Managed Care Cast

Gun violence is one of the most prominent public health issues facing America today, and accounted for over 43,500 deaths in 2020 alone—the highest number in decades. But a major driver of gun-related deaths in this country that often goes unmentioned is suicide.

Research shows having access to a firearm significantly increases the risk of suicide via firearm, and during the pandemic, amid an unprecedented surge in firearm purchases, these purchasers appeared far more likely to have experienced suicidal ideation.

To learn more about the intersection between COVID-19, firearm ownership, and suicide, and to mark National Gun Violence Awareness Month, we spoke with Michael D. Anestis, PhD, an associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Anestis discusses his most recent research on the paramount importance of safe firearm storage, this epidemic’s disproportionate impact on people of color, and future steps needed to help decrease rates of gun-inflicted suicide. Anestis also serves as the executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center.

This episode of Managed Care Cast will discuss subjects related to suicide, suicide ideology and gun violence. If you or a loved one is in crisis, please contact the national suicide prevention lifeline at 800-273-8255.

This month, the PwC Health Research Institute (HRI) released its annual Medical Cost Trend report for 2022. Reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report predicts a 6.5% medical cost trend in 2022, slightly lower than the 7% medical cost trend in 2021 and slightly higher than it was between 2016 and 2020.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Trina Tsouderos, who leads HRI, and discuss some of the drivers behind those numbers, as patients who put off care begin to seek services, as workers carry a high burden of mental and emotional stress, and as health care systems invest as they plan ahead for the next crisis.

In this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with a coauthor of an article in June’s Health Affairs examining the racial and ethnic composition of beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage plans and the potential implications as the program continues to grow.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, a research scholar at the Marron Institute of Urban Management at New York University discusses the latest findings in the Health of the Air report, which was presented at the recent American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2021 International Conference.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented boom in telehealth use, especially when it comes to services provided for mental health. With the combined toll of a global pandemic, economic hardships, and protracted grief, Americans’ mental health has jumped to the forefront of the national conversation.

A recent analysis, published by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, illustrates this seismic shift in care delivery and demand for mental health services. Researchers compiled claims data from March through December of 2019 and compared it with the same time frame in 2020.

To learn more about the report’s findings and to understand the challenges of providing these services to patients during a pandemic, we spoke with Gregory Harris, MD, MPH, DFAPA, the senior medical director for behavioral health at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Harris describes his experience as a psychiatrist and offers some solutions to meet the growing demand for this field in the months and years following COVID-19.

An author of a study in the May 2021 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® describes how the COVID-19 pandemic, the aging of America, and already-existing workforce shortages will further threaten the dual-eligible population unless policy makers reform scope-of-practice laws.

Vaccine hesitancy may be one of the contributing factors if the United States does not reach herd immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19. Such hesitancy presents itself in different ways and forms, ranging from outright refusal in conservative rural areas to fears in communities of color, to skepticism of science elsewhere.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Patricia Salber, MD, MBA, of The Doctor Weighs In, has a conversation with Abner Mason, the founder and CEO of ConsejoSano, a patient engagement firm working with diverse, multicultural, multilingual populations through at-risk providers, health plans, government programs, employers, and other partners.

The two discuss the importance of relationship building and trust building and understanding where people are coming from when they have the opinions and beliefs that they hold. They also discuss the role of health plans in COVID-19 vaccinations and how payers and partners can work on upstream issues to address other care gaps.

This podcast is brought to you by Insulet.

Today we are bringing you part 2 of a 2-part, sponsored podcast series discussing insulin delivery for patients with diabetes. In part 1, Mary Caffrey, associate editorial director of The American Journal of Managed Care, spoke with Greg Forlenza, MD, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Barbara Davis Center at the University of Colorado, about prepivotal data. In this segment, they conclude the conversation.

With unprecedented pauses in air pollution emissions seen around the world in the spring of 2020 and virus mitigation behaviors being implemented for over a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented a unique opportunity to better understand the impact of poor air quality on human health.

In particular, exposure reduction due to mask-wearing and stay-at-home orders has contributed to anecdotal reports of reduced exacerbations among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, allergies and other respiratory conditions.

To learn more about how the pandemic has altered care and disease management among these patients, we spoke with Courtney Blair, MD, an allergist and immunologist in Virginia.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Blair who also serves as the president of the Greater Washington Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Society, discusses factors that may have contributed to improvements in her patients’ respiratory health over the past 15 months.

This podcast is brought to you by Insulet.

Today, we are bringing you part 1 of a 2-part sponsored podcast series discussing insulin delivery for patients with diabetes. In part 1, Mary Caffrey, associate editorial director of The American Journal of Managed Care, speaks to Greg Forlenza, MD, a pediatric endocrinologist, about the evolution of diabetes care technology and standards for automated insulin delivery.