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What We're Reading: Trump Also Calls for Medicare to Negotiate Drug Prices
What we're reading, January 27, 2016: Donald Trump joins Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in calling for Medicare being given the ability to negotiate drug prices; $70 million approved for new patient-centered research projects; and the Zika virus likely to spread to the United States.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders aren’t the only vocal presidential hopefuls calling for Medicare to be able to negotiate with drugmakers—so is Donald Trump. The Republican frontrunner told the crowd that had come out to see him in New Hampshire that the nation could save $300 billion through such negotiations. Reuters reported that despite Trump’s comments, it seems unlikely that other Republicans will adopt such a proposal.
Until now, the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has become a major health concern for newborns, has been mostly contained to South America and the Caribbean. However, the CDC has issued guidelines for evaluating and testing infants in the US suspected of being infected and now the World Health Organization stated it expects the Zika virus to spread to all of the Americas, reported The Washington Post. The virus may be the cause for thousands of infants born with brain damage.
In a news release, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) announced that it approved $70 million for 9 new patient-centered research projects. The newly approved projects include a study on the effectiveness of 2 medications commonly used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the effectiveness of different approaches to help adults with serious mental illness quite smoking. To date, PCORI has approved or awarded more than $1.2 billion in research funding.
Trump Administration’s Message to Supreme Court Puts New Wrinkle in Braidwood Case
February 21st 2025The Trump administration argues that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr can overrule the US Preventive Services Task Force to determine the preventive services covered under the Affordable Care Act.
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Varied Access: The Pharmacogenetic Testing Coverage Divide
February 18th 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the author of a study published in the February 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® to uncover significant differences in coverage decisions for pharmacogenetic tests across major US health insurers.
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Insurance Payer Is Associated With Length of Stay After Traumatic Brain Injury
February 21st 2025Among hospitalized patients with traumatic brain injury, Medicaid fee-for-service was associated with longer hospital stays than private insurance and Medicaid managed care organizations.
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