Managed Care Cast

An FDA panel meets to discuss J&J's COVID-19 vaccine ahead of an expected emergency use authorization decision, cemiplimab approved for first-line advanced non–small cell lung cancer with PD-L1 expression, and real-world outcomes contrast cancer clinical trial results in Medicare patients.

On this edition of Managed Care Cast, we present a short excerpt from a January webinar titled “Color and COVID-19: The Virus’ Disproportionate Impact” hosted by the MJH Life Sciences™ COVID-19 Coalition about how the pandemic has had an unequal, devastating impact on communities of color.

This week, the top managed care news included Entresto winning the first FDA nod in a hard-to-treat type of heart failure; President Joe Biden nominates a new CMS administrator; experts discuss the potential for Biden health reforms.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we highlight a new feature on AJMC.com, the website of The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC®) called Clinical Spotlight, where our editors provide a series of interviews with leading experts in certain specialties. Over the past few months, we’ve talked with specialists in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), small-cell lung cancer, and chimeric...

This week, the top managed care news included President Biden’s DOJ reversing course in case seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act; once-weekly semaglutide and lifestyle changes slashed body weight by 15%; updates on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

With the growth of alternative payment models and value-based contracting, policy makers and researchers are looking to other sectors that offer the potential for cooperation with the health care system, including education. Schools and health care organizations are a natural fit to work together to improve outcomes for children, but value-based alignment between the 2 systems will require the dev...

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with experts from ChristianaCare, one of the largest health care providers in the mid-Atlantic region, serving patients in Delaware and parts of Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Hoping to increase the percentage of their patients with diabetes who have a hemoglobin A1C of 9% or lower, in 2019, ChristianaCare implemented a diabetes pilot program...

This week, the top managed care news included nationwide pharmacies to receive vaccine doses; experts issue recommendations for improving health care in 2021; HIV may increase risk of severe COVID-19 infection.

Findings from the latest Quest Diagnostics Health trends study, made in collaboration with The Harris Poll, underscore racial disparities in US health care brought to light by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)pandemic. The online survey, conducted from November 10-12, 2020, found that among over 2000 adult participants, Black and Hispanic/Latinx Americans are nearly 2 times as likely as Whit...

This week, the top managed care news included Biden reopening Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces; medical claim denial rates highest in initial COVID-19 hotspots; obesity linked with mortality in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

On this episode, we speak with Andrew Smith, PhD, Huntsman Mental Health Institute at the University of Utah School of Medicine, coauthor of a paper looking at the mental health stressors facing first responders and health care workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The paper found that a sizable number of these frontline workers are at risk for psychiatric illnesses at s...

This week, the top managed care news included President Joe Biden's executive orders to reform public health; incoming CDC Director to prioritize communication, coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine rollout; CMS finalizes rule on electronic prior authorization.

The authors of a Clinical research article in the January 2021 Health IT issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® discuss their findings and suggestions for making telehealth access more equitable for all.

This week, the top managed care news included new CDC guidance to base state COVID-19 vaccine supply on administration rates; a report finds record drop in cancer mortality but persistent disparities; Jardiance moves 1 step closer to FDA approval for use in heart failure.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the new chief financial officer of Strive Health, a value-based kidney care company that works with payers and providers to create an integrated care delivery system for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD). We discuss the changes coming to nephrology practices as well as new ways of looking at the whole patient to try...

This week, the top managed care news included FDA advising against changes to vaccine dose schedules; drop in mammography screenings during the first months of the pandemic; first anti-TIGIT therapy granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA.

This week, the top managed care news included the first coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine shipments arriving nationwide; FDA panel votes to expand use of heart failure drug; efforts to address social determinants of health amid the pandemic.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Bechara Choucair, MD, the chief health officer of Kaiser Permanente, about their social health playbook, which guides clinicians about how to help patients with their social health needs during the pandemic.

As 2020 ends, the last interview in a year-long series running during the 25th anniversary of The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) is with the journal’s co-editors-in-chief: Michael E. Chernew, PhD, and A. Mark Fendrick, MD. This episode of Managed Care Cast is a preview of that conversation, which appears in the December issue. Chernew and Fendrick discuss which issues they think Preside...

Diabetes is an established risk factor for more severe cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). But recently reported cases of COVID-19-related diabetes among those with no preexisting risk factors suggest the 2 conditions may have a bidirectional relationship. Interested in these rare cases, which don’t appear to fit the typical 2 types of diabetes, Francesco Rubino, MD, a professor of metab...

Recently released vaccine data from both Pfizer and Moderna indicate encouraging steps forward in the global fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). But both vaccines are still a long way from becoming readily available to the wider public, prompting the question, who should be prioritized once doses become available? To provide guidance on this front, The National Institutes of Health...

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week. This week, the top managed care news included reports of 2 vaccines’ efficacy against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); a study finds no risk reduction in cardiac events with fish oil; calls for long-term follow-up to understand effects of lingering COVID-19. Read more about the stories in this podca...

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has required health care systems to overhaul their ways of delivering care to patients in order to keep patients, families, and clinicians safe. For medical home visit programs accustomed to visiting patients in person, this task has required creative use of new technologies and relied on regulatory flexibility to facilitate their work. On this epis...

As the health care industry continues to combat health and cost-related issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, employers remain a key figure in the pursuit for higher value care. Recently, the Leapfrog Group partnered with the Health Transformation Alliance, or HTA, to help delineate high-value health care services with a particular focus on transparency and payment reform. On this episode o...

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week. This week, the top managed care news included the Supreme Court signaling willingness to uphold the Affordable Care Act; Pfizer’s coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine shows 90% efficacy; racial disparities in lung cancer screenings and prescribing biologics. Read more about the stories in this podcast: Supr...