Managed Care Calendar
- AAPM 2010 Clinical Meeting
Poll
Current Issue
- Issue:June 2010
Massachusetts the Site of Latest Clash over Premiums
Although 4 of the state’s largest health insurers posted first-quarter losses that they attributed mostly to Governor Deval Patrick’s efforts to slow premium growth rates for individuals and small businesses, the Massachusetts Division of Insurance is holding firm on its decision to deny insurers’ requests for premium increases. Insurers challenging the rejections assert that premium increases are a direct and necessary result of the rising cost of medical care and say the denials amount to arbitrary price contro
- Issue:June 2010
Increases in Enrollment and Assets Continue
Led by growth among large-group insurers, enrollment in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and associated health savings accounts (HSAs) exceeded 10 million this year. Separate research projects recently conducted by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) quantify expansion in both the number and value of HSAs. After several years of increases, the continued expansion of HDHP/HSA arrangements may depend on how new regulations issuing from national healthcare reforms influe
- Issue:June 2010
Discussions prior to passage of recent healthcare reform laws raised awareness of the use of advance directives to direct end-of-life care. Advance directives document a patient’s wishes regarding life-sustaining treatment, choice of a surrogate decision maker, or both. In 1990, Congress passed the Patient Self-Determination Act mandating that all Medicare-certified institutions provide written information about a patient’s right to formulate an advance directive.
- Issue:June 2010
Pneumococcal vaccination does not reduce the risk of acute myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke in men ≥45 years of age, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association [2010;303(17):1699-1706].
- Issue:June 2010
Xifaxan (rifaximin) is a rifamycin antibiotic that is gut selective with negligible systemic absorption and broad-spectrum activity in vitro against both gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens. The drug is minimally absorbed and concentrates in the gastrointestinal tract.
- Long-Term Treatment with Asenapine Safe and Effective for Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective DisorderIssue:June 2010
New Orleans—An extension study that looked at the safety and efficacy of asenapine to treat patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder found that asenapine remains well tolerated and effective for up to 3 years of treatment. The study, presented in a poster at the recent APA meeting by Joep Schoemaker, MSc, of Merck Sharp & Dohme, confirmed previously published results that showed the safety and efficacy of asenapine for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder after 1 year of treatment.
- Issue:June 2010
Atlanta—A review of records from the National Alzheimer Coordinating Center’s Uniform Data Set (NACC-UDS) found that patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) transition more quickly to states of more severe dementia as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) than patients with non-AD dementia. Patients with non-AD dementia, however, were more likely to be institutionalized or die.
- Issue:June 2010
News
New Treatment for Late-Onset Pompe Disease
The FDA approved alglucosidase alfa (Lumizyme) for patients ≥8 years of age with late-onset, noninfantile Pompe disease, a rare genetic disorder. Alglucosidase alfa, marketed by Genzyme Corporation, is believed to work by replacing the deficient acid alpha-glucosidase necessary for proper muscle functioning, thereby reducing the accumulated glycogen in heart and skeletal muscle cells.
REQUIP XL is an oral dopamine agonist medication for Parkinson’s disease and had demonstrated significant improvement in the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
The Role of Immune Function in the Changing Landscape of RRMS Therapies
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is an important
managed care health concern because it is one of the most common gastrointestinal (GI) disorders in the United
States. GERD affects nearly 18.6 million Americans, according to a national healthcare database analysis.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive
and disabling neurologic disorder. The disease is the most prevalent type of parkinsonism, a clinical syndrome caused by lesions in the basal ganglia, predominantly in the substantia nigra, which produces deficits in motor behavior.
