Healthcare Matters

It’s frustrating for chronically ill patients, like those living with mental health disorders, when their proven drug therapies are switched or substituted—sometimes justifiably, other times for companies to make more money. In the first of two episodes on this topic, we examine what’s behind non-medical switching and how it could harm patients. "Non-medical switching is basicall...

In the United States, data analytics are used to determine the price of drugs. But many patients don’t fit into neatly organized statistics, especially ones who have multiple diseases and, as a result, are denied therapies. In this week’s episode, we explore the method used in the U.S. to set drug prices, called the Cost per QALY or cost-effectiveness.   "Data in health ...

Majority of insurance and pharmacy benefit management companies offer copay accumulator adjustment programs. However, for patients, what these programs do and what they mean is shrouded in mystery. In this week's episode, we break down copay accumulator adjustment programs, and how they impact you as a patient. "The patient is the one that is going to get stuck in the middle. And at some point, th...

New treatments are being developed by the biopharmaceutical industry in collaboration with the government and FDA to help treat COVID-19 and new variants. In this week’s episode, we break down these new treatments and therapies, and discuss what they mean for patients.  "It is important for us to have multiple therapies-even within those classes-to make sure that patients have choice an...

Vaccinations have proven to reduce the severity of symptoms, hospitalizations, and death for people who contract COVID. But for some, the debate surrounding the vaccines has kept them from getting a booster, let alone the initial round of vaccinations. In this episode, we explore how the vaccines were developed so quickly, the differences between them, and how they work. "They're helping us every...

As we start a new year and a new season, we take a look at how drugs are developed and why time is the most important part of the formula when it comes to biopharmaceutical research. In other words, the more we delay, the longer it takes for patients to get the treatment they need. "The researchers concluded that statin therapy, which is used everyday by patients toward lowering their cholest...

At the start of 2022, there’s renewed hope that President Biden’s social spending and climate policy bill can survive in some form. In this episode, we explore three of the bill’s shortcomings and how it impacts patients. "Some estimates say that we spend more on administrative burden in the US marketplace than actually pay for pharmaceuticals in the US market, which is astoundin...

One Senator has held up the passage of President Biden’s social spending and climate policy bill, known as Build Back Better. We examine how the current bill would help patients and where it stops short. "It is a major issue for consumers. Every day, patients through no fault of their own are not able to afford their medicines," says Dr. Robert Popovian, Chief Science Policy Officer at the G...

Has your insurer ever switched your drug without talking to you or your doctor? This is called a formulary exclusion. But what risk does this pose to patients suffering from chronic illness? "There is some action that can be taken to prohibit this type of practice. Or at least—for the minimum—to mandate that pharmacy benefit management companies and insurers that are doing, and impleme...

Patients are not all the same, they’re individuals with different needs, different genetics, and different medical conditions. In this episode, we explore the benefits of the medical community using both personalized and precision medicine with patients.  "One cannot exist without the other. But the most important thing is that it allows us to be able to really concentrate on the patien...

If you were offered a financial incentive to change medications, would you do it? Many healthcare providers offer cash incentives to get their patients to switch to a new medication, but this quick cash practice can have serious, long-term health implications for patients.  "Although this is not illegal, it is somewhat unethical because, again, it's blurring the lines between medical practice...

Patients are the last to know how much their insurance premiums, pharmaceuticals and hospital costs will be. What will it take for the healthcare system to become more transparent so patients have more information to make informed decisions and save money? "It is just disturbing that the federal government, the largest payer of healthcare in the United States, does not have audit rights to go in,...

In this episode, we are looking at how benefit design in Medicare creates vaccine design inequity. Even small out-of-pocket costs can deter some communities from getting the right vaccines and treatment they need.  "Any type of a policy that reduces the access to vaccination, most definitely will impact patients and will increase this wasteful spending,“ says Dr. Robert Popovian, Chief...

In this episode, we look at the major flaws in fail first, or step therapy, which mandates that a patient must fail on one or more less expensive drugs before “stepping up” to another drug.  "Anything that we do from a policy perspective, and this is the mantra of Global; Healthy Living Foundation, policies, legislations, anything that passes, the patient has to directly benefit f...

In this episode, we look at how the federal government can work in a bipartisan manner to improve our healthcare system.  “Bipartisan initiatives are extremely important in healthcare because, at the end of the day, no physician, patient chart, hospital admissions record ever asks you about your political platform before you get treatment. And I truly believe that there is a bipartisan...

In this episode, we explore the history of vaccines, how the COVID-19 vaccines work, and what other vaccines are being developed.  “We're developing vaccines not only for infectious diseases, but we're developing vaccines for oncology cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, HIV, AIDS. So if we are going to be so hesitant about vaccines, we're not going to be able to defeat some of the...