Bending the health cost curve by spending more on Rx: adherence can lower costs
For every $1 spent on health care in the U.S., 10 cents goes to prescription drugs, 31 cents goes to hospital care, and 27 cents goes to professionals (doctors, dentists, and other services), based on 2009 health spending reported to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). There’s evidence that by spending a bit more on medication and bolstering prescription drug adherence among patients, total health spending can be lowered for vascular medical conditions. The study and data which leads to this conclusion is published in Medication Adherence Leads to Lower Health Care Use And Costs Despite Increased Drug Spending appears in
From the fiscal to the physical: insured workers try to lower their medical costs
This is open enrollment season for those workers fortunate enough to (1) still be employed and (2) still be offered a health benefit. It’s also the season of economic decline. According to Watson Wyatt, these workers are making different health and benefit decisions in this fiscally-constrained era. Watson Wyatt has released its 2008 version of the report, Employee Perspective on Health Care. Some of the most dramatic health behavior changes this year include: Only 19% of employees are willing to pay higher premiums to keep deductibles and copayments lower. In 2007, 38% were willing to do so. 66% of
Drugstore Dominance, and the Walmart Wild Card
While reading the August 16/17 2008 issue of the Financial Times to keep up with the global political news in Russia and Georgia, and Olympic medal drama in Beijing, I ran across a story that hit much closer-to-home: “Bitter pills in fight for drugstore dominance.” The announcement by CVS Caremark that it would acquire the Longs Drugs store chain for over $2.5 billion is the latest salvo in the battle for the neighborhood pharmacy. This is CVS’s major incursion into California and other western states, where Walgreens enjoys a dominant market share. The most important point in the FT article
Jane joined host Dr. Geeta "Dr. G" Nayyar and colleagues to brainstorm the value of vaccines for public and individual health in this challenging environment for health literacy, health politics, and health citizen grievance. Click onto the Pfizer Value of Vaccines site and you can watch four episodes covering the challenges with adult vaccination, the employer and health plan member's journey to vaccination, reimbursement, and collaborating for proactive prevention.
I'm grateful to be part of the Duke Corporate Education faculty, sharing perspectives on the future of health care with health and life science companies. Once again, I'll be brainstorming the future of health care with a cohort of executives working in a global health care enterprise.
Jane will be working with EU- and UK-based clients in September and October 2026, collaborating with stakeholders in digital health, public/community health, retail health, and growing opportunities for health-at-home. Stay tuned to her updates here on Health Populi on-the-ground as she lives the digital nomadic work-life in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and in London.