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What We're Reading: Employers Cut Back on Wellness Programs
What we're reading, June 20, 2016: employers are cutting back on wellness benefits; new apps and websites provide birth control prescriptions to women; and Novartis pledges to triple the number of biosimilar drugs on the market by 2020.
Employer enthusiasm for some wellness benefits is waning. A new survey found that employers are beginning to analyze data on their return on investment and employee participation and are cutting back, reported The Wall Street Journal. For example, last year, nearly half of employers offered health coaching compared with 37% this year. Other benefits that have declined over the last year include on-site flu shots, 24-hours nurse hot lines, and insurance-premium discounts for weight loss.
Technology is giving women the opportunity to skip the doctor’s office in order to get prescription contraceptives. In addition to being more convenient, public health officials hope that the availability of new apps and websites offering this service will encourage more women to use contraception and reduce America’s rate of unintended pregnancies and abortions, according to The New York Times. These new services have grown through word of mouth and so far slipped under the political radar. Women simply have to answer questions about their health online or by video and clinicians will provide prescriptions.
Novartis is expecting to vastly expand its biosimilar presence. According to Reuters, the company has pledge to triple the number of biosimilar drugs on the market by 2020, hoping to be selling 8 biosimilars. The generics unit of Novartis expects versions of Humira, Enbrel, Neulasta, Remicade, and Rituxan to hit the market over the next 4 years.
Could On-Body Delivery of Isatuximab Bring More Competition to Anti-CD38 Myeloma Treatment?
June 6th 2025Results for IRAKLIA show noninferiority for Sanofi's on-body delivery system for isatuximab, compared with IV administration. Patients overwhelmingly preferred the hands-free delivery option.
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Laundromats as a New Frontier in Community Health, Medicaid Outreach
May 29th 2025Lindsey Leininger, PhD, and Allister Chang, MPA, highlight the potential of laundromats as accessible, community-based settings to support Medicaid outreach, foster trust, and connect families with essential health and social services.
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ICS Use Tied to Fewer Exacerbations in Patients With Bronchiectasis and Elevated Blood Eosinophils
June 6th 2025Inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use was common among patients with bronchiectasis and was associated with reduced exacerbations and hospitalizations in those with elevated blood eosinophil counts.
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Inside the Center's MDD Value Model and Its Use of Dynamic Pricing
May 13th 2025Larragem Raines, MS, of the Center for Innovation & Value Research, discusses the organization's major depressive disorder (MDD) open-source value model, dynamic pricing, and the future role of artificial intelligence in care.
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Real-World Data Support Luspatercept vs ESAs for Anemia in Lower-Risk MDS
June 5th 2025Patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who received luspatercept showed greater hemoglobin gains and transfusion independence compared with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) in a real-world analysis.
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At EHA 2025, Hematology Discussions Will Stretch Across Lifespans and Locations
June 5th 2025The 2025 European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress, convening virtually and in Milan, Italy, from June 12 to June 15, 2025, will feature a revamped program structure for the meeting’s 30th anniversary while maintaining ample opportunities to network, debate, and absorb practice-changing findings in hematology and oncology.
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