The health law's biggest changes don't take effect until 2014, when states and insurers must be ready to begin signing up an estimated 32 million people in Medicaid and private insurance. But a successful rollout in 2 years hinges on critical decisions that states must make — and take quick action on – this year.
It will be difficult for many states to meet fast-approaching deadlines, and some may not make it, says Brett Graham, a managing director at Leavitt Partners, a consulting firm working with states on implementation of the law.
Time is short, and states are missing key pieces of how-to guidance from the federal government about everything from what various insurance exchange options will look like to which benefits must be included in health plans, he says. To make matters worse, states are competing for a limited pool of information-technology vendors to help them get started.
"It's a pressure cooker," said Graham. States are "in a position where they have to act with imperfect information."
Read the full article at: http://tinyurl.com/6vhhk5c
Source: Kaiser Health News
Trastuzumab Biosimilar Gets Go Ahead in EU for HER2+ Breast and Metastatic Gastric Cancers
December 5th 2023EG12014, a biosimilar of the anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody trastuzumab, has received a marketing authorization from the European Commission for use in the European Union (EU) for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive (HER2+) breast and metastatic gastric cancer; these are the same indications that trastuzumab holds in the European Union.
Read More
Data From Phase 3 Trials Demonstrate Efficacy of Dupilumab for Treating COPD, Type 2 Inflammation
December 4th 2023Patients with uncontrolled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and type 2 inflammation had significantly better lung function at least a year into a dupilumab regimen.
Read More
What We’re Reading: Affordable Home Care; Mycoplasma Infections Rise; Opioid Crisis Settlement
December 4th 2023Families struggle to find affordable, reliable home health aides; reports of increased pediatric pneumonia cases; legal battle ensues over Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement.
Read More
Survival, PROs Favor Cemiplimab Plus Chemotherapy vs Chemotherapy Alone in Advanced NSCLC
December 4th 2023For patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), regardless of PD-L1 status, cemiplimab plus chemotherapy had favorable survival benefits and patient-reported outcomes over chemotherapy alone.
Read More