House Clears Path for Repeal of Health Law

The New York Times recently reported that House took action last Friday to quickly repeal the Affordable Care Act, the most significant healthcare law in a half-century. The challenge is now for President-elect Donald Trump to propose a plan that ensures broad access to health care while controlling costs. 

Representative Suzan DelBene of Washington, a Democrat, said, “There’s still no plan for what comes next, threatening massive disruption to the entire health care system.”

 

Stay informed on one of the biggest developing healthcare stories by clicking HERE! 

HORIZON Health Ventures is a healthcare cost management solutions company used by insurance brokers, employee benefit consultants, third-party administrators, insurance companies, and associations, to bring proven thought leadership and strategy to the management of their clients healthcare costs. To learn more about HHV and their services, please visit http://horizonhealthventures.com/    

Keeping Copays Affordable

Express Scripts recently published an article that tackles the idea of keeping copays as affordable as possible for patients. Express Scripts highlights the "copay clawback" topic that basically requires the patient to pay a full copayment for a prescription drug even though a retail pharmacy's price for the drug may cost less than their copayment under their pharmacy benefit. What happens next is that they then require the pharmacy to return the difference between the copay amount and the price for the drug back to them. 

What's most important to Express Scripts is that their members always have 24/7 access to their drug coverage information along with copay amounts. Know your copay amount before filling your prescription. 

To read more on this healthcare headline, please click HERE! 

HORIZON Health Ventures is a healthcare cost management solutions company used by insurance brokers, employee benefit consultants, third-party administrators, insurance companies, and associations, to bring proven thought leadership and strategy to the management of their clients healthcare costs. To learn more about HHV and their services, please visit http://horizonhealthventures.com/    

Analyte Health and Teladoc Announce Partnership

Teladoc recently released that Analyte Health will be offering their services in order to provide lab diagnostic services through the Teladoc telehealth platform. 

“The evolution of telehealth has changed the way we receive and deliver care. Our integrated solution enhances diagnostic capabilities for physicians while meeting patients’ growing demands for private and convenient health care,” said Dr. Frank Cockerill, CEO, Analyte Health. 

 

The process is very easy for Teladoc patients to use. Consumers can simply order the lab tests and will then be directed to a convenient location and lab with results sent within just three days to the doctor and patient. Learn more about this innovation by reading the full article HERE! 

HORIZON Health Ventures is a healthcare cost management solutions company used by insurance brokers, employee benefit consultants, third-party administrators, insurance companies, and associations, to bring proven thought leadership and strategy to the management of their clients healthcare costs. To learn more about HHV and their services, please visit http://horizonhealthventures.com/    

20 Conditions Top U.S. Health Care Spending

Benefits Pro recently released an article highlighting the top 20 most expensive health conditions.  The top three have remained at the top of the list year after year, which include diabetes, ischemic heart disease and low back and neck pain. 

“While it is well known that the U.S. spends more than any other nation on health care, very little is known about what diseases drive that spending,” Dr. Joseph Dieleman, lead author of the paper and assistant professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, said in a statement.

 

The article points out that for employers looking to lower heath care costs, knowing what conditions cost is very valuable information. 

To continue reading, find the full article HERE!  

HORIZON Health Ventures is a healthcare cost management solutions company used by insurance brokers, employee benefit consultants, third-party administrators, insurance companies, and associations, to bring proven thought leadership and strategy to the management of their clients healthcare costs. To learn more about HHV and their services, please visit http://horizonhealthventures.com/   

Drug Pricing Report Shows Limits of Transparency Push

This morning we're bringing you an article from the Wall Street Journal that highlights Vermont's recent drug price hikes. Vermont just recently passed the first law of its kind that requires drug manufacturers to justify these massive price increases. 

WSJ writes, "The first report, issued this month, identified 10 drugs. They included Mylan NV's EpiPen allergy treatment, whose price rose about 205% over the past five years; Sanofi's SA's Lantus insulin, up 90%; and AbbVie Inc.'s rheumatoid-arthritis treatment Humira, up 114%." 

Learn more about these reports by reading the full article HERE! 

HORIZON Health Ventures is a healthcare cost management solutions company used by insurance brokers, employee benefit consultants, third-party administrators, insurance companies, and associations, to bring proven thought leadership and strategy to the management of their clients healthcare costs. To learn more about HHV and their services, please visit http://horizonhealthventures.com/   

Modern Healthcare's 10 Most Clicked Articles in 2016

As 2017 quickly approaches Modern Healthcare looked back on their 10 most talked about articles in 2016. The article states, "This collection of stories, ranked by popularity, covers healthcare reform, changes in government health agencies, healthcare finance news and more." 

 

Take a look back on this past year by checking out the full article HERE! 

HORIZON Health Ventures is a healthcare cost management solutions company used by insurance brokers, employee benefit consultants, third-party administrators, insurance companies, and associations, to bring proven thought leadership and strategy to the management of their clients healthcare costs. To learn more about HHV and their services, please visit http://horizonhealthventures.com/   

FDA Update: December 2016

Express Scripts recently published their report of the most recent FDA Update. The team focused on several U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals for new drugs, generics and indications. The article highlights the following topics: 

Generics to Seroquel XR Launched

New Indication for Enbrel

Vemlidy Approved for Hepatitis B

Opdivo Gains New Indication 

Soliqua and Xultophy Approved for Type 2 Diabetes 

Stay informed by reading the full article HERE! 

HORIZON Health Ventures is a healthcare cost management solutions company used by insurance brokers, employee benefit consultants, third-party administrators, insurance companies, and associations, to bring proven thought leadership and strategy to the management of their clients healthcare costs. To learn more about HHV and their services, please visit http://horizonhealthventures.com/