Changes in Use of Hepatitis C Direct-Acting Antivirals After Access Restrictions Were Eased by State Medicaid Programs.

Importance: Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are safe and highly effective for curing hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, but their high cost led certain state Medicaid programs to impose coverage restrictions. Since 2015, many of these restrictions have been lifted voluntarily in response to advocacy or because of litigation.

Objective: To estimate how the prescribing of DAAs to Medicaid patients changed after states eased access restrictions.

Availability and Cost of Expensive and Common Generic Prescription Drugs: A Cross-sectional Analysis of Direct-to-Consumer Pharmacies.

Background: Direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmacies sell generic prescription drugs, often at lower prices than traditional retail pharmacies; however, not all drugs are available, and prices vary.

Objective: To determine the availability and cost of generic drugs at DTC pharmacies.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Administrative action on drug pricing: Lessons and opportunities for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

Background: In October 2022, the Biden administration issued an executive order to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to develop new health care payment and delivery models to lower prescription drug costs and promote access to innovative therapies. In response, the agency proposed 3 novel drug payment models for testing.

Objective: To understand the impact that CMMI demonstration projects can have on the prescription drug market.

Identifying therapeutic alternatives in Medicare drug price negotiation: The case of etanercept.

As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) navigates the process of negotiating drug prices, it plans to compare the cost, safety, and effectiveness of each drug with its therapeutic alternatives. How CMS selects therapeutic alternatives is a consequential decision, and there remains uncertainty about their methodology. To understand the challenges CMS will face in selecting therapeutic alternatives, we developed a methodology that leverages clinical guidelines by US medical professional associations to identify potential therapeutic alternatives for etanercept, one of the first 10 drugs selected for Medicare price negotiation.

Addressing Viral Medical Rumors and False or Misleading Information.

The rapid spread of medical rumors and false or misleading information on social media during times of uncertainty is a vexing challenge that threatens public health. Understanding the information ecosystem, social media networks, and the scope of incentives that drive users and social media platforms can provide critical insights for strong coordination between stakeholders and funders to address this challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity to demonstrate the role of media monitoring and counter-messaging efforts in responding to dangerous medical rumors, misinformation, and disinformation.

US public investment in development of mRNA covid-19 vaccines: retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To estimate US public investment in the development of mRNA covid-19 vaccines.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Publicly funded science from January 1985 to March 2022.

Physician Knowledge and Attitudes Toward the Adoption of Peritoneal Dialysis in the Treatment of Patients With End-Stage Kidney Disease.

Introduction Hemodialysis (HD) is a significant contributor to Medicare spending. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a lower-cost dialysis modality with non-inferior clinical outcomes. Recent initiatives at the federal level have emphasized shifting dialysis from in-center to home modalities, namely, PD.

Trends in Physician Voting Practices in California, New York, and Texas, 2006-2018.

This cohort study investigates physician voter participation, voter registration, and voter turnout from 2006 through 2018 in 3 states with the largest number of physicians.

Trends in Utilization and Cost of Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol-Lowering Therapies Among Medicare Beneficiaries: An Analysis From the Medicare Part D Database.

Importance: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)-lowering therapies are a cornerstone of prevention in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. With the introduction of generic formulations and the release of new therapies, including proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors, contemporary Medicare utilization of these therapies remains unknown.

Objective: To determine trends in utilization and spending on brand-name and generic LDL-C-lowering therapies and to estimate potential savings if all Medicare beneficiaries were switched to available therapeutically equivalent generic formulations.

Association of care management intensity with healthcare utilization in an all-condition care management program.

Objectives: To identify care needs among Medicaid and Medicare patients in an all-condition care management program involving case managers (CMs) and community health workers (CHWs), and to examine the relationship between intervention intensity and healthcare utilization.

Study Design: Retrospective longitudinal evaluation of managed care-hired CMs and CHWs based at 8 primary care sites participating in the Johns Hopkins Community Health Partnership (J-CHiP).

Methods: Patients at high risk for hospitalization were enrolled in J-CHiP.

Association of the New Peer Group-Stratified Method With the Reclassification of Penalty Status in the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program.

Importance: Since the introduction of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP), readmission penalties have been applied disproportionately to institutions that serve low-income populations. To address this concern, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid introduced a new, stratified payment adjustment method in fiscal year (FY; October 1 to September 30) 2019.

Objective: To determine whether the introduction of a new, stratified payment adjustment method was associated with an alteration in the distribution of penalties among hospitals included in the HRRP.