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This Week in Managed Care: July 11, 2015
The top story of the week was Aetna's purchase of Humana, which signals a growth in government managed care. In addition, the 340B drug discount program came under fire after a report from the Government Accountability Office.
The top story of the week was Aetna's announced purchase of Humana for $37 billion. The new company will combine Humana's 3.2 million Medicare enrollees with Aetna's 1.26 million Medicare enrollees. More than half of the business would come from government, especially Medicare. Regulators would still need to approve the purchase.
The 340B drug discount program came under fire after a report from the Government Accountability Office found that Medicare Part B spending per beneficiary in 340B hospitals was more than twice that of hospitals outside the program. Growth in the program has been blamed for rising healthcare costs and the loss of independent community oncology practices.
Articles from the special issue of Evidence-Based Oncology's coverage of the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting are now only. You can read about major findings, upcoming clinical trials in precision medicine, and reports from experts on how the move to value-based medicine effects cancer care. View the issue here.
