Appeals court affirms decision to place a hold on the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for large employers; rising Medicare premiums linked with controversial Alzheimer drug; 3 states expand COVID-19 booster shot eligibility to all adults.
Despite arguments from the Department of Justice saying that requirements for large companies to adhere to COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing and mask wearing were necessary and had legal standing, on Friday an appeals court affirmed its ruling to keep the mandate on hold. Reported by Reuters, the 3-member panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, noted in its ruling that the mandate was overbroad and did not account for differences in workplaces and workers. Other challenges to the mandate remain in other Circuit courts, with the Supreme Court expected to eventually decide the matter.
As reported by The Hill, premiums for seniors on Medicare will increase by more than $20 per month next year, with the controversial Alzheimer drug aducanumab cited as a major contributing factor to the rise in cost. As one of the largest increases in recent years, the Biden administration announced Friday that Medicare Part B premiums will increase by $21.60, from $148.50 in 2021 to $170.10 in 2022. Half of the increase was indicated to be due to contingency planning for financing the Alzheimer drug, which costs $56,000 per year. Administration officials said that the growth in costs will be greatly offset by large cost-of-living increases given to Medicare recipients in their Social Security payments next year.
Amid growing research suggesting a waning protection for people vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 and a rising trend in breakthrough cases, CBS News reports that California, Colorado, and New Mexico have expanded eligibility for booster shots to all adults aged 18 and older. With booster access currently available for seniors and other high-risk individuals, the decision by the 3 states, who have some of the highest rates of new COVID-19 infections nationwide, will be in defiance of the FDA and CDC recommendations. Other states were noted to be considering lifting age restrictions as well.
Diving Deep Into Specialty Pharmacy: Insights and Forecasts From IQVIA’s Doug Long
May 1st 2024Doug Long, MBA, vice president of industry relations at IQVIA, covered a bevy of stakeholder investment–related topics in his presentation at AXS24 on trends in specialty pharmacy, chief among them challenges facing the industry, obesity medications, generics and biosimilars, new product launches, and the outlook for the US market.
Read More
Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen
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.
Listen
Forging a Patient-Centric Path to Revolutionize and Redefine Value-Based Care
April 30th 2024Optum Life Sciences and Takeda Pharmaceuticals are partnering on an innovative virtual care pilot program for inflammatory bowel disease meant to both continue the mission of the current value-based health care landscape and raise the bar for personalized care delivery optimization.
Read More
Exagamglogene Autotemcel Shows Promise in Treatment of Transfusion-Dependent β-Thalassemia
April 30th 2024An ongoing, phase 3, open-label study demonstrated the efficacy of exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) infusion to promote transfusion dependence in patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDT).
Read More
Diving Deep Into Specialty Pharmacy: Insights and Forecasts From IQVIA’s Doug Long
May 1st 2024Doug Long, MBA, vice president of industry relations at IQVIA, covered a bevy of stakeholder investment–related topics in his presentation at AXS24 on trends in specialty pharmacy, chief among them challenges facing the industry, obesity medications, generics and biosimilars, new product launches, and the outlook for the US market.
Read More
Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen
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.
Listen
Forging a Patient-Centric Path to Revolutionize and Redefine Value-Based Care
April 30th 2024Optum Life Sciences and Takeda Pharmaceuticals are partnering on an innovative virtual care pilot program for inflammatory bowel disease meant to both continue the mission of the current value-based health care landscape and raise the bar for personalized care delivery optimization.
Read More
Exagamglogene Autotemcel Shows Promise in Treatment of Transfusion-Dependent β-Thalassemia
April 30th 2024An ongoing, phase 3, open-label study demonstrated the efficacy of exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) infusion to promote transfusion dependence in patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDT).
Read More
2 Commerce Drive
Cranbury, NJ 08512