News

If you have not already added Medicare Advantage (MA) as part of your health plan's offerings, you are missing a key business opportunity. MA offers increased reimbursement, the chance to expand your product line, the ability to protect your senior business and a strategy for maintaining your membership base. It is worthwhile to recognize, though, that launching any new line of business always involves a certain amount of risk. The key to success is learning about and preparing for the opportunities and impacts of MA.

There's no doubt that HMO enrollment has been declining in recent years, experts say. Various factors explain this enrollment decline.

The issues have been framed brilliantly, debated enthusiastically and examined closely. While it might not resemble the California Gold Rush, employers that implement wellness programs can still find significant rewards.

Heart failure is a serious condition in which the heart doesn't pump enough blood throughout the body. It may be caused by several different diseases that damage or overwork the heart muscle; the leading causes include coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Physicians insist that pay-for-performance programs should be voluntary and include risk-adjustments.

Not many CEOs would wish for a massive upheaval in their industries. Georganne Chapin, president and CEO of Hudson Health Plan (HHP), minces no words when she says the United States should transition to universal coverage, and HHP, a not-for-profit managed-care Medicaid plan that covers 60,000 members in New York state, should evolve to play a new role.

NATIONAL REPORTS-The San Francisco health access plan raises challenges for MCOs, say industry experts.

Gut instinct always used to tell me that America would never go for universal healthcare coverage. In the back of my mind, I kept picturing either a healthcare free-for-all with everyone and their uncle running to the doctor for every little paper cut, or just as bad, everyone and their uncle waiting in line for months to receive their ration of healthcare. You might have envisioned those alarming circumstances, too.

A salmeterol/fluticasone combination (SFC) surpassed a formoterol/budesonide combination (FBC) in reducing the rate of moderate-to-severe exacerbations in patients with persistent asthma, according to a study published by the journal Respiratory Medicine.

An observational case-control study of 1,384 adults presenting with coronary disease for the first time found that patients who presented with acute myocardial infarction (MI) received statins and beta blockers less often than patients who presented with stable exertional angina.

Bupropion extended-release tablets

Ambrisentan, a propanoic acid type-A selective endothelin receptor antagonist, improved exercise capacity and delayed clinical worsening in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in phase 3 clinical trial results presented at the annual international conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego, Calif.

The anticonvulsant lacosamide is effective in relieving diabetic neuropathy and produces increased pain reduction with continued treatment for 22 months, according to phase 3 study results presented during the 25th Annual Scientific Meeting of APS in San Antonio, Texas. "This is a promising treatment that maintains a long-term effect," said Tibor Hidvegi, MD, Medical Department, Petz Hospital, Gyor, Hungary.

Morphine extended-release once daily significantly reduced pain among patients with chronic, moderate-to-severe low back pain compared with oxycodone controlled-release twice daily, according to results of a study presented at the 25th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society (APS) in San Antonio, Texas. The once-daily opioid also demonstrated significant improvement in sleep scores, said Richard L. Rauck, MD, Carolinas Pain Institute, Winston-Salem, NC.

Valsartan is associated with a reduction in the levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), the inflammatory marker that is highly predictive of adverse cardiovascular outcomes, independent of its blood pressure-lowering effect, said Paul M. Ridker, MD, MPH, lead investigator of a trial presented at the 21st annual meeting of ASH.

The investigative agent aliskiren, the first orally active renin inhibitor, is an effective antihypertensive agent as monotherapy and in combination with hydrochlorothiazide, reported investigators at the 21st annual scientific meeting of ASH.

Phase 3 clinical trials demonstrated that the once-daily, highly selective beta blocker nebivolol lowers blood pressure in a dose-dependent manner and is well tolerated at all doses, according to presenters at the 21st annual scientific meeting of the American Society of Hypertension (ASH), in New York, NY.

FDA has announced further steps it plans to take to target the sales of counterfeit medications. The agency also rolled out a joint campaign with the Institute of Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) to discourage the use of confusing abbreviations that can potentially cause medication errors.

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of the ketolide telithromycin administered orally over a 10-day period to 278 asthma patients demonstrated a reduction in asthma symptoms, but did not show a significant treatment effect on patients' morning peak expiratory flow.

Focused on a diverse number of areas in the study of gastrointestinal health, Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2006 in Los Angeles, Calif, yielded important information about the pharmacologic treatment of certain GI cancers and Crohn's disease.

Abatacept (Orencia, Bristol-Myers Squibb) is the first T-lymphocyte co-stimulation modulator to be approved by FDA. The agent is indicated for use in patients with moderate-to-severe, active rheumatoid arthritis who have not had an adequate response to methotrexate, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, or other disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

A number of clinical approaches are utilized in managing insomnia. Indiplon (Pfizer) is a selective non-benzodiazepine sedative hypnotic under consideration by FDA for the treatment of insomnia. Like other agents in its class, indiplon binds selectively to the GABA-A receptors in the brain, promoting sleep.

Colestipol for oral suspension, 5 g/packet or scoopful (equiv to Colestid)

Approvable designations

FDA approved prednisolone orally disintegrating tablets (Orapred ODT, BioMarin/Alliant) for acute exacerbations of asthma as well as for persistent, severe asthma and for inflammation associated with certain conditions. It is the first orally disintegrating tablet formulation of prednisolone available in the United States.

A review of agents in late-stage development for the treatment of depression (July 2006).

Appropriate benefit design-copay structures and tiers-is an important factor in providing members and patients with access to treatment that is affordable. Meanwhile, cost sharing with consumers continues to increase because of pressures on maintaining competitive premium costs and the lack of innovative means to manage utilization, say experts.

Pay for performance (P4P) is touted as the magic bullet du jour for our healthcare cost concerns. In mid-2005, CMS released its "Quality Roadmap" aimed at delivering "the right care for every person every time." Consistent with this initiative, CMS has published quality measurements and information directed toward the beneficiary, the provider and, ultimately, the purchaser audiences.