Posted on 23. Apr, 2009 by admin in Library, News
This New York Times piece highlights a major step forward by Cigna and Merck:
Merck has agreed to peg what the insurer Cigna pays for the diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet to how well Type 2 diabetes patients are able to control their blood sugar.
And last week, the two companies that jointly sell the osteoporosis drug Actonel agreed to reimburse the insurer Health Alliance for the costs of treating fractures suffered by patients taking that medicine.
“We’re standing behind our product,” said Dan Hecht, general manager of the North American pharmaceutical business of Procter & Gamble, which sells Actonel with Sanofi-Aventis. “We’re willing to put our money where our mouth is.”
Cigna’s press release quotes CHVI’s Cyndy Nayer:
This alignment is exactly the kind of innovation that supports the ultimate goal of better health for the patient. Our primary goal should be aligning incentives so that the result is a healthier individual. We applaud CIGNA and Merck, and we look for increasing evidence that this kind of thinking can improve the health of our families, our businesses and our communities.
Posted on 16. Apr, 2009 by admin in News
HealthLeaders InterStudy publishes a journal, California Health Plan Analysis, which regularly reviews trends in the nation’s largest state. Value-based innovations took a leading role in the spring 2009 issue:
So far, VBID has been pioneered by the largest companies that self-insure their workers, taking on the financial risk of managing employees’ care and paying health plans a fee to provide administrative services. The idea is that by removing cost barriers to medications, it is more likely that employees will take them, heading off higher healthcare costs down the road.
But it’s very unusual for such a plan to be offered for fully insured customers, where the health plan is on the hook for paying the medical claims, said Cyndy Nayer, president and cofounder of the Center for Health Value Innovation.
“I strongly support what they’re doing because it’s the right thing to do for the plan, for the employer, for the physician and ultimately for the patient,” she said. The Center has been pushing value-based design for the broad array of chronic-care management and individual health-management programs.
Download the full article (PDF format).
Posted on 01. Apr, 2009 by admin in News
Jan Berger, a member of the CHVI board of directors, is co-author of the study Prevalence of Antihypertensive, Antidiabetic, and Dyslipidemic Prescription Medication Use Among Children and Adolescents published in the April edition of Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Dr. Berger, with Joshua N. Lieberman and Meredith Lewis, studied trends in prescribing blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol drugs to children and teenagers.
