Sitemap - 2024 - Employer Coverage
Thursday Shorts: MH parity, mpox, RSV, race-based algorithms and Body Roundness Index
Incentives increased COVID-19 vaccination rates
New studies find no increased depression or suicidality with GLP-1 drugs
Food insecurity remains common
Shorts: MPox, polio, miscarriage, and mental health
Pharmacy out-of-pocket costs went up more than insurer costs from 2007-2020
Higher rate of hypertension in areas with greater social needs
Insurers can help improve care after adverse pregnancy outcomes
New Zepbound direct prices represent a net increase
Limited use of drug treatment for alcohol use disorder
FDA approves new colorectal cancer screening test
The spreading mpox outbreak: what employers should know (by Patricia Toro, MD MPH)
New COVID-19 vaccines now available
Thursday Shorts: Cannabis, Tirzepatide, and Chelation
Arbitration in the No Surprises Act leads to higher prices
US women’s health falls short in international comparisons
The US enjoys low generic drug prices
Reflections on the CMS drug price negotiations
Shorts: CMS drug price negotiations, trauma fees, shingles and COVID vaccines, MDMA and tirzepatide
Cancer rates are going up in younger people
How should we think about the cost of cancer screening?
Childhood vaccines save lives and lower medical costs
What employers should know about recent news coverage about PBMs
CMS to release negotiated prices for 10 drugs
New obesity drugs will not likely lead to lower overall medical costs
Huge variation in allowable prices for CT and MRI services
Who gets paid what in the generic drug supply chain
Shorts: Double mastectomy, GLP-1s, and PrEP
Artificial intelligence does a good job answering patient questions
Most smokers receive no counseling or treatment to help them quit
Few with opioid use disorder are given medication therapy
Rising health care costs hurt the economy and increase death rates
Shorts: Drones, FIT test, COVID
COVID vaccines decreased incidence of Long COVID
New data show opportunities to improve women’s health care
We are falling behind in pediatric vaccinations
The fallacy of future cost savings
Shorts: Virtual MH, GLP effectiveness, bird flu, and excess pediatric deaths
Will AI personally tailored recommendations make us healthier?
Food as medicine and insurance
Influenza infections strongly associated with heart attacks
Four in 10 cancers could be prevented through risk modification
Shorts: GLP-1s, biomarkers, and gender affirming surgery
Limited access to angioplasty access in minoritized, poor and rural communities
GLP-1 drugs linked to lower rates of some cancers
High income individuals less likely to skip high value care
UK study shows benefits of four-day work week for employees and employers
Hospital cash-on-hand similar to before the pandemic
Online direct-to consumer outlets don’t lower out-of-pocket costs for most with insurance
Wednesday Shorts: Chemotherapy timing, GLP-1s and sleep apnea, and psychedelics
Yes, we’re getting more infections! (By Patricia Toro, MD MPH)
BMI is a flawed measure with few practical alternatives
Obesity epidemic is not because we are eating more and exercising less
Thursday Shorts: Stem cell fraud, Narcan, COVID boosters, and remote radiation oncology consults
Impact of race-based lung function algorithm
Supercentenarians might be younger than they seem (By Patricia Toro, MD MPH)
US lags other countries in maternity care
National health insurance expenditures projected to grow
FDA committee gives thumbs down to MDMA for PTSD
Provider directory inaccuracies persist
Projected increase in cardiovascular disease and cost
Peterson Health Technology Institute evaluates digital musculoskeletal programs
Thursday Shorts: High tech failure, lung cancer screening, and overdose deaths
Chemotherapy for advanced cancer didn’t improve survival
UK's NHS will not expand trial of multi-cancer early detection tests
Be skeptical of very high net promoter scores (NPS)
The impact of medical costs on family budgets
Thursday Shorts : Ozempic baby boom, mental health, and influenza and pneumonia deaths
FDA approves self-swab for cervical cancer screening
Overdose deaths decline but remain high
Ozempic associated with lower death rates in people with diabetes and kidney disease
Are people really discontinuing GLP-1s before they lose weight?
