Articles by Peter Wehrwein

Thomas P. Leist, MD, PhD, a neurologist and professor of Multiple Sclerosis at Jefferson University Hospitals, is the latest guest featured on MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access podcast. In this episode, Thomas spoke with Peter Wehrwein, senior editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, about accessing care amongst patients with MS through therapies, health insurance barriers, options of step therapy and more.

Hesitancy seems to be waning, Merck extends helping hand to J&J, US bishops say J&J is "morally acceptable," and Biden promises large enough supply for all adults by May

Harvard drug policy experts say in an opinion piece in JAMA that a drug affordability commission might be one of several ways that the new administration deals with prescription drug prices.

The value-based model hasn't produced cost savings and is not likely "to make the cut" to become permanent, says Kavita Patel, a former top healthcare official in the Obama administration.


A New York Times analysis of federal data shows that deaths declined by 65% between late December and early February.

Israeli study shows good results for just a single dose of Pfizer-BioNTech; Moderna has made a version to combat the South African variant; and J&J's single-dose vaccine seems headed for an EUA.

In this latest episode of MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access podcast, Dennis Bourdette, M.D., professor emeritus of neurology in the School of Medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University, spoke with Peter Wehrwein, senior editor of MHE. Bourdette, a nationally recognized expert on multiple sclerosis, discussed step therapy, tiers, insurance approvals and the need for greater communication between physicians and insurers.


NCI Director Norman Sharpless discussed deferred care, missed screening and his future at the institute in an interview with Managed Healthcare Executive.

Her selection leaves the FDA commissioner's post as the only top healthcare job for which Biden hasn't made a pick.

In this latest episode of the Meet the Board series on Tuning In to the C-Suite podcast, Managed Healthcare Executive's Peter Wehrwein and Briana Contreras speak with Rodrigo Cerda, vice president of clinical care transformation at Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia. Rodrigo is a newer member of MHE's Editorial Advisory Board and in the discussion he shared a bit about himself such as what his personal goals were. The focus of the discussion highlighted a pipeline of clinical care and what's to come, as well as looking at virtual care.

CEO Karen Lynch says the market has stabilized. CVS received a $307 million ACA risk corridor payment last year.


Peter Wehrwein, senior editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, speaks with Mohan Giridharadas, the founder and CEO at LeanTaas, a software and machine learning company. The Santa Clara, California, company’s software enables healthcare systems to maximize efficient use of their infusion centers, operating rooms and other facilities. More efficient use translates into improved access to services for patients, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, Giridharadas explains.

Johnson & Johnson formally requested an emergency use authorization for its one-dose vaccine, AstraZeneca reports data that show its vaccine is protective against the B.1.1.7 variant and other COVID-19 vaccine news last week.

Potential ACA marketplace enrollees are younger and likely to be healthier on average

Johnson & Johnson and a Maryland biotech company announced phase 3 results. Other COVID-19 vaccine news: WHO changes its advice for pregnant women, unofficial websites for looking up where you can get vaccinated, a call to stop hospital board members and donors from jumping the queue.

In this latest episode of the "MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access" series, Senior Editor of MHE, Peter Wehrwein, speaks with Harvey Kaufman, M.D., FCAP, MBA, senior medical director of medical informatics at Quest Diagnostics. The two discussed a recent Quest Diagnostics Health Trends report examining healthcare disparities.

Collecting high-quality data is critical to addressing healthcare equity issues, according to Marcella Nunez-Smith, M.D., M.H.S., whom President-elect Joe Biden has chosen to lead a new White House task force on the issue.

Telehealth holds the promise of increasing access to care. But research findings concerning direct-to-consumer (DTC) telehealth, reported in JAMA Network Open last month, suggest that it might not be as simple as that.

MHE's Peter Wehrwein talks with Lloyd Dean, CEO of CommonSpirit Health, and Valerie Montgomery Rice, M.D., FACOG, president of Morehouse School of Medicine, in this new episode of MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access podcast series. The three discuss the lack of Black physicians in the United States. Of the 22,000 medical school applicants in the U.S. every year, only 1,600 are Black. Dean and Rice created a program that seeks to cross barriers of healthcare and racial disparities by offering more opportunities for students of color in medical school programs.

Sumit Dutta, MD, MBA, of OptumRx, talks to MHE about drug use among Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic and about vaccine distribution to its members in this part two of a two-part video interview series.

There currently aren't enough vaccines in the United States, and between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the two are very important to get their hands on, Sumit Dutta, MD, MBA, of OptumRx, says in this part one of a two-part video interview series.

Under New Jersey's final-offer arbitration system, median arbitration award was 5.7 times median in-network price. Researchers say use of billed charges leads to high awards.

In this second of a three-part video series, Craig Samitt, CEO and president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota talks with MHE about healthcare utilization, MLR rates and investing in telehealth models for the better care of its members.

In this first of three-part video series, Craig Samitt, CEO and president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota talks with MHE about healthcare utilization among its members and the elimination of low-value care.

The most popular article from the Managed Healthcare Executive® print publication was a pre-pandemic story about the top 6 challenges facing healthcare executives.

In this week's episode, MHE's Senior Editor Peter Wehrwein spoke with Sumit Dutta, Optum Rx chief medical officer. The two spoke about COVID-19 vaccines and how the pharmacy benefit market responded to the pandemic.

MHE Senior Editor talks with John “Jack” S. Linehan, a lawyer at Epstein Becker Green, for this week's episode of MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access series. The two discuss copay accumulators and maximizers, as well as how states have moved to prohibit accumulators and maximizers as the federal government takes a hands-off approach.