West Health

Articles

The Case For Accountable Care Organizations To Partner With Geriatric Emergency Departments

By Robert Mechanic, MBA and Kevin Biese, MD, MAT February 17, 2022 Older adults—particularly those with complex medical and social needs—are frequent users of medical care, but they are often not well served by America’s fragmented health care system. Most health care systems, particularly hospitals and other health care facilities, are not organized or operated… Read more »

Caregivers are not visitors

By Kevin Biese, MD, MAT, 1 , 2 Sarah Lenz Lock, JD, 3 , 4 and Zia Agha, MD 2 In this journal, Lo and colleagues 1 share their survey of hospitals and emergency departments (EDs) across the country to determine how many had posted visitor policies and exceptions during the early stages of the COVID‐19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). Not surprisingly, almost all hospitals… Read more »

Using the Holiday Season to Address Persistent Malnutrition

By Liane Wardlow and Virginia Suarez December 8, 2021 The holiday season is a traditional time of giving to those in need, particularly those who are food insecure. Favorite foods, family and good cheer go hand-in-hand, but the deluge of meals, packaged goods and grocery deliveries can’t correct a year-long struggle with malnutrition that increased… Read more »

Association of Generic Competition With Price Decreases in Physician-Administered Drugs and Estimated Price Decreases for Biosimilar Competition

By Sean Dickson and Tyler Kent November 15, 2021 This study aimed to characterize the nature of price competition among brand-name and generic drugs under Medicare Part B and to estimate the cost savings to the program of subjecting biologic and biosimilar therapies to a similar price competition. PLEASE READ THE FULL STUDY ON JAMANETWORK.COM

Congress Must Fully Fund Home and Community-Based Services

By Shelley Lyford October 31, 2021 As part of a revised framework for the Build Back Better Act now under intense negotiations in Congress, President Joe Biden proposed $150 billion in federal funding for the nation’s home- and community-based services (HCBS) infrastructure, a far cry from the $400 billion the President first proposed back in the spring. While the dollars… Read more »

California’s Seniors and Families Are Counting on Governor to Sign AB 523

By Rena Smith September 22, 2021 Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the high number of deaths among long-term care facility residents rightfully prompted our country to rethink how we care for older adults with chronic illnesses and disabilities. Now, 90 percent of seniors and their families want care options that allow them to safely age… Read more »

To lower drug costs, define ‘cost’ to mean net cost after rebates

By Sean Dickson In what could be a turning point in the prescription drug debate, President Biden has made clear that the health crisis of unaffordable medications must end. In a speech he gave in the East Room of the White House in August, the president shared how he and his siblings had to chip… Read more »

Intentionally Delayed Pharmaceutical Innovation Under Perverse Incentives: Gilead’s HIV Pipeline As A Case Study

By Sean Dickson and Amy Killelea As Congress continues its attention to pharmaceutical development and prices, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance’s Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth has called for a hearing entitled “Promoting Domestic Competition and International Competitiveness.” The Subcommittee has invited Gilead Sciences CEO, Daniel O’Day to testify about the current… Read more »

Limiting Coverage Based On Efficacy And Safety: A Path Forward For Medicare Regarding The Alzheimer’s Treatment Aducanumab

By Sean Dickson, Amy Killelea, Richard G. Frank Today, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) will announce a decision on whether to approve the biologic aducanumab, intended to alleviate symptoms in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease. Currently, more than 6 million Americans over the age of 65 are living with Alzheimer’s Disease. As the US population… Read more »