- Center on Health Equity and Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Step Therapy Requirements Are Worsening, Says Dr James Howard
Myasthenia gravis expert James F. Howard, Jr, MD, professor of neurology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explains the burdens that step therapy places on patients with rare diseases and their providers.
James F. Howard, Jr, MD, professor of neurology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, former chief of the Neuromuscular Disorders Division, and former James F. Howard Distinguished Professor of Neuromuscular Disease, explains the step therapy burdens faced by patients with myasthenia gravis, as well as their providers.
Transcript
How are patients with rare diseases like myasthenia gravis affected by step therapy and prior authorization, and do you see this getting better or worse?
The burdens that are placed on to us by our payers through prior authorizations, etc, are overly burdensome. It consumes time—not only the physician, but of the staff—to complete paperwork, to spend countless amounts of time on telephone calls that totally detracts from our ability to provide top-level care to the individual patient themselves. I foresee this, unless there's a change in culture, in our legislature, I see this becoming progressively worse. And it has been over my career.
The Joint Commission is launching the Rural Health Clinic Accreditation Program to standardize staff training and patient care practices at rural health clinics nationwide; the American Cancer Society recently launched the largest-ever study of cancer risk and outcomes in Black women; the HHS COVID-19 vaccination campaign saved $732 billion by preventing illness and related costs.
Read More
CMS Medicare Final Rule: Advancing Benefits, Competition, and Consumer Protection
May 7th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Karen Iapoce, senior director of government products and programs at ZeOmega, about the recent CMS final rule on Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage.
Listen
Tackling Health Inequality: The Power of Education and Experience
April 30th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our final episode of this limited series and our conversation with Janine Jelks-Seale, MSPPM, director of health equity at UPMC Health Plan.
Listen
