Disability Coverage Should Get More Attention
Few people actually get disability insurance, although it can pay off in the long run. According to Kaiser Health News, while 65% of those surveyed believe most people need disability insurance, only 20% actually have it. Disability insurance is a safety-net benefit that would pay 50% to 60% of income when an employee is unable to work; some employers make automatic deductions available because coverage is in the best interest of both the employees and the company.
California Will Require Advance Notice of Drug Price Hikes
A new bill signed into law in California will require drug makers to give notice before increasing the prices of certain drugs. Starting January 1, 2019, companies will have to give 60-day notice if the list price of a drug is being increased more than 16% in 2 years, reported The Wall Street Journal. The law had bipartisan support and was signed into law on Monday. It only applies to drugs where the wholesale price for a 30-day supply is more than $40.
Three States Suing Over Birth Control Rollback
Washington state is the latest to sue the Trump administration over the decision to expand exemptions for employers to opt out of covering birth control. The state joins Massachusetts and California, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union, according to The New York Times. Washington’s state attorney general claims the new rule violates the First Amendment and the Fifth Amendment, and that it could affect more than 1.5 million Washingtonians.
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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