HHS Is Slashing Spending on ACA Advertising
The Trump administration is cutting the advertising budget to promote enrollment under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by 90%. According to The New York Times, the Obama administration spent $100 million last year advertising the beginning of open enrollment, but the new administration will only spend $10 million. HHS will also slash grants to groups that help people enroll in health plans offered by the ACA marketplaces. Officials cited the reasons for the cut funding as the falling number of first-time enrollees and failure of many navigator groups to meet enrollment targets despite the funding. However, proponents of the ACA are crying foul, claiming that the move is an attempt to make the law fail.
Chemical Plant Presents New Health Hazard in Houston
With flood waters from Hurricane Harvey damaging the refrigerating system at a chemical plant in Houston, people in the area are at risk of an airborne danger. The plant caught fire early Thursday morning, and, in a worst-case scenario, the gas released from it could cause harm to 1 million residents in a 23-mile radius, The Wall Street Journal reported. In reality, likely fewer than the 1 million people in the area would be affected—wind patterns and other weather factors will impact the effects. People who are exposed for 30 minutes to 1 hour would experience serious health effects.
Considering the High Price Tag of the first CAR-T Therapy
In an opinion piece for STAT, Anna Kaltenboeck and Peter B. Bach, MD, both of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discussed outcomes-based contracting for Novartis’ $475,000 CAR-T cell therapy recently approved by the FDA. They note that while Novartis said it will only charge when the drug achieves a clinical response, caution is needed. For example, Novartis can charge a much higher price in the first place or choose an outcome that makes the drug more likely to deliver a benefit. Another announcement from Novartis to keep an eye on is the idea that Kymriah may have a different price tag for any other indications it is approved for.
Dr Dalia Rotstein: Physicians Must Be Aware MS Affects People of All Backgrounds
April 24th 2024Dalia Rotstein, MD, MPH, emphazises the importance of awareness that multiple sclerosis (MS) impacts patients from various backgrounds as clinicians think through ways to improve access to care and research efforts in MS.
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Navigating Health Literacy, Social Determinants, and Discrimination in National Health Plans
February 13th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the February 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on how health plans can screen for health literacy, social determinants of health, and perceived health care discrimination.
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Polatuzumab Vedotin and R-CHP Appropriate for Untreated DLBCL
April 24th 2024Population pharmacokinetic and exposure-response analyses revealed a favorable benefit-risk profilane for the treatment combination of polatuzumab vedotin and rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (R-CHP).
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Drs Raymond Thertulien, Joseph Mikhael on Racial Disparities in Multiple Myeloma Care Access
December 28th 2023In the wake of the 2023 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, Raymond Thertulien, MD, PhD, of Novant Health, and Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, discussed health equity research highlights from the meeting and drivers of racial disparities in multiple myeloma outcomes.
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Award-Winning Poster Presentations From AMCP 2024
April 23rd 2024At the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 2024 annual meeting, multiple poster presentations concerned with health equity, data collection, glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, and more were acknowledged for their originality, relevance, clarity, bias, and quality.
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