- Center on Health Equity and Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
What We're Reading: Cigna Eases Barriers to Drug That Treats Opioid Addiction
What we’re reading, October 24, 2016: Cigna makes it easier for clinicians to prescribe drugs to treat opioid addiction; some hospitals move to eliminate sugary drinks from their campuses; and a researcher at the National Cancer Institute was months late to notify authorities of 2 deaths in the clinical trial he oversaw.
Cigna has eased pre-authorization requirements for prescribing buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid addiction. Previously, physicians were required to submit a prior approval form that asked several questions about the patient, sometimes waiting days for coverage approval. The move initially came as a result of a settlement between Cigna and New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman; Cigna then decided to amend the requirements nationwide.
Increasing numbers of hospitals are removing sugary drinks from their cafeterias and vending machines in an attempt to encourage healthier choices, but not everyone agrees on the practicality of the bans. Several hospital workers interviewed by STAT News felt that patients and visitors should have the right to decide what they want to drink. Critics of the bans also questioned the decision to leave diet sodas available, since some research says artificial sweeteners can be harmful, as well.
A researcher at the National Cancer Institute waited several months to notify authorities of 2 subjects who died during his clinical trial. Two patients with lymphoma participating in a trial of ibrunitib died of infections in May and December 2015, but the principal investigator did not file an “unanticipated problem” report until May of this year. The National Institutes of Health plans to provide training sessions for other researchers and audit more clinical trials in an effort to prevent future lapses in reporting.
Standard Criteria for Loss of Ambulation Needed in DMD
April 19th 2024A recent study suggests the differences between ambulation definitions for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) can impact the identification of ambulant vs nonambulant individuals, and standard criteria across settings are needed.
Read More
Government agencies have created an online portal for the public to report potential anticompetitive practices in health care; there are changes coming to the “boxed warning” section for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies (CAR T) to highlight T-cell blood cancer risk; questions about the safety of obesity medications during pregnancy have arisen in women on them who previously struggled with fertility issues.
Read More
Gene, Light Therapy Combo Shows Promise Against Prostate Cancer Cells in Proof-of-Concept Study
April 18th 2024In their preclinical model, the researchers found efficacy both in vitro and in vivo by using CRISPR-Cas9 to mimic porphyria and combining the technology with light therapy.
Read More
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).
Read More
