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What We're Reading: CVS Reports Drug Spending Slowed Significantly
What we're reading, February 23, 2016: drug spending for CVS health plans slowed from 11.8% to 5%; CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, talks Zika virus; and an investigation into the HealthCare.gov launch found widespread mismanagement.
Drug spending growth slowed from 11.8% in 2014 to 5% in 2015, according to CVS Health Corp. In an interview with Bloomberg Business, the company’s chief medical officer, Troyen Brennan, explained that the company kept costs down through discount negotiations and restrictions on some high-priced drugs. As a result, even though more patients were using expensive hepatitis C drugs, spending on these treatments was roughly flat over the course of the year.
In a conversation with Time, CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, explained that researchers continue to see a strong connection between the Zika virus and microcephaly, but no definitive proof yet. In addition, he added that the CDC expects to see hundreds, if not thousands, of travel-associated Zika cases in the US. There are already 84 travel-associated reported cases, plus more than 2 dozen locally transmitted cases reported in Puerto Rico and more cases in the US Virgin Islands and American Samoa.
A 2-year inquiry into the failings of the HealthCare.gov launch found that federal officials received 18 warnings that the project was mismanaged and never considered postponing the launch. An outside consultant gave 11 reviews that included a list of risks citing inadequate planning for capacity and deviations from usual information technology standards, reported The Washington Post.
Elevated Inflammatory Marker Levels Associated With Increased Overactive Bladder Risk
April 15th 2025Systemic immune inflammation index, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and systemic inflammation response index levels may offer a noninvasive method to identify individuals at increased risk of developing overactive bladder.
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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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Significant Disease Burden and Management Issues in Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria
April 15th 2025Patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria experienced a long delay in diagnosis, a substantial impact on their quality of life, and often received inadequate treatment, highlighting the need for better management and understanding of the condition.
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Lifestyle Interventions, Statins, Among Keys to Mitigating CVD Risk in MASLD/MASH
April 15th 2025A recent review highlights the gaps in clinical guidelines and treatment approaches for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and looks ahead to the future promise of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for liver conditions.
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