It is often an on-again, off-again disease, distressing partly because it is so unpredictable. It may defy the conventional wisdom about adherence and early treatment. And escalating prices have undercut cost-effectiveness arguments for the drugs that can keep it in check. Multiple sclerosis is a managed care nightmare.
Because it enables both the security and sharing of data, blockchain seems ideally suited to health care. Next year, the pieces may come together for it to finally get some real traction in the sector.
The caveat: The prices are now falling for various reasons, but the high cost still means many who might benefit don’t have access to the medications.
Democrats are running on Medicare for All—or extending the seniors’ program to the merely middle-aged—or resurrecting a ‘public option’. Republicans say Medicare expansion would mean government intrusion and inefficiency. But politics aside, how would these Medicare expansions work?
Bereft of his own connections, President Trump recruited from conservative think tanks to fill health care positions in his administration. Many of them have Koch brother connections, and their agendas often run counter to Trump campaign rhetoric—and his impulses.
Here’s a list, by no means exhaustive, of think tanks that have developed conservative and libertarian policies and principles in health care
Vertical integration may make sense in the era of value-based care. But will the combinations limit patient choice–and pass antitrust muster?
Pharma and Trump administration officials decry them as backroom deals. But payers and PBMs say rebates are an important negotiating tool with drugmakers. Take it away and drug expenditure will go up even faster.
ProPublica has identified key personnel in the Trump health policy apparatus.
The caveats: About 40,000 Americans are newly infected every year. And HIV infection is still among the top 10 leading causes of death among Americans between the ages of 25 and 44.
Community health workers liaise between underserved populations and clinicians, help patients and resources to manage disease, and provide health education, informal counseling, and social support. Interest in community health workers is shifting away from narrowly focused intervention on a single disease toward care coordination of multiple chronic conditions.
The caveat: Joint replacements might be a sweet spot for bundled payments. They might not work as well for other episodes of care.