Mail order abortion pills are safe and effective
Bariatric surgery lowers risk of breast cancer
Adverse events in the outpatient setting
Memorial Day Shorts: Follow-ups from recent posts
Lifestyle interventions for weight loss
One in nine women who recently had babies have medical debt of over $1,000
Proton beam therapy coverage considerations
Telemedicine had little impact on overall cost of medical care
Commercial plans pay hospitals on average 254% of Medicare fees
Clean indoor air improves performance
Retailers retreating from primary care
Gastrointestinal side effects of anti-obesity medications
Cardiovascular disease and heart failure are growing threats
New regulations to increase health app privacy
US lags in hepatitis C testing and treatment
Body scans not proven to increase longevity
What employers should know about bird flu
Segregation and live donor kidney transplants
The disadvantaged are more likely to die of breast cancer
Bariatric surgery is more cost-effective than GLP-1 drugs
Rising rate of harm from alcohol use
News about effectiveness of Paxlovid
Health plan efforts to trim out-of-plan bills can be costly for employers
Factors associated with women not getting mammography
Maternal mortality is too high in the US regardless of how deaths are counted
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders almost doubled from 2008-2020
Using AI to estimate cardiac risk from a chest X-ray
Biosimilars have not decreased out of pocket costs in US (yet)
Doctors take (a lot of) money from industry
Over 1 in 8 report mistreatment during childbirth
Insulin use did not increase with insulin cost caps
The cost of manufacturing GLP-1 anti-obesity drugs is low
Those with diabetes forced to switch to HDHPs have more complications
No Surprises Act is not lowering total medical costs
Drive carefully on your way to view the eclipse!
Hospitals complain about insurance denials
Impact of capping out-of-pocket cost of respiratory inhalers
Employer implications of Medicare’s limited coverage of obesity drugs
Peterson Institute finds that diabetes programs improve quality but raise costs
Transgender people face discrimination
Many primary care residency slots remain unfilled this year
March is Colorectal Cancer Screening Awareness Month
GLP-1 anti-obesity drugs lead to substantial weight loss in the “real world”
The worst of the respiratory virus season is behind us
Rural hospital financial woes pose barriers to access to care
Virtual doulas lower Cesarean section rates, especially for Black people
Improving mental health access can improve maternal outcomes
Americans are deeply worried about the cost of health care
State regulation leads to fewer low value imaging tests
Morgan Health report highlights challenges for lower income employees
Out of pocket costs are high for diabetes drugs other than insulin
Employers that cover abortion should consider adding Mifepristone to the outpatient formulary
New drugs on the horizon to treat fatty liver disease (written with Chantell Sell, PharmD)
More teens and young adults prescribed antidepressants
The case against an annual physical
Immunosuppressed population doubled over a decade
Impact of Change Healthcare outage on employers
Exercise program helps prevent some weight gain after stopping anti-obesity drugs
E-cigarettes can aid smoking cessation
HPV vaccines prevented cervical cancer especially if administered before age 14
Expected changes to CDC isolation recommendations
Alabama court ruling endangers fertility services (Also: reader suggestions for Black History Month)
Bariatric surgery leads to better health and decrease in some cancers
Cancer is increasing in young people, but remains rare
What employers can do to help eradicate Hepatitis C
Value Based Insurance Design associated with lower rate of diabetes complications
What I’m reading for Black History Month
Narcan can save lives, and out-of-pocket costs are declining
New statistics on decline in cancer diagnosis during the pandemic
Heart risk and cancer screenings remain depressed since the pandemic
Measles outbreaks in the US and abroad
Implementing cost sharing for HIV prevention drugs could leave many unprotected
Medical costs are a minority of the total costs of cancer in adolescents and young adults
Black and Hispanic patients more likely to face inappropriate emergency department delays
One in twelve on medications didn’t take them as prescribed due to cost
Respiratory viruses on the way down
Medicare price negotiations have begun
Hospital cash-on-hand similar to before the pandemic
Artificial intelligence to augment imaging could be pricey
Everyone deserves sedation for colonoscopies, but healthy adults rarely need an anesthesiologist
Employer sponsored health insurance can paradoxically worsen income inequality
Breast cancer mortality declined 58% since 1975, largely due to improved treatment
Be cautious in interpreting an Oxford study critical of employer mental health programs
Providers are billing for few asynchronous E-visits
Research data supports paternity leaves, and results from WTW’s Leave Survey
Biosimilar drugs can lead to large cost savings
Respiratory illnesses appear on the downswing, but vaccination rates remain low
Few people are vitamin D deficient
Hearing aid use associated with lower death rates
Proposal for a national pool for those who receive expensive cell and gene therapy
FDA approves Florida proposal to import drugs from Canada
Government report projects medical expenses will continue to rise
Pharmaceutical investment is not going down
The rise of mental health chatbots
Cardiac stents are often a low value procedure
Hospital-acquired complications rose by over 25% after private equity purchase
Preventing opioid overdose deaths in the workplace
Respiratory illnesses are on the rise!
Automated External Defibrillators (AED) can save lives
Quitting smoking lowers cardiovascular, cancer and respiratory mortality