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What We're Reading: Americans Want Healthcare Costs Kept in Check
What we're reading, November 6, 2015: Americans want more aggressive measures to keep healthcare costs in check; the uninsured rate fell to 9% in the first half of 2015; and the federal government warns against restricting access to pricey hepatitis C drugs.
Americans Want More Aggressive Measures to Keep Healthcare Costs in Check
Nearly three-fourths of Americans want price controls placed on drug manufacturers, a sharp increase from 64% a year earlier, the HealthDay/Harris Poll found. In addition, a majority of Americans favor importing cheaper drugs from other countries and allowing Medicare to negotiate prices—two things proposed by both Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders as part of their plans to keep rising drug costs in check.
Rate of Uninsured Continues Steady Decline
The uninsured rate was down to just 9% in the first half of 2015, the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reported on Thursday. The number of uninsured has dropped 7.5 million from the same time a year earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported. Since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, the uninsured rate has continue a steep and steady decline from 16%.
CMS Warns States About Restricting Access to Hepatitis C Drugs
The federal government is concerned about low-income individuals having difficulty accessing high-priced hepatitis C drugs, according to the Associated Press. CMS reminded states that they cannot legally restrict access by low-income people, and also sent letters to drug manufacturers about what they are doing to make drugs more affordable.
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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Integrated CKD Care Model Cuts ED Visits by 30%, Boosts Specialized Treatment
April 21st 2025An analysis of an interdisciplinary care model for managing chronic kidney disease (CKD) shows hospital admissions dropped by 26% and emergency department (ED) visits decreased by 30% after clinic initiation.
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