Insurance

The offer of free medications to low-income Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes enrolled in Part D plans has no impact on generic prescribing rates.

In response to trepidation from clinicians, CMS has announced a proposal to alter the rules of the Quality Payment Program established by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). The changes will exempt thousands of physicians from quality reporting requirements and allow small practices to form “virtual groups” with one another.

Cardiovascular outcomes trials and a photography ban that dominated social media were big news at the 77th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

The collaboration between a digital behavioral health provider and an insurer comes as CMS admits challenges setting up the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program.

A light-hearted format for the discussion at the 77th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association still brought out the seriousness of the issue: too many with type 2 diabetes have poor glycemic control, and another medication may not be the answer.

The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) has demonstrated that it can improve the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes while saving or maintaining costs, explained Nina Brown-Ashford, MPH, CHES, deputy group director at the CMS Innovation Center. Next, CMS will finalize the DPP’s expansion in another round of rulemaking.

No one questions the long-term savings that the Diabetes Prevention Program will bring to Medicare, but getting it off the ground will require several steps that have never been done before, including a new payment model.

Patients with comorbid depression and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have low rates of adherence to their COPD management medications, putting them at increased risk of emergency department visits and hospitalizations.

In testimony before the US House Ways and Means Committee’s Health subcommittee, Mark Fendrick, MD, co-director of the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design, discussed the importance of allowing for flexibility and clinical nuance when it comes to encouraging value in Medicare Advantage plans.

CMS is giving seniors until September 30, 2017, to request a waiver from all or part of the penalties they face for not enrolling on time for Medicare.

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

This week, the top managed care stories include an announcement that CMS will take Social Security numbers off Medicare cards; a national plan to combat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was released; and a nutrition advocacy group calls on FDA to stick with the schedule for a new nutrition facts label.

Patients with peripheral artery disease can now have supervised exercise therapy covered by Medicare, according to a recent announcement by CMS.