
This Week in Managed Care: October 11, 2019
This week, the top managed care news included an effort by the Trump administration to bolster Medicare Advantage; an abortion case from Louisiana reached the Supreme Court; the study of adapting to changing oxygen levels wins the Nobel Prize.
The Trump administration moves to bolster Medicare Advantage, an abortion case from Louisiana reaches the Supreme Court, and the study of adapting to changing oxygen levels wins the Nobel Prize.
Welcome to This Week in Managed Care, I’m Laura Joszt.
Trump Executive Order Bolsters Medicare, Medicare Advantage
President Trump last week issued an executive order to protect Medicare and give Medicare Advantage a competitive edge, as Democrats continue to promote the idea of "Medicare for All" on the campaign trail. The order directs the secretary of HHS to allow Medicare to offer more diverse and affordable choices, including removing barriers to Medicare Savings Accounts.
Said HHS Secretary Alex Azar: “President Trump’s executive order delivers on the clear promise he’s made to Americans about their healthcare: protect what works in our system and fix what’s broken.”
Among other provisions, the order calls for:
- Ending regulations that limit licensed professionals from practicing at the top of their license
- Ensuring that fee-for-service Medicare is not promoted over Medicare Advantage
- Promoting wider use of telehealth
Trump officials have said that most Americans do not want to give up the health insurance plan under a Medicare for All plan promoted by Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, but some Democrats accused the Republicans of scare tactics.
Senate Finance Committee members Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, said after Trump’s speech that Americans do favor allowing people to buy into Medicare if they choose.
“The American people aren’t buying Donald Trump’s scare tactics on healthcare. Democrats want people to have choices for their healthcare—whether that’s Medicare Advantage or allowing Americans under 65 to join the program if they choose. Trump and Republicans in Congress are creating a smokescreen to keep pushing junk insurance and manipulating the courts to take away protections for preexisting conditions.”
For more,
US Supreme Court to Hear Appeals for Abortion Access in Louisiana
The US Supreme Court
This will be the first major abortion case since Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh joined the Supreme Court.
Nobel Prize Honorees Announced
This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine honors three scientists who showed how cells adapt to oxygen levels: William G. Kaelin, Jr, MD, of Dana Farber Cancer Institute; Sir Peter J. Ratcliff, MD, of Oxford University; and Gregg Semenza, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University. Each played a role in the discovery of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), a complex that is both essential to the function of cells and tissues but can also fuel the growth of cancer tumors.
Said Randall Johnson of the Karolinska Institute, “That may be difficult to conceptualize that something can be both bad and good.”
The discovery is being applied in clinical practice for everything from cures for anemia to therapies that block the HIF-1-alpha protein to stop tumor growth.
For more,
California Expands Access to HIV Prevention Medication
California Governor Gavin Newsom
Said bill sponsor state Senator Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, “By allowing pharmacists to furnish these revolutionary medicines without a prescription, we will help more people—especially low-income people and people of color—stay negative.”
2019 US Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress
This weekend, The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) covered the 2019 US Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress in San Diego, California.
Headlines from the meeting included:
- A survey showing that patients with bipolar I disorder will tolerate symptoms rather than live with side effects of antipsychotics
- Mental health professionals are seeing more patients who are treating themselves with cannabidoil
- Genetics are increasingly playing a role in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders
For full meeting coverage, visit ajmc.com.
For all of us at AJMC®, I’m Laura Joszt. Thanks for joining us.
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