Evolving oncology care management trends in the United States: A survey among health care decision makers.

BACKGROUND: There is limited knowledge of how US managed care professionals view and prioritize quality metrics/performance measures, care models, alternative payment models, and clinical pathways in oncology settings. OBJECTIVE: To characterize payor perspectives on, and the use of, oncology clinical pathways and performance measures in their reimbursement/access decision-making process. METHODS: A survey was implemented via SurveyMonkey software and distributed electronically to a national sample of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Market Insights Panel members from July 11 through August 5, 2022. The survey was created by a steering committee based on literature reviews of the current and future oncology care landscapes. The survey consisted of 47 questions, including those to establish respondents' position, responsibilities, and demographics. The results are presented as descriptive statistics for 7 key questions that covered the perceptions and use of quality metrics/performance measures, alternative payment models, and oncology care pathways as prioritized by the steering committee. RESULTS: Among the 695 AMCP panel members who were sent the survey, 73 responded (response rate 10.5%), 54 were eligible to continue, and 31 completed the entire questionnaire; the low response rate may limit generalizability of the survey results. Specific oncology clinical and economic measures of performance were currently used (70%-88%) but generally received less endorsement for future use (39%-49%) except for chemotherapy during end of life, which was considered for future use by 80% of respondents but was only currently used by 31%. Benchmarking was the primary reason for the use of performance measures; only 27% used these to inform value-based agreements. Real-world data tracked by respondents' institutions primarily focused on managed care and pharmacy utilization (39%-85%), with patient-reported and clinical outcomes tracked by only 17%-34%. Almost one-third (31%) did not use clinical oncology pathways, and among those who did, fewer than half (48%) reported that their organization tracks whether treatment decisions agree with the oncology care pathways, and only 26% reported feedback to oncology providers on how often their treatment decisions agree with the pathways. When considering alternative payment models, patient-related components received lower rankings in importance than clinical relevance, actionability, and costs. CONCLUSIONS: Variation among payors regarding current trends in oncology care management, including on the importance of patient-centric outcomes and the use of oncology clinical pathways, suggests the need to focus on value-based health care and greater uptake of oncology clinical pathways.

The Economic Burden of Out-of-Pocket Expenses for Plastic Surgery Procedures.

BACKGROUND: Health insurance reimbursement structure has evolved, with patients becoming increasingly responsible for their health care costs through rising out-of-pocket expenses. High levels of cost sharing can lead to delays in access to care, influence treatment decisions, and cause financial distress for patients. METHODS: Patients undergoing the most common outpatient reconstructive plastic surgery operations were identified using Truven MarketScan databases from 2009 to 2017. Total cost of the surgery paid to the insurer and out-of-pocket expenses, including deductible, copayment, and coinsurance, were calculated. Multivariable generalized linear modeling with log link and gamma distribution was used to predict adjusted total and out-of-pocket expenses. All costs were inflation-adjusted to 2017 dollars. RESULTS: The authors evaluated 3,165,913 outpatient plastic and reconstructive surgical procedures between 2009 and 2017. From 2009 to 2017, total costs had a significant increase of 25 percent, and out-of-pocket expenses had a significant increase of 54 percent. Using generalized linear modeling, procedures performed in outpatient hospitals conferred an additional $1999 in total costs (95 percent CI, $1978 to $2020) and $259 in out-of-pocket expenses (95 percent CI, $254 to $264) compared with office procedures. Ambulatory surgical center procedures conferred an additional $1698 in total costs (95 percent CI, $1677 to $1718) and $279 in out-of-pocket expenses (95 percent CI, $273 to $285) compared with office procedures. CONCLUSIONS: For outpatient plastic surgery procedures, out-of-pocket expenses are increasing at a faster rate than total costs, which may have implications for access to care and timing of surgery. Providers should realize the increasing burden of out-of-pocket expenses and the effect of surgical location on patients' costs when possible.

