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This policy brief includes background information on Medicaid and its drug benefit, provides examples of how states are using the cost containment mechanisms at their disposal and addresses issues surrounding beneficiary access to outpatient drugs. Policy Brief
Medicine as a Luxury by Merrill Goozner Reprinted with permission of The American ProspectVolume 13, Issue 1. January 1 - 14 2002 It's generally recognized that people have the right to eat. When famine breaks out, relief agencies rush food to the hungry. Politics and war may get in the way (indeed, they are often the causes of the famine). Sometimes relief efforts are too small or come too late. But the advanced industrial world…
Understanding how Medicare+Choice (M+C) plans manage their drug benefits may generate important lessons for Medicare. This report, based on interviews with both national and regional managed care firms, provides an in-depth look at how plans have managed their M+C outpatient pharmacy benefits in recent years. Findings show that plans rely on a number of cost management strategies to constrain the growth in drug spending including formularies, tiered-copayments, mail-order benefits, and fixed caps or dollar limits…
Online Resources for Health Policy Information, Research, and Analysis Key Facts and In-depth Analysis on Timely Health Policy IssuesAccess reports, chartbooks, and fact sheets that provide background and detailed analysis on timely issues such the rising numbers of uninsured, Medicare reform, how states' fiscal situations are affecting Medicaid, rising health care costs, global HIV/AIDS, racial disparities, and women's health policy. Weekly Updates of Health Policy Activity on the HillListen to Health on the Hill with…
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Behind-scenes Look Shows How Firm Chose Health Plans Fourth in an occasional series 12/24/2000 By Charles Ornstein Reprinted with permission of The Dallas Morning News "Health insurance is obviously an important decision," said Mr. Gilmore, 56, a vendor training coordinator for Verizon Communications Inc. "But it's taken on a little bit less importance because we've been satisfied with Cigna, and my kids are older now and they're both married…
This issue brief, prepared as part of the National ADAP Monitoring Project, examines ADAP formulary coverage of medications for the prevention and treatment of AIDS-related Opportunistic Infections across states, including trends in coverage and expenditures over time, and discusses some of the potential reasons for variations in coverage. For more information on the series see the National ADAP Monitoring Project page. Issue Brief
: John Cutter, freelance health/aging writer, St. Petersburg, FL Robert Davis, medical and science writer, USA Today Fred de Sam Lazaro, correspondent, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer; executive producer; KTCA-Twin Cities Public Television, St. Paul, MN Mason Essif, segment producer, HealthWeek-PBS, Washington, DC Don Finley, science, medicine and environment editor, The San Antonio Express-News Merrill Goozner, freelance journalist and associate professor of journalism, New York University Andrew Julien, health/medical writer, The Hartford Courant Madge Kaplan,…
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Sleuths Scope Out Benefits: GTE Seeks Quality at the Right Price 12/24/2000 By Charles Ornstein Reprinted with permission of The Dallas Morning News CHAMPAIGN, Ill. If George Crowling put pencil to paper, his job description would read something like this: fortune-teller, penny-pincher, paper pusher and private detective. In short, Mr. Crowling manages health benefits. He is the person charged with finding health insurance programs for thousands of workers at…
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Alcon Receives Warning from FDA Problems Involving Test Batches are Fixed, Drug Manufacturer Says 12/09/2000 By Sarah LundayReprinted with permission of The Dallas Morning News Alcon Laboratories Inc. has received a warning letter from federal regulators, saying the drug maker failed to meet several quality and safety standards during a recent inspection. The problems could alter the purity of the company's products, according to the Nov. 17 letter from…
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