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What We're Reading: Medicare Extenders; Right-to-Try Opposition; Fetal Alcohol Disorders
The House's stopgap spending bill includes Medicare extenders; 40 patient advocacy groups oppose the right-to-try legislation that President Donald Trump is supporting; new research finds fetal alcohol syndrome and alcohol-related disorders may be more common than previously thought.
House Spending Bill Includes Medicare Extenders
The deadline for Congress to avoid another government shutdown is fast approaching, and the House has passed a stopgap spending bill that includes provisions to fund a number of Medicare extenders. The Medicare extenders include extensions of the 2% urban, 3% rural, and 22.6% super rural ground ambulance add-on payments; the Geographic Practice Cost Indices; and the Medicare-dependent hospital program. The bill also permanently reauthorizes Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans for vulnerable populations and includes corrections to the Quality Payment Program under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act. The bill is now headed for a Senate vote.
Patient Advocacy Groups Oppose Right-to-Try Bill
During his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump brought attention to right-to-try legislation and urged Congress to pass legislation. However, 40 patient advocacy groups have written to House leaders and told them they oppose right-to-try legislation on experimental drugs, reported The Hill. The groups are concerned that the legislation won’t actually increase patient access and might do more harm than good by undermining patient protections. However, supporters of the legislation believe it will give terminally ill patients another chance to access a potentially life-saving drug.
Fetal Alcohol Disorder Rate Higher Than Believed
New research in JAMA has found that more American children may be suffering from fetal alcohol disorders than previously thought. According to The New York Times, alcohol-related disorders among children can cause issues that hurt a child’s development and learning ability. Some of the ways to diagnose these disorders can be difficult to identify or be attributed to other diagnoses, making it unclear how common alcohol-related disorders are. However, the researchers estimate that these disorders may be at least as common as autism among American children.
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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Commonwealth Fund Report Details Pervasive Racial and Ethnic Disparities in US Health Care, Outcomes
April 18th 2024Using 25 health system performance indicators, the Commonwealth Fund 2024 State Health Disparities Report evaluated racial and ethnic disparities in health care and health outcomes both within and across US states and highlighted the urgent need for equitable health care policies and practices in the US.
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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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