Disparities in Outcomes by Insurance Payer Groups for Patients Undergoing Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective, observational study of clinical outcomes at a single institution. OBJECTIVE: To compare postoperative complication and readmission rates of payer groups in a cohort of patients undergoing anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Studies examining associations between primary payer and outcomes in spine surgery have been equivocal. METHODS: Patients at Mount Sinai having undergone ACDF from 2008 to 2016 were queried and assigned to one of five insurance categories: uninsured, managed care, commercial indemnity insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid, with patients in the commercial indemnity group serving as the reference cohort. Multivariable logistic regression equations for various outcomes with the exposure of payer were created, controlling for age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiology Physical Status Classification (ASA Class), the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index, and number of segments fused. A Bonferroni correction was utilized, such that alpha = 0.0125. RESULTS: Two thousand three hundred eighty seven patients underwent ACDF during the time period. Both Medicare (P < 0.0001) and Medicaid (P < 0.0001) patients had higher comorbidity burdens than commercial patients when examining ASA Class. Managed care (2.86 vs. 2.72, P = 0.0009) and Medicare patients (2.99 vs. 2.72, P < 0.0001) had more segments fused on average than commercial patients. Medicaid patients had higher rates of prolonged extubation (odds ratio [OR]: 4.99; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13-22.0; P = 0.007), and Medicare patients had higher rates of prolonged length of stay (LOS) (OR: 2.44, 95% CI: 1.13-5.27%, P = 0.004) than the commercial patients. Medicaid patients had higher rates of 30- (OR: 4.12; 95% CI: 1.43-11.93; P = 0.0009) and 90-day (OR: 3.28; 95% CI: 1.34-8.03; P = 0.0009) Emergency Department (ED) visits than the commercial patients, and managed care patients had higher rates of 30-day readmission (OR: 3.41; 95% CI: 1.00-11.57; P = 0.0123). CONCLUSION: Medicare and Medicaid patients had higher rates of prolonged LOS and postoperative ED visits, respectively, compared with commercial patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3.

Poor management of hypertension is an important precipitating factor for the development of acute aortic dissection.

Hypertension is considered a key risk factor for acute aortic dissection (AAD). However, there is limited evidence demonstrating if hypertension management affects AAD development. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of hypertension management in AAD development in a Chinese population. A total of 825 AAD patients and 3300 age- and sex-matched controls were included. The authors analyzed data on demographics, chronic comorbidities, and hypertension management of all participants. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the relationship between chronic comorbidities, as well as the management of hypertension and AAD risk. After adjusting for other related factors, multivariate logistic regression identified hypertension, chronic kidney disease, Marfan syndrome, history of cardiovascular surgery, and history of smoking as risk factors for AAD. Among the identified risk factors, hypertension was an important and controllable risk factor for AAD development. Thus, the authors further evaluated how hypertension management affects AAD development. A total of 848 controls and 585 AAD patients with hypertension were enrolled in this part of the study. Hypertensive patients with AAD had a longer history, higher stage, poorer medication compliance, and poor control rates of blood pressure, among which poor medication compliance (Irregular vs Regular P < 0.001; Never treated vs Regular P < 0.001) and uncontrolled hypertension (P < 0.001) significantly increased the risk of AAD development. In conclusion, uncontrolled hypertension and poor medication compliance are important precipitating and controllable factors for AAD development.

Value Tools in Managed Care Decision Making: Current Hurdles and Future Opportunities.

BACKGROUND: Organizations such as the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, and Memorial Sloan Kettering have created distinct tools to help different stakeholders assess the value of oncology treatments. However, the oncology value tools were not necessarily created for payers, and it is unclear whether payers are using these tools as part of their drug management process. OBJECTIVE: To understand what value tools payers are using in oncology management and what benefits and shortcomings the tools may have from the payer perspective. METHODS: A survey targeting drug coverage decision makers at health plans was conducted in August 2016. Respondents attesting to using 2 or more value tools in drug management were eligible for an additional in-depth interview to understand the respondents' perceived benefits and shortcomings of current value tools. Respondents also were asked to describe desired attributes of a hypothetical payer-centric value tool. RESULTS: A total of 28 respondents representing approximately 160 million commercially insured medical lives completed the survey. Twenty respondents (71%) reported using at least 1 value tool in their drug management process. Twelve respondents (43%) used at least 2 tools, and 4 respondents (14%) used at least 3 tools. A total of 6 respondents were selected for in-depth interviews. Interviewees praised value tools for advancing the discussion on drug value and incorporating clinical evidence. However, interviewees felt available value tools varied on providing firm recommendations and relevant price benchmarks. Respondents most commonly recommended the following attributes of a proposed payer-centric value framework: taking a firm position on product value; product comparisons in lieu of comparative clinical trials; web-based tool access; and tool updates at least quarterly. Interview respondents also expressed some support for allowing manipulation of inputs and inclusion of quality-of-life and patient-reported outcome data. CONCLUSIONS: Although nearly half of payers surveyed use 2 or more value tools in the drug management process, payers identified a number of areas where the tools could be revised to increase their utility to payers. DISCLOSURES: No outside funding or assistance of any kind was used for this research or in manuscript preparation. Schafer and Galante are employed by Precision for Value, a payer ad marketing agency that works exclusively with life science companies. Shafrin is employed by Precision Health Economics, a consulting company to insurance and life science industries. Shafer, along with Galante and Shafrin, contributed to study design, data collection, and manuscript preparation. The authors contributed equally to data analysis and interpretation and manuscript revision.

Health care costs during the last 12 months of life in Israel: estimation and implications for risk-adjustment.

