- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Anti-PD-1 Treatment Selection
During this segment, Richard W. Joseph, MD, describes the effectiveness of the anti-PD-1 agents pembrolizumab and nivolumab, and discusses similarities and differences between the 2 drugs.
Dr Joseph explains that although no head-to-head trials have directly compared the 2 agents, cross-trial comparisons have demonstrated that they are similar in terms of safety and efficacy. For this reason, he questions why the FDA approved pembrolizumab after just a phase 1 study but required a phase 3 study prior to approving nivolumab.
One difference between the 2 drugs, he notes, is that while nivolumab is administered every 2 weeks, pembrolizumab is given every 3 weeks.
Dr Joseph suggests that unless proved otherwise, the agents should be considered equivalent by managed care organizations and payer coverage should be the same for both drugs.
AI in Health Care: Balancing Governance, Innovation, and Trust
September 2nd 2025In this conversation with Reuben Daniel, associate vice president of artificial intelligence at UPMC Health Plan, we dive into how UPMC Health Plan builds trust with providers and members, discuss challenges of scaling AI effectively, and hear about concrete examples of AI's positive impact.
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Infertility Coverage Boosts ART Use and Pregnancy Success: Richard A. Brook, MS, MBA
August 26th 2025In this episode, Richard A. Brook, MS, MBA, discusses his study showing that infertility treatment coverage increases assisted reproductive technology (ART) use and improves pregnancy outcomes.
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Health Care Utilization and Cost of Diagnostic Testing for Respiratory Infections
September 17th 2025Syndromic reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction tests for respiratory infections were associated with lower health care resource utilization and costs, implicating potential for improved value in patient care.
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