Health Care Cost

Funding cuts threaten public health programs; emergency room doctors see a surge in heat-related illnesses; national crisis line shows promising results with increased text volumes and reduced wait times.

A report from Samsung Bioepis highlighted the positive correlation between biosimilar usage and average sales price discounts, with the oncology space being more price sensitive than other areas.

Health-related quality of life is a psychometrically sound outcome measure for high-cost, high-need populations. Unlike health care spending, it does not exhibit mean reversion.

Patients with metastatic prostate cancer who face high financial toxicity resulting from treatment may cope in ways that impact overall quality of life, according to a recent study.

The study investigated event rates for several outcomes in the year following a first hospitalization for heart failure (HF), including implementation of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT).

Two abstracts presented at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting evaluated biosimilar adoption across oncology practices and highlighted the role payers play in preventing or promoting adoption.

After 7 years, competition for Humira is here. The first adalimumab biosimilar launched in January, but an additional 8, including an interchangeable product, will hit the US market in July.

The researchers focused on coverage trends across an array of disease states, including lymphoma, vision loss, and spinal muscular atrophy, finding discrepancies in coverage across 16 states and Medicaid Care Organizations.

A new study investigated the potential impact of remote monitoring of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) on care use and costs.

Texas Oncology's Travis Brewer, vice president of payer relations, discusses how collaboration between primary care providers and oncologists can improve population health outcomes by focusing on payer initiatives and strategies.

Black veterans continue to encounter benefits disparities; health workers feel capable of handling future surges after the pandemic; the COVAX initiative aims to redirect remaining vaccine spending

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the lead researcher from a study published in the June 2023 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about how employers and their employees are utilizing direct-to-consumer telehealth to reduce the cost of care.

The Act4Biosimilars Action Plan seeks to increase biosimilar adoption by at least 30 percentage points in 30-plus countries by 2030.

"Our research is unique in its attempt to describe a high-need, high-cost patient population who might benefit from increased monitoring or intervention,"Ann Cameron, PhD, says.

Shifts in clinical treatment patterns could prompt investigators to revisit the cost-effectiveness question.

Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH, will take over the CDC; abortion activists acknowledge 1 year without Roe v Wade; Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) challenges Medicare’s drug price negotiation program.

An analysis of Medicaid data from adults in Alabama suggests just more than 50% of patients fail to get ambulatory follow-up care within the recommended 14-day window following a first-time heart failure hospitalization.

The pharmacy benefit manager SmithRx has announced that through a partnership with the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, it will offer Yusimry, an adalimumab biosimilar, for less than 90% of the cost of the reference product, Humira.

Biden administration finalizes a deal on covering preventive care despite legal battle; CMS prepares safety net hospital reimbursement plans; over 1 million Americans have been dropped from Medicaid coverage

The Biden administration will impose drug price inflation penalties on drugmakers; a study reveals massive amounts of COVID-19 relief funds were stolen; experimental vaccine nearly doubles survival in patients in a trial.

With the number of treatment options in hematology and oncology rapidly expanding, so too are the strategies for determining and ensuring cost-effectiveness, according to session speakers at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2023 Congress.

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) was not linked with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) in minors, but was associated with obesity and tobacco use in this age group.

Much work is needed to address inequities and gaps in care access for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), said Jeffrey Lancet, MD, chair of the Department of Malignant Hematology at Moffitt Cancer Center.

This counterfactual simulation study on a nationally representative sample of the working population with musculoskeletal conditions estimated the value of patient-initiated virtual physical therapy.

The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, an online pharmacy dedicated to increasing access to lower-cost prescriptions, is partnering with Coherus Biosciences to distribute Yusimry, a biosimilar referencing Humira. It’s the first time the pharmacy has added a biosimilar to its list of drugs.

According to a spokesperson, Merck is prepared to take the lawsuit to the Supreme Court as it challenges drug price negotiations as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Merck sues to stop Medicare drug price negotiations; doctors delay lifesaving therapies due to cancer drug shortages; a federal appeals court will hear Affordable Care Act coverage prevention case.

When multiple trastuzumab biosimilars entered the US market in quick succession, they were able to do something other biosimilars have not in the United States: drive down the cost of the originator biologic.

The sharp reduction in costs for hospitalization from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants 3 months and younger after the COVID-19 pandemic outweighed the cost increase for children aged 3 to 24 months.

Health restrictions on transgender adults and children; weight-loss companies to include obesity drugs; hormone patches or creams for menopause may have lower blood pressure risk than pills