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What We're Reading: Gottlieb Discusses Drug Pricing; VA Chief Might Be Replaced; Opioid Data Hard to Use
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD discussed the agency's role in tackling drug prices in an interview; President Trump is considering firing the head of the VA; measuring the extent of the opioid crisis with available data is more difficult than it seems.
Gottlieb Discusses FDA Role in Combatting High Drug Prices
Trump May Replace Shulkin at VA With Perry From Energy
Using Available Data to Tally Opioid Crisis More Difficult Than Expected
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, is the public face of the Trump administration’s effort to lower the cost of prescription drugs. In an interview with The Hill, he said getting involved in the drug pricing debate is part of the agency’s mission. Separately, former congressman Henry Waxman spoke with Stat News about his thoughts regarding drug prices. President Trump is considering firing David Shulkin, MD, the secretary of veterans affairs, in favor of Energy Secretary Rick Perry, according to The New York Times. The dispute stems from a struggle over the extent of privatization efforts at the VA, the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States, providing care at 1243 healthcare facilities to over 9 million veterans. Perry has no healthcare experience.An editor at ProPublica described his efforts to compile data on opioid prescribing, overdoses, deaths, and treatment options, but found the task more difficult than he expected. Making conclusions was difficult since data were out of date, hard to find, and/or contradicted other data, the report said.
Urticaria Diagnosis Challenged by Overlapping Pruritic Skin Conditions
April 23rd 2025Urticaria is complicated to diagnose by its symptomatic overlap with other skin conditions and the frequent misclassification in literature of distinct pathologies like vasculitic urticaria and bullous pemphigus.
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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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ACOs’ Focus on Rooting Out Fraud Aligns With CMS Vision Under Oz
April 23rd 2025Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are increasingly playing the role of data sleuths as they identify and report trends of anomalous billing in hopes of salvaging their shared savings. This mission dovetails with that of CMS, which under the new administration plans to prioritize rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.
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