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What We're Reading: Alaska Has a New Method to Hold Down Insurance Costs
What we're reading, November 23, 2016: Alaska has a novel plan to hold down insurance premiums; MedPAC's executive director discusses continuation of value efforts; and new findings regarding microcephaly in Zika-infected babies.
Alaska is going to pay for the healthcare costs of the 500 sickest patients in the state in order to hold down premiums for the rest of the state’s residents. According to The Wall Street Journal, the sickest patients in the state had contributed to health insurance premiums rising 40% for the entire state. Now, Alaska, which is controlled by a Republican legislature, will contribute $55 million for at least 1 year to cover the costs of those patients.
During a Bloomberg Government discussion, the executive director of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) discussed efforts to bring more value to Medicare. He discussed increasing the adoption of site-neutral payments across Medicare and the expansion of bundled payments in fee-for-service, reported Bloomberg.
The abnormally small heads that became a way of identifying babies affected by the Zika virus may not be a reliable way to determine babies with microcephaly. Data has shown that a small group of babies born in Brazil who were infected with the Zika virus were born with normal sized heads, but developed microcephaly 5 months after being born, according to The Washington Post. Even without microcephaly, the Zika-infected babies had brain abnormalities, such as severe neurological damage.
Real-World Study Reveals Key Insights into DLBCL Treatment Patterns, Outcomes
April 18th 2024A recent study offers valuable insights into the characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in patients across different lines of therapy, providing a look into the landscape of DLBCL management.
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Navigating Health Policy in an Election Year: Insights From Dr Dennis Scanlon
April 2nd 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Dennis Scanlon, PhD, the editor in chief of The American Journal of Accountable Care®, about prior authorization, price transparency, the impact of health policy on the upcoming election, and more.
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Pegcetacoplan for PNH More Cost-Effective Than Anti-C5 Monoclonal Antibodies
April 18th 2024A cost-utility analysis conducted from the perspective of the Italian health system found that pegcetacoplan was more effective and less costly than 2 complement 5 (C5) inhibitors for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).
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Exploring Medicare Advantage Prior Authorization Variations
March 26th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the March 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on variations in prior authorization use across Medicare Advantage plans.
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Many Patients With Psoriasis in Clinical Trials Experience Nocebo Effects, Study Finds
April 18th 2024Half of patients exposed to placebo in clinical trials experienced adverse events (AEs), which may be partially explainable by nocebo effects, according to a recent review and meta-analysis.
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Low-Volume Hospitals Had Higher Reoperation Rate, Postoperative Complications in CRC
April 18th 2024Patients opting for elective colorectal surgery to address colorectal cancer (CRC) could have different rates of reoperation and postoperative complications based on the size of the hospital.
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