MHE June 2022

Demand for birth control obtained through telehealth or without a prescription continues to grow, and some states have loosened up their rules. Meanwhile, groups and organizations involved in contraception are bracing themselves for the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court decision today overturned Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion.

Six biologics are on the market and more are in the pipeline. Biologics target the inflammatory cytokines involved in the pathogenesis of asthma.

As many asme 14 million people with Medicaid coverage stand to lose their health insurance when the COVID-19 public health emergency ends.

States looked to Medicaid managed care plans to control costs and provide some predictability. Now a growing number are asking questions of the plans and investigating whether the plans are living up to their state contracts. Meanwhile, new federal reporting requirements are being implemented that may shed some light on how the plans operate.

The program implemented by the Trump administration is designed to put more Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs into two-sided risk. An industry group has discouraged participation in the program.

Dogged by controversy, the new Alzheimer’s drug has not fared well since its approval by the FDA a year ago.

Legislation that would establish benefit categories for digital therapeutics has been introduced in Congress.

Amgen’s biologic won’t have biosimilar competition till 2029. But the possibility that up to 11 Humira biosimilars may come on the market in 2023 could exert some downward pressure on Enbrel’s price.

Mayo Clinic researchers reported today in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases that less than 1% of patients at high risk for experiencing severe COVID-19 who were treated with Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir) experienced a second bout of COVID-19.