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Cancer: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion and gains in health insurance coverage and access among cancer survivors

April 17, 2018
Abstract BACKGROUND The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act extends Medicaid coverage to millions of low‐income adults, including many survivors of cancer who were unable to purchase affordable health insurance coverage in the individual health insurance market. METHODS Using data from the 2011 to 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the authors compared changes in coverage and health care access measures for low‐income cancer survivors in states that did and did not expand Medicaid. RESULTS

JAMA Internal Medicine: Pharmaceutical Industry Payments and Oncologists’ Selection of Targeted Cancer Therapies in Medicare Beneficiaries

April 16, 2018
Summary: Physicians and teaching hospitals in the United States receive approximately $7 billion from the pharmaceutical industry annually.1 These payments have been associated with higher-cost, brand-name pharmaceutical prescribing.2-4 Whether industry payments are associated with physician treatment choice in oncology is uncertain. We examined the association between oncologists’ receipt of payments from pharmaceutical manufacturers and drug selection in 2 situations where there are multiple treatment options. Citation: 

Health Affairs Blog: Proposed Reforms To The 340B Drug Discount Program

March 7, 2018
The original goal of the 340B drug discount program was to allow qualified providers to “stretch federal resources as far as possible reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services.” In recent years, the program has come under scrutiny as the number of participating disproportionate share hospitals (DSHs) and their “child” affiliates have undergone tremendous growth. Nearly 1,000 DSH hospitals were participating in the program as of 2014, while the number of clinics has tripled and pharmacies has increased tenfold since 2010.

The Commonwealth Fund: Understanding Trends in Medicare Spending, 2007–2014

March 7, 2018
Synopsis The average amount Medicare spent on health services for each beneficiary age 65 and older declined by $180 between the periods 2007–2010 and 2011–2014, after adjusting for provider payment rate changes. Most of the decrease can be attributed to lower spending for Medicare beneficiaries with certain chronic illnesses, particularly cardiovascular and endocrine conditions — possibly a result of efforts by health care stakeholders to control costs and improve efficiency.
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