Managed Care Cast

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 and halt the slide to irreversible ESRD.

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 President-elect Joe Biden should prioritize, including the sustainability of Medicare, a continued way forward for the Affordable Care Act, and value-based insurance design, particularly as the continued coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic continues to stress every aspect of health care.

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 metabolic and bariatric surgery at King’s College London, along with a cohort of clinicians from around the world, devised a global registry of COVID-19-related diabetes to better track and understand this condition.

The CoviDiab Registry was created to establish the extent and characteristics of new-onset, COVID-19-related diabetes, and to investigate its pathogenesis, management and outcomes. On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Rubino about these new cases, the registry’s progress, and future implications of COVID-19-related diabetes.

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 (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requested The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to construct a framework assisting US policymakers and global health communities to plan for an equitable allocation of a COVID-19 vaccine.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Jewel Mullen, (MD, MPH) the associate dean for health equity and associate professor of population health and internal medicine at the University of Texas at Austin, Dell Medical School. Mullen is the former principal deputy assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a member of the National Academies committee which developed the framework for vaccine allocation.

Mullen discusses criteria used to prioritize vaccine recipients, barriers to equitable distribution, and the role of misinformation in the push for an effective COVID-19 vaccine.

Read more:

Pfizer Says Vaccine 90% Effective; Biden Team Announces COVID-19 Transition Panel: https://www.ajmc.com/view/pfizer-says-vaccine-90-effective-biden-team-announces-covid-19-transition-panel

Study Backs Decision to Move Forward With Pfizer Vaccine Candidate: https://www.ajmc.com/view/study-backs-decision-to-move-forward-with-pfizer-vaccine-candidate

Moderna SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Elicits Response in Older Adults: https://www.ajmc.com/view/moderna-sars-cov-2-vaccine-elicits-response-in-older-adults

Dr Maura Abbott: Talk to Your Patients About Their Vaccine Fears: https://www.ajmc.com/view/dr-maura-abbott-talk-to-your-patients-about-their-vaccine-fears

Dr Maura Abbott: COVID-19 Vaccine Development Process Is Safe Despite a Quicker Timeline: https://www.ajmc.com/view/dr-maura-abbott-covid-19-vaccine-development-process-is-safe-despite-a-quicker-timeline

Dr Victoria Smith on Experience Taking Part in a COVID-19 Vaccine Trial: https://www.ajmc.com/view/dr-victoria-smith-on-experience-taking-part-in-a-covid-19-vaccine-trial