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What We're Reading: GSK Buying Tesaro; GOP Gives Up Planned Parenthood Cuts; Medicare and Nursing Homes
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is buying cancer biotech firm Tesaro for for $5.1 billion; Republicans in Congree are giving up efforts to cut Planned Parenthood funding; Medicare is using financial incentives to reward or punish nursing homes based on how often their residents ended up back in hospitals within 30 days of discharge.
GlaxoSmithKline Purchasing Cancer Biotech Tesaro for $5.1 Billion
GlaxoSmithKline is buying cancer biotech firm Tesaro for for $5.1 billion, STAT reported. Tesaro’s ovarian cancer drug Zejula belongs to a class of cancer drugs called poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. Zejula sales are expected to be in range of $233 million to $238 million this year. GlaxoSmithKline said the purchase “will strengthen our pharmaceuticals business by accelerating the build of our oncology pipeline and commercial footprint.” Biotech mergers and acquisitions have been generally lackluster this year, so the deal may spark renewed optimism for new deals in 2019.
Republicans Giving Up Efforts to Cut Federal Planned Parenthood Funds
With Democrats preparing to take control of the House, Congressional Republicans are giving up on years of promises to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood, Politico reported. That became evident last week when Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, briefly tried and failed to push through one last bid to push through Planned Parenthood cuts, a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and other conservative priorities. But rattled by the possibility of a shutdown next week triggered by President Donald Trump’s border wall demands, most Republicans, dismissed his bid, infuriating anti-abortion groups, who plan to turn to state legislatures and the courts.
Medicare Using Funding to Push Nursing Homes to Improve Hospital Readmissions
The United States is using financial incentives to reward or punish nursing homes based on how often their residents ended up back in hospitals within 30 days of leaving, Kaiser Health News reported. The new Medicare program is altering a year’s worth of payments to 14,959 skilled nursing facilities. It lowered payments to nearly 11,000 nursing homes and gave bonuses to nearly 4000 others. These bonuses and penalties are also intended to discourage nursing homes from discharging patients too quickly. Hospitalizations of nursing home residents, while decreasing in recent years, remain a problem, with nearly 11% of patients in 2016 being sent to hospitals for conditions that might have been averted with better medical oversight.
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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HMO and EPO Insurance Plans More Likely to Promote Use of Biosimilars
November 21st 2023Health plan type highly influences the likelihood of biosimilar uptake, with low-flexibility insurance plans more likely to have patients who either switched to a biosimilar or were initiated on a biosimilar.
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Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Dr Debra Patt of Texas Oncology
August 1st 2023Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, joins hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, for episode 2 of our newest podcast, "Oncology Onward: Conversations With Innovators and Changemakers in Cancer Care."
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Therapists’ Perspectives on Access to Telemental Health Among Medicaid-Enrolled Youth
November 10th 2023This qualitative study elucidates therapists’ perspectives on barriers to and facilitators of access to telemental health among Medicaid-enrolled youth served by a large safety-net organization.
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