Gilead’s Pricey Hep C Drug Drives State Medicaid Spending
In other marketplace news, Rite Aid's prescription sales help the corporation beat profit estimates. Meanwhile, John Hancock Financial announces a new program to offer discounts to policyholders who wear wireless fitness trackers.
The Wall Street Journal:
Gilead’s $1,000 Pill Is Hard For States To Swallow
A pricey pill made by Gilead Sciences Inc. caused Medicaid spending on hepatitis C treatments to soar last year, even as most states restricted access to the drug, leaving many low-income patients untreated. State Medicaid programs spent $1.33 billion on hepatitis C therapies through the third quarter of last year, or nearly as much as the states spent in the previous three years combined, a Wall Street Journal analysis of federal data shows. (Walker, 4/8)
Reuters:
Higher Prescription Sales Help Rite Aid Beat Profit Estimates
Rite Aid Corp reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, and expected a renewed distribution agreement with McKesson Corp along with the remodeling of its wellness stores to benefit fiscal 2016 earnings. Rite Aid said its outlook accounts for planned wage and benefit increases, the introduction of certain new generics and a reimbursement rate environment which will remain challenging this year. (Bose and Sharma, 4/8)
Marketplace:
Trading Insurance Discounts For Health Data
John Hancock Financial is the first insurer in the U.S. to offer discounts to policyholders who wear wireless fitness trackers. Sign up for a new life policy today, and the company will send you a Fitbit, one of those bracelets that tracks your steps. The more exercise you get, the bigger discount you get on your insurance premium, up to 15 percent. (Nickish, 4/8)
NPR:
With Discounts For Healthy Behavior, John Hancock Courts Privacy Concerns
John Hancock announced a new program promising discounts for policyholders who wear a fitness tracker, exercise more and go to the doctor. The life insurance company says that if people live longer healthier lives, everybody wins. But privacy advocates worry about all the electronic monitoring. (Arnold, 4/8)
The New York Times:
Giving Out Private Data For Discount Insurance
Andrew Thomas’s life insurer knows exactly when he arrives at his local gym. The company is notified when he swipes his membership card, and 30 minutes later, it checks that he is still there, tracking his location through his smartphone. The insurance company has a vested interest in keeping Mr. Thomas alive and well. In return for sharing his exercise habits, his cholesterol level and other medical information, Mr. Thomas, a 51-year-old medical publisher who lives in Johannesburg, earns points, which translate into premium savings and other perks. By staying in good shape, it is less likely that Discovery, his insurer, will have to pay out his life and disability policies. (Tara Siegel Bernard, 4/8)
And on the topics of patient experience and quality of care -
The Washington Post:
Meet The Cancer Patient In Room 52: His Name Is Joseph, But Call Him Joe
Hooked up to machines and a breathing tube, Joseph Mox, 55, can’t talk to the doctors and nurses bustling around a Johns Hopkins intensive care unit. But they know he likes to be called Joe, enjoys “NCIS” and relied on his Catholic faith through bouts of colon and esophageal cancer. ... Such questions aren’t normally asked in ICUs, where nurses and doctors are often rushing to keep desperately ill patients alive. But the questions are part of an ambitious experiment at Hopkins and three other hospitals to retool the ICU not only to make it safer but also to make it more humane. The goal is to redesign the workflow, culture and behavior to reduce “preventable harms” to patients. (Sun, 4/8)
