The idea of cost of care should be simple, but buying healthcare is incredibly complex, states Andrew L. Pecora, MD. Most individuals do not think about the potential for developing cancer when they make healthcare-related decisions.
Payers have to consider premium costs and risk pools, and generally have to look at their actuarial budgets over 3 to 5 years. In order to make actuarially sound reimbursement decisions, it is important to look at the total cost of care. If a drug is expensive, but changes the natural course of the disease, it provides value, explains Pecora.
There are ways for oncologists to assist patients in getting appropriate coverage for their prescribed regimen. For patients with limited insurance coverage, there are patient-assistance programs. It is important for oncology practices to communicate with payers about their treatment decisions in advance and to ensure these entities that the care is appropriate.
New Research Challenges Assumptions About Hospital-Physician Integration, Medicare Patient Mix
April 22nd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Brady Post, PhD, lead author of a study published in the April 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, challenges the claim that hospital-employed physicians serve a more complex patient mix.
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Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
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