Instead of saving money, some Medicare patients will pay more for medicines. Others may not be able to get their medicines – 89% of insurers and PBMs say they plan to reduce access to medicines in Medicare Part D because of the Inflation Reduction Act. Higher costs and less access. That’s not what seniors were...
Category: <span>News</span>
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The bigger picture
Better diagnostics that make use of genomic profiling have wider applications than just precision medicine, the Broad Institute’s Adalsteinsson said. Blood tests can also help check the effectiveness of a treatment by essentially seeing how much residual cancer remains after a surgery, and whether further treatment is needed. Yes, but: Although the cost of genomic profiling has steadily...
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A select few doctor groups are behind telehealth’s GLP-1 boom
Over the last two years, dozens of telehealth companies have started to offer the wildly popular GLP-1 drugs. A new STAT examination has found that just a handful of networks of doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants are writing prescriptions for the slew of websites offering the weight loss drugs, including the compounded versions that...
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Walgreens plans to close 1,200 pharmacies
Walgreens is closing 1,200 stores, or 14% of its locations, as it fights to turn around its business. UnitedHealth Group lowered its full-year earnings outlook, as it grapples with higher-than-expected medical costs and expenses related to the Change Healthcare cyberattack. The insurer said its medical loss ratio (the percentage of premiums spent on medical care) was about 85%...
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Money, peer pressure, and guilt: How UnitedHealth pushed doctors to diagnose more Medicare patients
In late 2020, an email from a UnitedHealth Group manager detailed the “#1 PRIORITY” for one practice. The goal was for doctors to document older patients’ chronic illnesses to generate more revenue from the federal government. As an incentive for seeing more patients, emails promised “ADDITIONAL BONUSES!!” Also, receiving a “SHOUT OUT!!” The latest investigation in...
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Why aren’t we doing better in the battle against cardiovascular disease?
Christine Kao/STATIn 2010, the American Heart Association set a decade-long goal to reduce the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke by 20%. It didn’t happen. Cardiovascular disease is still the number one cause of death in the U.S., and the AHA called it a “disappointment” that the goal wasn’t met.So what went wrong?...
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FDA to reconsider removal of Lilly’s GLP-1 drug from shortage list
FDA to reconsider removal of Lilly’s GLP-1 drug from shortage list, a win for compounding pharmaciesShelby LivingstonSenior health tech reporterThe FDA said it will reconsider the removal of Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 drug tirzepatide from its official shortage list, after a trade group representing large compounding pharmacies challenged the move. A federal court in Texas on...
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As Eli Lilly, compounders battle over weight loss drugs, patients are caught in the middle
At issue is easy and affordable access to medications By Elaine Chen Oct. 11, 2024 National Biotech Reporter There’s a war brewing over blockbuster weight loss medications — and patients are now getting caught in the crossfire. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration declared an end to the shortage of Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, sold under the brand name...
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Surgical Center Wins Stunning $421 Million Verdict Against Blue Cross
In a stunning verdict against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, a New Orleans jury has awarded $421 million in damages to a surgery center over the insurer’s alleged failure to fully pay out-of-network charges. Insurance specialists told Medscape Medical News that the September 20 verdict is unusual. If upheld on appeal, one said, it could...
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PREVENTING FURTHER IV DISRUPTIONS
Federal officials have spent the past few days scrambling to move one factory’s inventory of IV fluid out of Florida as a powerful hurricane bears down on the state today. The rush to preserve German drug and device maker B. Braun’s supply of IV solution in Daytona Beach comes as hospitals warn that they’re facing...