The American journal of managed care
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To evaluate whether increased placement of generic drugs on higher cost-sharing tiers in Medicare Part D is associated with coverage of multisource brand-name drugs, plan type, or product characteristics. ⋯ Although Part D plans have increasingly placed covered generic drugs on higher formulary tiers over time, this may be partly explained by a drug's clinical profile and availability of substitutes rather than preferred brand-name drug coverage.
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Previous research on rideshare-based nonemergency medical transportation has limited generalizability due to the specific model studied, and the lack of trip-level data raises concerns of ecological fallacy.
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As of May 2021, the United States remains the world leader with 33 million of 165 million cases worldwide (20%) and 590,000 of 3.4 million deaths worldwide (17%) from COVID-19. Achieving herd immunity by disease spread and vaccination may result in 2 million to 4 million total US deaths. The future perfect of the vaccine should not be the enemy of the present good, which is masking. ⋯ Any economic advantages of pandemic politics are short-lived and shortsighted in comparison with public health strategies of proven benefit that can prevent needless and mostly avoidable premature deaths from COVID-19. During the worst epidemic in more than 100 years, most Americans (75%) trust their health care providers. As competent and compassionate health care professionals, we recommend that effective strategies, especially masking, and not pandemic politics, should inform all rational clinical and public health decision-making.
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Although pharmacy benefit carve-outs are promoted as a cost-containment tool, their impact on medical spending is not well understood. We compare the health care spending of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) members covered by an integrated ("carved-in") pharmacy benefit with that of members covered under a pharmacy benefit carve-out. ⋯ Members with chronic illnesses receiving an integrated pharmacy benefit experienced slower medical cost growth compared with members covered by a pharmacy carve-out. Group leaders and brokers should consider the additional cost savings achieved by integrated pharmacy benefits when comparing the total costs of carve-in vs carve-out prescription drug programs.
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Racial disparities in cancer care and outcomes remain a societal challenge. Medicaid expansion through the Affordable Care Act was intended to improve health care access and equity. This study aimed to assess whether state Medicaid expansions were associated with a reduction in racial disparities in timely treatment among patients diagnosed with advanced cancer. ⋯ Medicaid expansion was associated with reduced Black-White racial disparities in receipt of timely systemic treatment for patients with advanced or metastatic cancers.