CENTER UPDATE | March 2020
This update features policy developments, media reports, and new resources
supporting continued momentum for multiple V-BID Center initiatives.
Insurers Promise to Cover Coronavirus Tests, Relax Coverage Policies
As the number of cases of coronavirus in the U.S. continues to go up and access to testing is increasingly in question, some insurers are making the commitment to coverage, and potentially waiving copayments and other forms of cost-sharing.
USPSTF Updates Hepatitis C Screening Recommendation
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force updated its recommendation for Hepatitis C screening to include all adults aged 18-79. Previously, screening was recommended for persons at high risk for infection and 1-time screening in adults born between 1945 and 1965.
SHCC Comments on Notice of Benefits and Payment Parameters for 2021
Oscar Health Announces $3 Cap on Popular Drugs Like Insulin
Policy, Politics, and Progress: Improving the Patient Experience through V-BID
On January 29th, 2020, the Smarter Health Care Coalition, in collaboration with the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design, convened a diverse coalition of stakeholders to discuss the potential for V-BID to improve the patient experience. View the detailed summary here.
Another Costly January has Come and Gone for Medicare Part D Beneficiaries
In a recently published op-ed, Mark Fendrick, MD, V-BID Center Director, and Dan Klein, President and CEO, Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation, advocate for lower out-of-pocket costs for essential drugs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries.
Medication Adherence Falters as Out-of-Pocket Patient Costs Soar
Over half of patients in the U.S. experience poor medication adherence due to high costs, and the figure increases to 61% when looking at just young patients. As a potential solution, value-based insurance designs make high-value, clinically-indicated drugs available at little to no cost to the patient.
Podcast: Scott Weingarten on Reducing Low-Value Care with Help from EHRs
Increasingly ubiquitous electronic health records have the capability to aid in both identifying and reducing low-value care. Listen in to learn how Scott Weingarten, consultant to the CEO at Cedars-Sinai, helped utilize this strategy along with Choosing Wisely recommendations to see real results in reducing low-value care.
Avoiding Low-Value Care: Learning to Be an Empowered Consumer
In this article, Dr. Matt Collins, executive vice president and chief medical officer of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, explores strategies for consumers to identify and avoid receiving low-value care.
Let's Make Benefits Better for Chronic Diseases
Josh Smiley, chief financial officer of Eli Lilly, encourages fellow employers to provide enrollees in high-deductible health plans with predeductible coverage for specified chronic disease management services, made possible by a recent IRS rule change.
Affording Medicines for Today’s Patients and Sustaining Innovation for Tomorrow
JAMA article from Kenneth C. Frazier, President and CEO of Merck, cites that increasing consumer out-of-pocket costs lead many patients to skip doses. He contends that cooperative efforts throughout the health care system would decrease patient cost without stifling innovation.
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