A new white paper and position statement from the ACR address the clinical and economic value of rheumatology, including patient outcomes and healthcare cost savings.
Measuring Up: A Review of the ACR-Owned Quality Measures
Since 2006, the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) has increasingly driven clinicians to focus on and improve quality. Quality measures help clinicians measure how well they treat their patients. By tracking their performance, clinicians can identify opportunities to improve patient care while meeting federal reporting requirements. Breaking Down Quality Measures The CMS has…
UnitedHealth Boosts Earnings Forecast, Set to Pass Price Discounts to Patients
July 18 (Reuters)—UnitedHealth Group Inc. will stick with its decision to pass on drug maker discounts to patients to help them beat rising medicine prices despite the U.S. government having withdrawn a similar proposed policy in its health programs, its top executive said on Thursday. “You can expect us not to change our stance on…
Former Insys CEO Pleads Guilty to Opioid Kickback Scheme
BOSTON (Reuters)—The former chief executive of Insys Therapeutics Inc pleaded guilty on Wednesday to participating in a nationwide scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe an addictive opioid medication and has agreed to become a government witness. Michael Babich, who resigned as the Arizona-based drugmaker’s CEO in 2015, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to…
Cigna Closes $54 Billion Purchase of Express Scripts
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Cigna Corp on Thursday closed its $54-billion deal to buy Express Scripts Holding Co, creating one of the biggest providers of pharmacy benefits and insurance plans in the United States, a combination it says will help it improve healthcare coordination and cut costs. Cigna’s deal puts it in direct competition with two other…
Walmart, Home Depot Adopt Health Insurer Tactic in Drug Copay Battle
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Walmart and Home Depot, two of the top 10 U.S. employers, have embraced a health insurance strategy that punishes drugmakers for using discount cards to keep patients from switching or stopping their medications. Large U.S. companies have started tightly managing how employees and their family members use these popular discount, or copay, cards…
CVS, Aetna Win U.S. Approval for $69 Billion Merger
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—Pharmacy chain CVS Health Corp won U.S. antitrust approval for its $69 billion acquisition of health insurer Aetna Inc, the Justice Department said on Wednesday, paving the way for a combination the companies say can help cut soaring U.S. healthcare costs. It is the second large recent healthcare deal to win a thumbs up…
Aetna, Seeking Antitrust Nod, Sells Medicare Drug Business to WellCare
(Reuters)—Health insurer Aetna Inc said on Thursday it will sell its standalone Medicare prescription drug plan business to WellCare Health Plans Inc as it seeks U.S. antitrust approval for a planned acquisition by CVS Health Corp. The $69 billion CVS-Aetna deal would be the second large deal this year between insurers and pharmacy benefit managers,…
AMA Opposes Merger of CVS & Aetna
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—the The American Medical Association, which represents U.S. physicians, urged the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday to stop CVS Health Corp’s plan to buy insurance provider Aetna Inc, saying the deal could result in higher prices for prescription medicines. The AMA said that the $69 billion deal, announced in December, would lead to a…
Insys to Pay $150 Million to Settle U.S. Opioid Kickback Probe
(Reuters)—Insys Therapeutics said on Wednesday it had reached a deal to pay at least $150 million to resolve a U.S. Justice Department investigation into claims that the drugmaker paid doctors kickbacks to prescribe a powerful opioid medication. The tentative deal announced by the Arizona-based drugmaker marked a major step in Insys’ efforts to resolve an…
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