Accumulating research shows that decedents' costs are high, they increase towards death, and they comprise a large proportion of total lifetime costs. The objectives of this paper are (i) to examine the Israeli pattern of medical care cost during the 12 months prior to death by gender, age, and chronic conditions, and (ii) to examine the implications of the results for the Israeli risk adjustment scheme. For the first objective, we used 12 month follow-up data on a cohort of decedents. For the second objective, we supplemented the data with a cross-section of enrollees (survivors and decedents in 2004). With regard to the first objective, we found that the broad Israeli patterns of cost match previous studies from other countries. With respect to the second objective, we argue that since the cost during the last 12 months of life is very high and is concentrated among relatively few persons, in order to prevent any adverse incentives caused by the combination of age-based risk adjustment and segmentation of end-of-life health care, death should be introduced into the existing retrospective risk-sharing arrangement.

Clinical effectiveness: Leadership in comparative effectiveness and translational research.: the 15th Annual HMO Research Network Conference, April 26-29, 2009, Danville, Pennsylvania.

The Health Maintenance Organization Research Network (HMORN), a consortium of 16 health care delivery systems with integrated research divisions, held its annual meeting in Danville, Pennsylvania in April of 2009 and was attended by more than 260 researchers and operational leaders from HMORN organizations, pharmaceutical companies, the National Cancer Institute, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The 2009 meeting was held from April 26(th) to April 29(th) at the Henry Hood Center for Health Research, and was hosted by Geisinger Health System. The conference theme was "Clinical Effectiveness: Leadership in Comparative Effectiveness and Translational Research." This article provides some background on the network, its research activities, and the annual conference. This issue of Clinical Medicine & Research also includes selected scientific abstracts presented at the meeting.

Economics of upper extremity replantation: national and local trends.

BACKGROUND: Reimbursements have fallen for reconstructive surgery. The purpose of this study was to show that not only are large teaching hospitals performing more of the reconstructive surgery procedures, specifically upper extremity replantation, they are also getting paid less to do so. METHODS: The authors examined trends in reimbursement, teaching status, and hospital size in both a national and a local database of patients who had undergone upper extremity replantation. Specifically, they used the 1993 to 2002 Nationwide Inpatient Sample as well as the local replant database from the past 5 years at Yale New Haven Hospital. RESULTS: A total of 3219 upper extremity replantations were coded in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, representing 16,128 replantations performed in the United States from 1993 to 2002. The percentage of replantations performed at teaching hospitals increased over two-fold (44 percent versus 89 percent). Those performed at nonteaching hospitals declined (56 percent versus 11 percent). Also, a larger percentage of replantations were being performed at large hospitals (64 percent versus 82 percent). At Yale New Haven Hospital, the percentage of the professional fee that was actually paid dropped (100 percent in 2000 versus 32 percent in 2005). CONCLUSIONS: With respect to upper extremity replantation, teaching hospitals are bearing the proportionally largest economic burden of managed care's declining reimbursements for reconstructive procedures. The authors believe that these replantation data are representative of trends in reconstructive surgery, and that the model of ever-increasing volume and diminishing reimbursements in large academic medical centers may not be sustainable.

Academic plastic surgery: a study of current issues and future challenges.

INTRODUCTION: The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate the role of a full-time academic plastic surgeon, (2) to define the indicators predictive of a successful career in academic plastic surgery, and (3) to understand the current issues that will affect future trends in the practice of academic plastic surgery. METHODS: A questionnaire was developed to evaluate the role of current full-time academic plastic surgeons and to understand the current issues and future challenges facing academic plastic surgery. Each plastic surgery program director in the United States was sent the survey for distribution among all full-time academic plastic surgeons. RESULTS: Over a 6-week period, responses from 143 full-time academic plastic surgeons (approximately 31%) were returned. Fifty-three percent of respondents had been academic plastic surgeons for longer than 10 years. Seventy-three percent of respondents defined academic plastic surgeons as clinicians who are teachers and researchers. However, 53% of respondents believed that academic plastic surgeons were not required to teach or practice within university hospitals/academic centers. The 3 factors reported most frequently as indicative of a successful career in academic plastic surgery were peer recognition, personal satisfaction, and program reputation. Dedication and motivation were the personal characteristics rated most likely to contribute to academic success. Forty-four percent of respondents were unable to identify future academic plastic surgeons from plastic surgery residency applicants, and 27% were not sure. Most (93%) of the respondents believed that academic surgery as practiced today will change. CONCLUSIONS: The overall job description of a full-time academic plastic surgeon remains unchanged (teacher and researcher). Whereas peer recognition, personal satisfaction, and program reputation were most frequently cited as indicative of a successful plastic surgery career, financial success was rated the least indicative. Similarly, whereas the personal characteristics of dedication and motivation were rated most likely to contribute to academic success, economic competence was rated least likely. Although the role of academic plastic surgeons remains constant, the practice of academic plastic surgery is evolving. As a result, the future clinical milieu of academic plastic surgeons and training programs is in question.

