AJMC® in the Press, October 27, 2017

An article in the Washington Examiner said that when it comes to health insurance, quality matters too. The article cited a study, “The Effects of Antihypertensive Step-Therapy Protocols on Pharmaceutical and Medical Utilization and Expenditures,” published by The American Journal for Managed Care^® (AJMC ^®) in 2009. The study found that the initial reductions step therapy causes in pharmaceutical costs are overwhelmed by more than $99 per patient in additional emergency room visits and in-patient hospital stays.

An article on Markets Insider Thursday cited a study published by AJMC^®. The study, “A Health Plan's Investigation of Healthy Days and Chronic Conditions,” found that patients with six chronic conditions (coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and depression) experienced a greater number of physically and mentally unhealthy days than the population average.

The National Pharmaceutical Council’s Daily Newsfeed e-mail on Thursday highlighted an article published by AJMC^®. The article, “VBID Summit Explores How Congress Can Make High-Deductible Plans Work for Consumers,” reported on the healthcare idea, value-based insurance design (VBID). VBID seeks to remove financial barriers to high-value care. The concept of VBID was pioneered by co-editor-in-chief of AJMC^® A. Mark Frederick, MD.