Senate Republicans late Sunday released a revised Graham-Cassidy health care bill which leaves much the same but also includes some significant changes. According to a Health Affairs blog post, the revised bill would keep in place original provisions in the Affordable Care Act which allow exchanges […]
AJMC’s ‘This Week in Managed Care’: CMS Eyes Innovation Center Overhaul, ACA Repeal
The American Journal of Managed Care's Laura Joszt gave a rundown of current events in its "This Week in Managed Care." Joszt says the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is considering a new direction for its Innovation Center. CMS Administrator Seema Verma in an op-ed published in the […]
Graphic: 7 Biosimilars OK’d by FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration to date has approved seven biosimilars, including Zarxio, Inflectra and Erelzi. A rundown on the seven biosimilars can be seen at left. (Graphic courtesy of Center for Biosimilars) […]
Ex-CMS Communications Director: Trump’s Cuts Could Ruin Health Care Law
Lori Lodes, a former communications director for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says President Donald Trump's advertising cuts for the Affordable Care Act marketplace would devastate the health law. The White House announced plans to slash the ACA advertising budget from $100 […]
Jeb Bush: The Graham-Cassidy Proposal is Better than Kasich-Hickenlooper
BY JEB BUSH AND ALAN LEVINE Via Time "Despite the chaos and disappointment which defined the health care debate in Washington this summer, there is still both an opportunity and obligation to get some big and serious things done for the American people this year. While tackling tax reform, […]
Pharma Execs See Benefits of Value-Based Deals, but Remain Wary
According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey, pharmaceutical executives have mostly shyed away from value-based contracts in the current health care landscape. The report shows a quarter of surveyed executives have given value-based contracts a shot, but those few are having an "outsized […]
New Book: “How Economics Professors Can Stop Failing Us: The Discipline at a Crossroads”
This book provides an eye-opening exposé on economics professors that will surely shock anyone who is not familiar with the topic, and even some of those who are familiar with it. It is critical of the behavior of economics professors, but is not critical of the field of economics itself. In fact, […]
Gordon: GOP Bill ‘Will Destroy Medicaid’
Freelance Medical Writer Debra Gordon poured her thoughts in a blog post on the Republican's latest attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The GOP's target, she writes, is Medicaid. Gordon says in her post the Graham-Cassidy health care proposal is focused on "decimating a 50-year-old program" […]
FDA Official Says Clinical Trials System is ‘Broken’
According to a Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) report, the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Director Janet Woodcock said the clinical trials system is "broken." Woodcock's comments came Wednesday during a real-world evidence (RWE) workshop at […]
Linthicum: Value Goes Hand in Hand with True Reform
Innovation and Value Initiative Director of Scientific Communications Mark Linthicum says in an op-ed health care spending must be further addressed in U.S. health care reform efforts. "The U.S. health care spending problem is the ubiquitous elephant in the room, making steady appearances in […]
Precision Medicine Group Announces New Set of Services
Precision Medicine Group on Thursday announced its new set of services aimed at supporting pharmaceutical and life science clients "establish the clinical, economic and humanistic value of innovative therapies to payers, healthcare professionals and patients." "Precision Value & Health has a […]
Forbes Contributor Slams Republican Health Effort
Via Forbes: "Here we go, once again. Republicans are pushing a last-ditch effort to dump the Affordable Care Act — aka Obamacare — before the end of September. The speed, ignoring any reasonable interest in hearings or scoring from the Congressional Budget Office, owes to procedural issues. Up […]
Health Care Industry Reacts to Graham-Cassidy Bill
David Leonhardt on Friday compiled a list of medical experts' responses to the GOP's Graham-Cassidy health care proposal. Below are some of their reactions: "It 'violates the precept of "first do no harm"' and 'would result in millions of Americans losing their health insurance coverage.' – […]
Looking at the Top Health Care Systems
The New York Times detailed health care in Canada, Britain, Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, France, Australia and the U.S. Which plan would you pick? Read more here on the New York Times. […]
Opportunity to Bolster Writing Abilities Nears
Medical writers are known for their ninja-like skills, demonstrating agility across numerous therapeutic areas and publication types. Have you been asked to sharpen your proverbial sword and apply it to topics like cost-effectiveness, real world evidence (RWE), or HEOR (health economics and outcomes […]
HEDIS Calendar Aims to Keep You Organized
A Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information (HEDIS) calendar by Change Healthcare can help you keep track of important deadlines and "mini deadlines." HEDIS is used by roughly 90 percent of health plans in the U.S. to gauge performance on important aspects of care and service. Click here to […]
Inovalon, Daiichi Sankyo Inc. to Back Outcomes-Based Contracting
Inovalon on Thursday announced an agreement with Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., to support outcomes-based contracts and analyze abuse-deterrent opioids. "Daiichi Sankyo is committed to responsibly bringing innovative medicines to patients in pain, and we believe abuse-deterrent formulations are an important […]
CBO says It Won’t Have Full Score on Graham-Cassidy Bill Before Vote
The Congressional Budget Office on Monday posted a notice saying it won't have a full score prepared for the Graham-Cassidy bill before it goes to a vote. CBO, however, says a preliminary report will be released sometime next week, but it will lack analysis on premiums impact, insurance coverage […]
A Call for Open-Source Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
Via Annals of Internal Medicine: "In a 2005 landmark article, John Ioannidis argued that in biomedical research, because of conflicts of interest, underpowered study designs, and an unwarranted focus on publishing positive findings, 'most published research findings are false' (1). More than a […]
ISPOR Announces Plenary Sessions, Speakers for European Congress
The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) on Monday announced plenary sessions and speakers for the Nov. 4-8 European Congress meeting. According to a press release from ISPOR, the first plenary sessions, titled "Where is the Value in Value-Based Health Care?," is […]
Numerof & Associates Co-Founder: Prepare for MACRA Now
In an interview with Healthcare Informatics, Numerof & Associates Co-Founder and Managing Partner Michael Abrams discussed readiness among clinicians for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Abrams says he's noted some concern in the health care industry about the […]
CMS Calls for Innovative Pricing Models
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), recently issued a press release calling for more development of innovative payment models for life-saving drugs, which could include outcomes-based pricing. The press release follows the recent approval of tisagenleclucel (Kymirah), a […]
Amgen Wins Historic FDA Approval; Takes Aim at $3 Billion Cancer Drug Avastin
The Food and Drug Administration, continuing their record-breaking pace of new drug approvals, recently gave Amgen the green-light for the first ever "biosimilar" copycat of a cancer drug. The new treatment, Mvasi, is approved in the same cancer indications as Roche's cancer therapy, the drug […]
Does Your Doctor Make House Calls?
An old-fashioned concept may be making a comeback, and the notion of physicians providing home-based care is no longer just a pleasant memory of a time gone by, but may very well be the future of healthcare. Many patients have little or no access to proper healthcare. Whether due to illness, age, […]
The Use of Real-World Evidence in Health Care Decision-Making
On September 13th, health care experts assembled in Washington, DC to discuss ways to apply data gathered in health care delivery in the real world to support drug approvals, inform safety modeling, and expedite innovation in health care. This meeting, convened by the Duke-Robert J. Margolis, MD, […]
The Meaning and Measure of Value in Healthcare
When it comes to the meaning of "value" in healthcare, the perspective of the decision maker plays a significant role in determining how to measure that value. For example, employers and insurance companies might have different ideas on what defines value in healthcare. While an employer might […]
Cochrane Announces New Membership Scheme, and All are Welcome.
Cochrane, a global network of independent researchers, professionals, patients, carers, and others from over 130 countries, announces a new membership scheme to expand and enhance their role in supporting better healthcare decisions through high-quality information. The Cochrane Membership will […]
Population Health Management: Four Key Changes Managed Care Executives Should be Watching.
With the high demand for cost accountability, population health strategy must inevitably become a vital component of the business strategy for healthcare organizations, according to an article published by Managed Healthcare Executive. According to Sarah Thomas, managing director of the Deloitte […]
UnitedHealthcare Selects Inovalon ONE Platform
Inovalon, a leading technology company providing advanced, cloud-based platforms empowering a data-driven transformation from volume-based to value-based models across the healthcare ecosystem, announced Wednesday that UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group company, has entered into a five year […]
FDA Commissioner Targets Orphan Drug Loopholes
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb says he will put and end to any "gaming" of loopholes in the Orphan Drug Act. He's set his crosshairs first on a loophole regarding orphan drug designation. Click here to read more on pharmaphorum.com […]