Managed care perspective on three new agents for type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Despite effective monotherapy for diabetes, approximately 50% of patients require additional medications after 3 years to achieve target glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C) < 7%. Three new agents, each the first in its therapeutic class with a unique mechanism of action, have been approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: pramlintide in March 2005, exenatide in April 2005, and sitagliptin in October 2006. OBJECTIVE: To review the efficacy and safety of 3 new agents for type 2 diabetes (exenatide and pramlintide by subcutaneous injection and sitagliptin by oral administration) and to define their place in therapy given their relatively high cost and unknown long-term safety and efficacy. METHODS: A MEDLINE search (1950 to June 2007) for English-language articles of studies in human subjects was conducted using these search terms: type 2 diabetes, exenatide, pramlintide, and sitagliptin. This database was supplemented by systematic reviews and meta-analyses through December 2007 and reference citations from the articles identified in the MEDLINE search. RESULTS: Exenatide, pramlintide, and sitagliptin have all been shown to have a modest effect on reducing A1C. In several relatively short-term trials (generally 15-30 weeks in duration), exenatide injection has been shown to be safe and effective for patients with type 2 diabetes who are either at the maximum doses of or cannot tolerate metformin, sulfonylurea, and/or thiazolidinedione therapy and need to further decrease A1C by at least 0.5% to 1%. While weight loss of 1.5 kg to 2.5 kg associated with exenatide is modest, this effect is of obvious value in many patients with type 2 diabetes. Nausea is the most notable side effect with exenatide, occurring in up to 50% of patients within the first 8 weeks of therapy but decreasing to 5% to 10% by week 24. In addition, the risk for hypoglycemia increases 4- to 5-fold when used in combination with sulfonylureas. Like exenatide, pramlintide injection reduces A1C by approximately 0.5% to 1%, carries the advantage of modest weight loss (1.5 kg over 1 year), and has a high incidence of nausea. Pramlintide can also result in severe hypoglycemia because of its ability to enhance the effects of insulin, a concern given that it is only indicated for use in combination with insulin. Sitagliptin is an oral agent that can be used alone or in combination with other oral hypoglycemic agents and has been shown to reduce A1C by 0.5% to 0.7%. It has only been studied in short-term studies, to date, so the long-term safety and efficacy are unknown. There is potential for severe allergic and dermatologic reactions with sitagliptin. CONCLUSIONS: The 3 new agents for the management of type 2 diabetes have been shown to reduce A1C by no more than 1.0%, modest by comparison with insulin and the older oral agents. The 3 newer agents have either modest positive effects on body weight or are weight neutral. The longterm safety and efficacy of the 3 newer agents are unknown, and their cost is considerably higher than the first-line agents, metformin and sufonylureas, which are available by generic name. The newer agents offer treatment options in select patients, although their use should be reserved for patients who are not adequately managed by agents with known longterm efficacy and safety, which are often available at a lower cost.

Free-standing ambulatory surgery centers and hospital surgery volume.

This paper examines the association of free-standing ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) with hospital surgery volume, using data from the 2002 Medicare Online Survey Certification and Reporting System and the American Hospital Association Annual Surveys of Hospitals. From 1993 to 2001, the number of ASCs per 100,000 population in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) increased by 150%. During the same period, hospital outpatient surgeries increased 28%, while inpatient surgeries decreased by 4.5%. MSA and year fixed-effects regression analyses suggest that an increase of one ASC per 100,000 people was associated with a 4.3% reduction in hospital outpatient surgical volume, but was not associated with inpatient surgical volume.

AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program: its impact on managed care.

OBJECTIVE: To describe some of the managed care perspectives regarding the data development and coverage issues. BACKGROUND: Section 1013 of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 has initiated the formation of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Health Care Program, which is evaluating the treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the Medicare population. The results of these studies have the potential to impact future drug utilization. It is not known whether this data could be applied to the commercial population. SUMMARY: Payers (e.g., managed care organizations, pharmacy benefit managers) make decisions about which drugs will be covered and to which formulary "tier" the drug will be assigned. These decisions are made by evaluating current evidence based on safety, effectiveness, outcomes, and cost. Patients believe in a "warranty" of care, meaning that there will always be a treatment option whether they are compliant with their treatment regimen or not. All treatments are measured by a "value," and each stakeholder may see this value differently. A return on medical investment is one way to assess this value. CONCLUSIONS: Different stakeholders view treatment value in different ways. The evidence that will be identified through AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program will partially define this value. If this model succeeds, it has the potential to significantly affect health care.