2025
This week, the Center on Health Equity & Access covered news from the Trump administration and CMS, Cigna's co-pay cap on weight loss drugs, and perspectives on living with HIV.
Kathy Oubre on Navigating the Aftermath of the Change Healthcare Cyberattack
April 5th 2024Kathy Oubre, MS, CEO of Pontchartrain Cancer Center, is 1 of 6 cochairs for the 2024 Community Oncology Conference, and here she discusses how meeting content has incorporated ongoing coverage of the extremely disruptive cyberattack and how there is still so much work to be done.
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Jon Levitt Highlights Urgency for Stronger Employer Oversight of PBMs
April 5th 2024Jonathan E. Levitt, Esq, founding partner of boutique health care law firm Frier Levitt, LLC, discusses a recent class-action lawsuit brought against Johnson & Johnson in which an employee alleged a breach of fiduciary duty regarding her employer-sponsored pharmacy benefits.
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Dr Sandra Stein on the Important Issue of Social Determinants of Health
April 5th 2024After moderating the panel discussion at The American Journal of Managed Care®’s Institute for Value-Based Medicine® (IVBM) event held in partnership with Banner|Aetna, Sandra Stein, MD, chief medical officer of Banner Health Plans, shared her key takeaway.
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Study: 1 in 6 US Patients With COPD Suffers From Cost-Related Medication Nonadherence
April 3rd 2024Medication nonadherence among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with increasing COPD symptoms, hospitalizations, morbidity, mortality, and health care expenditures.
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Adjusting Starting Points for Initial Price Offers: The Example of Ibrutinib
Ibrutinib has been selected for Medicare price negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act. The authors summarize the House Oversight Committee investigation to be considered by CMS during the price negotiation process.
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CMS released a final rule to help patients obtain Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage and issued a proposed rule to update Medicare payment policies and rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities; debate over if gift card incentives are acceptable in health care marketing.
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The Pivotal Role of Payers in Improving Health Equity, Maternal Health Care in the US
March 26th 2024A presentation at the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health's 2024 Women’s Health Summit discussed how payers, including employers and public entities, can strategically influence health care purchasing to prioritize maternal health and equity.
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Health Equity and Access Weekly Roundup: March 23, 2024
March 23rd 2024The Center on Health Equity and Access covered disparities in hypertension, diabetic eye health, and hidradenitis suppurativa, along with the proposed legislation banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in Alabama schools and the consequences in sickle cell care from the CDC guideline for opioid prescriptions.
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CMS is highly likely to negotiate the price of the obesity medication semaglutide in the coming years; many health care providers are trying to determine whether their cyberattack insurance will help cover their losses after the Change Healthcare hack; the US life expectancy increased for the first time in 2 years.
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Covered Preventive Services at Risk: V-BID Summit Breaks Down the Braidwood v Becerra Case
March 20th 2024For more than a decade, certain high-value preventive care services have been covered at no cost to patients under the Affordable Care Act, but a current legal challenge has the coverage at risk.
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FDA Approves Arsa-Cel for Metachromatic Leukodystrophy
March 19th 2024The approval makes atidarsagene autotemcel (arsa-cel [Lenmeldy]; Orchard Therapeutics) the first approved treatment for metachromatic leukodystrophy, a disease caused by a mutation in the ARSA gene and marked by progressive declines in both the central and peripheral nervous systems.
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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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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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Reducing Low-Value Care Is Hard, but What About Just Not Paying for It?
March 14th 2024After years of efforts to reduce low-value care, panelists at the 2024 Value-Based Insurance Design Summit proposed a new strategy: drawing a line in the sand that payers will not be on the hook for these services.
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Navigating the Mental Health Challenges of Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survivorship
March 12th 2024Stress has potential links to worse outcomes in cancer, such as decreased quality of life and greater risks of disease progression and metastasis. There is a complex mix of emotions patients with cancer experience.
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Most private health insurers have yet to publish criteria for when they will cover postpartum depression drug, zuranolone; state lawmakers are increasingly opposing health care mergers that they believe do not serve the public interest; Medicaid extensions made in 2021 led to a 40% decline in postpartum lack of insurance.
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From Stigma to Solutions: MBGH Panel Explores Mental Health Paradigm Shift in the Workplace
March 8th 2024The critical issue of mental health in the workplace was discussed by experts in the field at the recent Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH) Mental Health Forum, shedding light on the growing concern surrounding alcohol use disorder and the pressing need for innovative therapies.
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