AHA Commercial Implores Congress to Maintain Coverage
Televisions in the Washington, DC, area will soon be broadcasting ads from the American Hospital Association (AHA) urging policy makers to protect health insurance coverage for the 20 million Americans who gained it under the Affordable Care Act. According to Inside Health Policy, the ad does not mention the Republicans’ proposed American Health Care Act by name, instead it alludes to the idea that some plans being debated in Congress would revoke coverage for millions.
Conditional Approval Could Limit Price of Novel Drugs
A Health Affairs blog post suggested a potential solution to the exorbitant costs of new drugs: conditional approval, which would allow drugs to be sold at a limited price until long-term efficacy data warrants full approval. It used the example of a new drug for Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy that costs $300,000 per year but has not demonstrated clinical benefit beyond a change in a surrogate endpoint. A conditional approval policy would allow patients to access the medication at a low cost, which would either avoid wasteful spending if the drug is ultimately not effective or prevent needless suffering and death if it is beneficial.
Opioid Use Among Adolescents Continues to Decline
Both the nonmedical and medical use of prescription opioids by US adolescents has decreased since 2013, according to a study in Pediatrics. Teens who reported both medical and nonmedical use were more likely to report they had used opioids for medical reasons first before beginning to take them recreationally. The researchers called for more preventive interventions targeting this age group, such as educating them on proper disposal of the drugs after their medical need has ended.
New Data Update Myasthenia Gravis Outcomes for Patients in Australia
December 3rd 2023Patients living with myasthenia gravis in Australia were surveyed their demographic information, clinical features of the autoimmune disease, adverse effects from treatment, and quality of life. Outcomes were compared against 2011 data from Australia and 2019 data from the United States.
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Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Thyme Care CEO and Cofounder Robin Shah
October 2nd 2023Robin Shah, CEO of Thyme Care, which he founded in 2020 with Bobby Green, MD, president and chief medical officer, joins hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, to discuss his evolution as an entrepreneur in oncology care innovation and his goal of positively changing how patients experience the cancer system.
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Health Equity and Access Weekly Roundup: December 2, 2023
December 2nd 2023The Center on Health Equity and Access highlights the most recent updates in the realm of health equity, including news, research findings, and initiatives focused on mitigating health care disparities and enhancing overall access to quality care.
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Insufficient Data, Disparities Plague Lung Cancer Risk Factor Documentation
September 24th 2023On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the senior author of a study published in the September 2023 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® on the importance of adequate and effective lung cancer risk factor documentation to determine a patient's eligibility for screening.
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