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What We're Reading: Contractors Lose Insurance; Sickle Cell Gene Therapy; Common Ground on Medical Bills
Federal contractors lost not only wages during the 5-week government shutdown, some of them also lost health insurance; with advances in gene therapy, scientists are beginning to talk about a cure in sickle cell disease; there’s bipartisan interest in attacking the issue of unexpected medical bills, and the effort has been aided by President Donald Trump, who voiced support last week for protecting patients.
Federal Contractors Left Struggling After Shutdown Ended Health Insurance
Federal contractors lost not only wages during the 5-week government shutdown, some of them lost health insurance, The Washington Post reported. The paper detailed how 1 government contractor was unable to pay the $60,000 premium to CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, leaving employees and their families, some of whom have delayed medical care, with financial liabilities.
Gene Therapy May Cure Sickle Cell Disease
With advances in gene therapy, scientists are beginning to talk about a cure in sickle cell disease, The New York Times reported. In a half-dozen clinical trials planned or underway, researchers are testing strategies for correcting the problem at the genetic level. While a handful of the enrolled patients no longer show signs of the disease, it is still early in the course of these experimental treatments, and it is likely to be at least 3 years before one is approved.
Lawmakers, Trump Find Common Ground on Surprise Medical Bills
There’s bipartisan interest in attacking the issue of unexpected medical bills, and the effort has been aided by President Donald Trump, who voiced support last week for protecting patients, The Hill reported. The effort faces obstacles from powerful healthcare industry groups, which want to ensure that they avoid a financial hit from whatever solution lawmakers and the White House put forth.
CMS' 340B Repayment Proposal May Harm Vulnerable Hospitals, Reward Those With Higher Revenues
April 26th 2024The 340B hospitals not receiving an offsetting lump-sum payment from CMS following 2018-2022 cuts later ruled unlawful are disproportionately rural, publicly owned, and nonacademic, according to a new study.
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Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Empowering Community Health Through Wellness and Faith
April 23rd 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. In the third episode, Camille Clarke-Smith, EdD, MS, CHES, CPT, discusses approaching community health holistically through spiritual and community engagement.
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Kaiser Permanente was hit by a data breach in mid-April, impacting 13.4 million health plan members; GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) sued Pfizer and BioNTech for allegedly infringing on its messenger RNA technology patents in the companies’ COVID-19 vaccines; the CDC announced the first-known HIV cases transmitted via cosmetic injections.
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