Expanding Medicare coverage for obesity drugs; tens of thousands of doctors begin 3-day strike; a surge in Black infant deaths in 2020 highlights racial disparities.
Health Economists Concerned Over Medicare Expansion for Obesity Drugs
Expanding Medicare prescription coverage of popular diabetes drugs repurposed as weight loss drugs—with trial data showing at least a 20% weight loss—would be “catastrophic,” believe health economists, according to Reuters. Medicare is currently forbidden to cover antiobesity drugs. However, if passed by Congress, The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act would allow Medicare to cover such expensive drugs as Wegovy (semaglutide) from Novo Nordisk and Mounjaro (tirzepatide) from Eli Lilly and Co, both with approximate annual costs of $13,000.
Doctors Begin 3-Day Strike in United Kingdom
Junior doctors (those early in their careers) around England went on strike on Monday, demanding better pay by UK state-funded hospitals and clinics, according to The Associated Press. This strike will include mass walkouts by tens of thousands of doctors until Wednesday, when the United Kingdom plans to release its latest budget agenda. According to reports by The British Medical Association, the trade union for doctors, pay for junior doctors has fallen 26% since 2008, with newly qualified doctors earning about $17 per hour.
Unexpected Black Infant Deaths Surge in 2020
A recent study found the rate of unexpected Black infant deaths rose drastically in 2020, according to CNN Health. Although the rate of sudden unexpected infant deaths for White babies dropped to its lowest since 2017, the rate for Black babies, already twice as high in 2017, spiked to nearly 3 times higher in 2020. Health experts are currently looking into potential underlying causes for this surge, which include racial and socioeconomic disparities that may be attributed to unsafe sleep, suffocation, or strangulation in bed—factors that made up a large portion of sudden infant deaths in 2020.
Health Equity Adjustments in Medicare HVBP Program Will Benefit Safety Net Hospitals, Study Says
March 29th 2024Medicare’s upcoming health equity adjustment in the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) program will reduce disproportionate penalization among safety net hospitals and those serving high proportions of Black patients, according to a recent study.
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Navigating Health Literacy, Social Determinants, and Discrimination in National Health Plans
February 13th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the February 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on how health plans can screen for health literacy, social determinants of health, and perceived health care discrimination.
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CMS released a final rule to help patients obtain Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage and issued a proposed rule to update Medicare payment policies and rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities; debate over if gift card incentives are acceptable in health care marketing.
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Drs Raymond Thertulien, Joseph Mikhael on Racial Disparities in Multiple Myeloma Care Access
December 28th 2023In the wake of the 2023 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, Raymond Thertulien, MD, PhD, of Novant Health, and Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, discussed health equity research highlights from the meeting and drivers of racial disparities in multiple myeloma outcomes.
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Health Equity and Access Weekly Roundup: March 23, 2024
March 23rd 2024The Center on Health Equity and Access covered disparities in hypertension, diabetic eye health, and hidradenitis suppurativa, along with the proposed legislation banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in Alabama schools and the consequences in sickle cell care from the CDC guideline for opioid prescriptions.
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