AJMC® in the Press, September 6, 2019

Health Payer Intelligence referenced a study in this month’s issue of The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®) in its article on Medicare Advantage payment cuts. The study, “Did Medicare Advantage Payment Cuts Affect Beneficiary Access and Affordability?,” found that the payment cuts, issued under the Affordable Care Act, were not significantly associated with healthcare access or affordability.

A study published in the August issue of AJMC^® looked at the impact of delays in treatment with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy and found that delays limit the social value generated by the treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The study, “The Potential Impact of CAR T-Cell Treatment Delays on Society,” was highlighted in an article from Cancer Network.

Three articles from AJMC^®’s sister site The Center for Biosimilars^® were featured in a piece appearing in the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics regarding biosimilar use in the United States. The article “Pfizer Launches Biosimilar Filgrastim, Nivestym, at a Substantial Discount” covered Pfizer’s indication that Nivestym would be priced at a wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) of $350.40 per 480-mcg prefilled syringe, 30.3% lower than that of the reference Neupogen, and the article “Mylan to Launch Fulphila at 33% Discount to Neulasta” covered Mylan’s decision to launch its biosimilar pegfilgrastim at a WAC of $4174 per syringe, a 33% discount to the WAC of Amgen’s reference product, Neulasta. The third article, “Coherus Confirms That It Has Launched Its Pegfilgrastim Biosimilar, Udenyca,” covered the launch of Coherus BioSciences’ pegfilgrastim biosimilar, Udenyca, in the United States.

An article from Advisory Board cited the AJMC^® published study “Influence of Out-of-Network Payment Standards on Insurer—Provider Bargaining: California’s Experience,” which concluded that the state’s experience implementing a policy to address surprise medical billing shows that out-of-network payment standards can influence payer—provider bargaining leverage, affecting prices and network breadth. However, the article also included the contributor piece “Can We Stop Surprise Medical Bills AND Strengthen Provider Networks? California Did,” written for AJMC.com, the website of AJMC^®, by America’s Health Insurance Plans that argued that in-network specialty doctors in the state have increased since the legislation passed.

Sputnik News referred to an article on AJMC.com covering the impact of soda consumption on mortality risk. The article, “Large European Study Links Soda Consumption to Greater Risk of Mortality, Including From Parkinson,” reported on findings from a population-based study from 10 European countries that found those who drank 2 or more glasses of soda per day had a higher risk of death than those who drank less than 1 glass per month.

The 2012 AJMC^® published study “Personalized Preventive Care Leads to Significant Reductions in Hospital Utilization” was featured in an article appearing in Daily Breeze. The study concluded that the MDVIP model of personalized preventive care allows the physician to take a more proactive, rather than reactive, approach to care.