Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

This week, the top managed care stories included a new bill in Congress to tackle the opioid epidemic; an analysis that warns against including drug costs in bundled payment models; the FDA commissioner shares ideas to improve innovation and access to next-generation sequencing.

Read more about the stories in this podcast:

Congress, Medical Societies Move on Ways to Attack Opioid Problem: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/congress-medical-societies-move-on-ways-to-attack-opioid-problem

Bundled Payments That Include Drug Costs Would Penalize Practices Based on Patient Mix: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/bundled-payments-that-include-drug-costs-would-penalize-practices-based-on-patient-mix

FDA Finalizes Guidances to Accelerate Development of Next-Generation Sequencing Tests: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/fda-finalizes-guidances-to-accelerate-development-of-next-generation-sequencing-tests

Commissioner Gottlieb Updates Community Oncologists on the FDA's Mission to Improve Access: www.ajmc.com/conferences/coa-2018/commissioner-gottlieb-updates-community-oncologists-on-the-fdas-mission-to-improve-access

2018 Community Oncology Conference: www.ajmc.com/conferences/coa-2018

Keytruda results: http://www.mrknewsroom.com/news-release/oncology/mercks-keytruda-pembrolizumab-plus-pemetrexed-alimta-and-platinum-chemotherapy

Evidence-Based Oncology—April 2018: www.ajmc.com/journals/evidence-based-oncology/2018/april-2018

Current policies being employed to limit spending can have serious consequences for patients. In the April issue of The American Journal of Managed Care, A. Mark Fendrick, MD, co-authored a paper that examined the relationship between consumer cost sharing for branded antidepressants and the initiation of branded therapy among patients who were filling a prescription for a generic medication to treat major depressive disorder.

Read the paper:

Cost Sharing and Branded Antidepressant Initiation Among Patients Treated With Generics: www.ajmc.com/journals/issue/2018/2018-vol24-n4/cost-sharing-and-branded-antidepressant-initiation-among-patients-treated-with-generics

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

This week, the top managed care stories included President Donald Trump signing an executive order requiring the poor to get jobs or lose food and healthcare benefits; a CMS report found ethnic, racial, and gender disparities in Medicare Advantage plans; CDC highlighted the impact of HIV on America's youth.

Read more about the stories in this podcast:

What We're Reading: Trump Signs Executive Order; VA Staffing Crisis; Texas Hospital Firm Draws Scrutiny: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/what-were-reading-trump-signs-executive-order-va-staffing-crisis-texas-hospital-firm-draws-scrutiny-

CMS Creates New ACA Penalty Mandate Exemptions, Including Opposition to Abortion: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/cms-creates-new-aca-penalty-mandate-exemptions-including-opposition-to-abortion

CMS Report Details Extent of Medicare Advantage Racial, Gender Disparities: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/cms-report-details-extent-of-medicare-advantage-racial-gender-disparities

Sanofi to Start Offering Discounts on Two Insulin Products: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/sanofi-to-start-offering-discounts-on-2-insulin-products

National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: Highlighting the Impact of Disease on the Age Group: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/national-youth-hivaids-awareness-day-highlighting-the-impact-of-disease-on-the-age-group

With the Oncology Care Model, "Everyone Has to Be Engaged," Including Patients: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/with-the-oncology-care-model-everyone-has-to-be-engaged-including-patients

With the cost of healthcare rising, consumers are being asked to shoulder more of the financial burden and make more cost-conscious decisions regarding their healthcare. One method to do this is through the use of consumer-directed health plans, which are high-deductible health plans coupled with a health savings account or a health reimbursement arrangement. Neeraj Sood, PhD, co-authored a paper in the April issue of The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) evaluating the impact of enrollment in consumer-directed health plans on financial burden associated with healthcare utilization.

Read Sood's paper “Financial Burden of Healthcare Utilization in Consumer-Directed Health Plans” in the April issue of AJMC: http://www.ajmc.com/journals/issue/2018/2018-vol24-n4/financial-burden-of-healthcare-utilization-in-consumer-directed-health-plans

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

This week, the top managed care news included final numbers for 2018 enrollment in Affordable Care Act plans; an increase in Medicare Advantage payments; National Public Health Week highlighted the importance of community relationships in improving health.

Read more about the stories in this podcast:

What We're Reading: 2018 ACA Enrollment; Spread of Rare Superbug; Off-the-Shelf CAR T Therapies: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/what-were-reading-2018-aca-enrollment-spread-of-rare-superbug-offtheshelf-car-t-therapies

CMS Final Rule Lowers Maximum Co-Payment Amount for Biosimilars: www.centerforbiosimilars.com/news/cms-final-rule-lowers-maximum-copayment-amount-for-biosimilars

CMS Raises Medicare Advantage Payments, Tweaks Opioid Language for Patients With Pain: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/cms-raises-medicare-advantage-payments-tweaks-opioid-language-for-pain-patients

Strong Community Relationships Key to Improving Health, Said Speakers at National Public Health Week Forum: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/strong-community-relationships-key-to-improving-health-said-speakers-at-national-public-health-week-forum

What We're Reading: 2018 ACA Enrollment; Spread of Rare Superbug; Off-the-Shelf CAR T Therapies: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/what-were-reading-2018-aca-enrollment-spread-of-rare-superbug-offtheshelf-car-t-therapies

Guidance That Allows for Higher A1C Misses the Mark: www.ajmc.com/journals/evidence-based-diabetes-management/2018/march-2018/guidance-that-allows-for-higher-a1c-misses-the-mark

Evidence-Based Diabetes Management—March 2018: www.ajmc.com/journals/evidence-based-diabetes-management/2018/march-2018

Locations, Types, and Characteristics of Data Breaches in Hospitals by Managed Care Cast

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

This week, the top managed care stories included another insurer announcing it would pass on drug rebates to consumers; FDA approved a new continuous glucose monitor and created a new medical device class; new guidelines address how to treat people with both HIV and cancer.

