Health Care Cost

Throughout 2024, the Center on Health Equity & Access explored critical gaps in health care access and innovative efforts to address them.

The most-read obesity articles of 2024 mostly focused on insurance coverage of weight loss medications and costs.

Since its founding in 2012, the National Association of ACOs has evolved from a group of 30 to 477 accountable care organization members covering 9.2 million beneficiary lives.

This year’s top diabetes content focused on pediatric metabolic health, misconceptions about weight loss drugs, and more.

Recent analyses spotlight inequities in health care, from the financial burdens faced by employees at small firms due to higher insurance costs to disparities in data and ovarian cancer survival among racial and ethnic groups.

Multicancer early detection testing results in extended life-years and reduced cancer treatment costs through earlier diagnosis, leading to a cost-effective option in cancer screening.

A new report from The Commonwealth Fund compares trends in health plan spending and employee costs for 2014 through 2023 between small and large businesses, taking into account plan premiums, employee contributions, and deductibles. It also highlights that although small firms do not even have to offer health benefits, large firms are required to do so by the Affordable Care Act.

Using direct oral anticoagulants as a case study, the authors examined how delayed adoption of novel treatments could impact patient health outcomes and cost.

Implementing an individualized starting dose (ISD) of niraparib (Zejula; GSK) reduced severe hematologic adverse event (AE) management costs by 48% compared with a fixed starting dose (FSD) in US patients with ovarian cancer.

Among commercial and Medicare supplemental beneficiaries with cost sharing, higher out-of-pocket spending for the first cardiac rehabilitation session was associated with lower program adherence.

The Center on Health Equity & Access provides news and expert insights on research, health policy, and the impact of social determinants on health.

This commentary, part of the Price Crisis campaign, calls for state and federal policy interventions that are needed to rebalance the market to enhance competition and provide value in health care.

Insurance hurdles worsen delays, force abandoned treatments, and result in hospitalizations and deaths, radiation oncologists report nationwide.

Older adults in the United States are disproportionately affected by health care costs compared with their counterparts in other wealthy nations.

Gene therapies can be life-changing for people, but the high cost plus the burden of treatment remain barriers to access and utilization, explained Kevin Niehoff, PharmD, BCMAS, of IPD Analytics.

Cancer drug prices rose post-launch in the US, while they declined in Germany and Switzerland.

Matias Sanchez, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago, discussed recent advancements in multiple myeloma treatment, including the potential of cell therapies and bispecific antibodies.

The Center on Health Equity & Access highlights news and expert insights on research, social determinants of health, and health policy.

While the Medicare Competitive Bidding Program reduced spending, it did not significantly impact supplemental oxygen use or clinical outcomes among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Americans are underinsured, even with employer-based health plans; a thorough critique of the lack of representation among Black patients in clinical trials showcases a persistent theme; systemic barriers in cardiology, breast cancer, and patent systems are examined.

Women living with HIV can reduce their risk of cervical cancer using a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that is both cost-effective and effective in preventing the virus.

Despite significant progress in expanding health insurance coverage since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted, millions of Americans still face critical gaps in access to and affordability of health care.

This is how health care organizations are addressing compliance pressures, cybersecurity threats, and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) amid resource constraints and evolving regulations.

Financial incentives provided to hospitals in Japan led to a significant increase in biosimilar oncology drug prescriptions.

The Center on Health Equity & Access showcases the latest news and expert perspectives on research, social determinants of health, and health policy.

Over time, biosimilars are gaining traction in the US and becoming preferred products, explained James D. Chambers, PhD, of Tufts Medical Center.

There are significant financial and psychological burdens of abortion care in the US, especially for those traveling out of state due to local restrictions in the increasingly restrictive post-Dobbs landscape.

This research is not the first to uncover duplicative and wasteful spending on health care for veterans who receive care primarily through the Veterans Health Administration as they are also enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans.

The venetoclax-based regimen was associated with an approximate $8000 decrease in costs compared with the continuous Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment 6 months after the fixed-duration period.