Although fewer seniors will be forced to switch to new coverage optionsnext year than did last January, MCOs still are dropping out of the Medicare+Choiceprogram at a disturbing rate. Aggressive efforts by Tom Scully, administratorof the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), encouraged somehealth plans to stick with the program for now, but dozens of MCOs abandonedor curtailed service areas when they filed cost proposals for contract year2002 in September. Consequently, 536,000 seniors will have to find new coverageby January, much less than the 934,000 affected by MCO departures last year.But many of those plans that remain are reducing optional benefits or raisingpremiums in order to continue coverage.
FDA Issues Complete Response Letter for Pz-Cel to Treat Epidermolysis Bullosa
April 22nd 2024Prademagene zamikeracel is a cell therapy designed to incorporate the functional collagen-producing COL7A1 gene into a patient’s own skin cells. The FDA is asking for additional information on manufacturing practices.
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In this episode of the "Meet the Board" podcast series, Briana Contreras, Managed Healthcare Executive editor, speaks with Ateev Mehrotra, a member of the MHE editorial advisory board and a professor of healthcare policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School. Mehtrotra is also a hospitalist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. In the discussion, Contreras gets to know Mehrotra more on a personal level and picks his brain on some of his research interests including telehealth, alternative payment models and price transparency.
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FDA Approves Stelara Biosimilar, Selarsdi
April 18th 2024Alvotech’s Selarsdi (ustekinumab-aekn), a biosimilar referencing Stelara (ustekinumab), gained FDA approval, making it the second ustekinumab biosimilar and second for the company to be given the green light for the American market.
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Drugs to Watch: Mental Health Conditions
April 11th 2024The FDA is reviewing two novel therapies: a psychedelic-assisted therapy for PTSD with a target action date of Aug. 11, 2024, and therapy for schizophrenia that does not directly block dopamine receptors with an action date of Sept. 26, 2024.
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