Read more about the stories in this podcast:

What We're Reading: Accidental Medicaid Enrollment; Cracking Down on Opioids; Passing on Drug Rebates: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/what-were-reading-accidental-medicaid-enrollment-cracking-down-on-opioids-passing-on-drug-rebatesUnitedHealthcare to Pass Drug Company Rebates Back to Consumers: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/unitedhealthcare-to-pass-drug-company-rebates-back-to-consumers

Out-of-Pocket Costs for Insulin Are a Problem. Litigants in Case Disagree on Who Is at Fault: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/out-of-pocket-costs-for-insulin-are-a-problem-litigants-in-case-disagree-on-who-is-at-fault

Brenda Schmidt Discusses Getting Ready for the Launch of Medicare DPP: www.ajmc.com/interviews/brenda-schmidt-discusses-getting-ready-for-the-launch-of-medicare-dpp

FDA Approves Dexcom G6, Streamlines Review for Similar Interoperable CGMs: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/fda-approves-dexcom-g6-streamlines-review-for-similar-interoperable-cgms

NCCN's New Guidelines Promote Better Cancer Care for People With HIV: www.ajmc.com/conferences/nccn-2018/nccns-new-guidelines-promote-better-cancer-care-for-people-with-hiv

Institute for Value-Based Medicine—Advancing Quality in Oncology Care: www.ajmc.com/ivbm-registration

As the country searches a new way to address cost of care, value-based insurance design (VBID), is gaining traction as one way of encouraging the use of high-value services and discouraging the use of low-value services. VBID would give patients access to treatments and services with high clinical value at reduced or no cost sharing. Currently, health plans tend to value all treatments and services as equal in clinical value to all patients, even though this is not the reality.

On March 14, the University of Michigan’s V-BID Center hosted its annual VBID Summit with discussions on aligning around value, how public payers are adopting VBID principles, addressing the use of low-value care services, and creating a smarter high-deductible health plan.

Read coverage of the panels from the V-BID Summit:

The Challenge of Addressing Low-Value Care Once It's Identified: www.ajmc.com/conferences/v-bid-summit-2018/the-challenge-of-addressing-lowvalue-care-once-its-identified

How Public Payers Are Adopting VBID Principles Despite Constraints: www.ajmc.com/conferences/v-bid-summit-2018/how-public-payers-are-adopting-vbid-principles-despite-constraints

Aligning Around Value: Challenges With Quality Measures and Implementing Clinical Nuance: www.ajmc.com/conferences/v-bid-summit-2018/aligning-around-value-challenges-with-quality-measures-and-implementing-clinical-nuance

Path to a Smarter High-Deductible Plan Includes Flexibility, Disruptive Innovation: www.ajmc.com/conferences/v-bid-summit-2018/path-to-a-smarter-highdeductible-plan-includes-flexibility-disruptive-innovation

On March 14, advocates for community cancer centers took to Capitol Hill to speak with legislators and advocate for the issues important to them and their patients. At the Association of Community Cancer Centers' (ACCC) 44th Annual Meeting and Cancer Business Summit, Blaire Burnett of ACCC, George Spurlock of Southern Cancer Center, and Randall Oyer, MD, of Lancaster General Health, discussed their experiences with Capitol Hill Day and what issues they discussed with legislators.

For coverage of sessions and interviews with speakers from the ACCC 44th Annual Meeting and Cancer Business Summit, visit our conference page: http://www.ajmc.com/conferences/accc-2018.

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

This week, the top managed care stories included changes to the Next Generation ACO Model caused 7 accountable care organizations to leave the model; a report highlights how quickly hospital acqusition of physician practices is occurring; CMS finalizes coverage for Next-Generation Sequencing tests.

Read more about the stories in this podcast:

Seven ACOs Exit Next Generation Model, Blaming CMS for "Unilateral" Changes: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/seven-acos-exit-next-generation-model-blaming-cms-for-unilateral-changes

Accountable Care Delivery Congress: www.ajmc.com/acdcongress

Hospital Acquisition of Independent Physician Practices Continues to Increase: www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-week/hospital-acquisition-of-independent-physician-practices-continues-to-increase

First-of-a-Kind Companion Test for Cancer Gene Profiling Gets FDA Approval: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/firstofakind-companion-test-for-cancer-gene-profiling-gets-fda-approval

CMS Finalizes Coverage for Next-Generation Sequencing Tests: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/cms-finalizes-coverage-for-next-generation-sequencing-tests

Incorporating Value Into Physician Payment and Patient Cost Sharing: www.ajmc.com/journals/issue/2018/2018-vol24-n3/incorporating-value-into-physician-payment-and-patient-cost-sharing

National Comprehensive Cancer Network 23rd Annual Conference: www.ajmc.com/conferences/nccn-2018

Society of Gynecologic Oncology 2018 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer: www.ajmc.com/conferences/sgo-2018