PHARMACIST STEVE

Medicare Advantage woes pose growing threat to hospitals: S&P https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/medicare-advantage-woes-pose-growing-threat-to-hospitals.html As Medicare Advantage continues to grow and health insurers prioritize their margins in the segment, hospitals are the most vulnerable healthcare provider to rising administrative and financial MA burdens, according to a new report from S&P Global. The Aug. 15 report shared with Becker’s highlights […]

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Heat spells trouble for mail-order medications https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pharmacy/heat-spells-trouble-for-mail-order-medications.html Mail-order pharmacies run well-coordinated supply chain operations to ensure medications are safely delivered to patients’ doorsteps, but extreme temperatures are complicating the process, The New York Times reported Aug. 13. Pharmacists and physicians told the Times that high temperatures inside delivery trucks could cause certain medications such as […]

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Collectively we are in the process of 10,000+ pharmacies have or will be closing.  Many of the major mail-order pharmacies are owned by the same major insurance/pbm companies, and they will be pushing and creating financial incentives for people to use them currently, they are pushing back on state pharmacy boards that are trying to […]

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Where VP picks stand on pharmaceutical costs https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pharmacy/where-vp-picks-stand-on-pharmaceutical-costs.html JD Vance and Tim Walz, the Republican and Democratic candidates for vice president, respectively, have both voiced support for aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act, a landmark law that aims to lower prescription drug prices.  Here are each candidate’s records on rising pharmaceutical costs, which are projected […]

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The ideal time for a pt to get their flu shot is the last 2 weeks of Sept thru the first 2 weeks of Oct. Getting your flu shot during this time frame will help assure that the pt’s “blood titer” is as high as possible during what should be the peak flu season. Pts […]

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We had our independent pharmacy for 20 yrs, we were not in a rural area but a small city/county seat with ~ pop of 30,000.  One very memorial day – at least for me – I had a regular pt & wife come in. He wanted his blood pressure taken.  That was before “free-standing blood […]

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Who put those requirements in place?  The LOWEST COST FOR HEALTHCARE WILL PROVIDE THE BEST PT OUTCOME? Mark Cuban’s big warning for employers https://www.beckerspayer.com/workforce/mark-cubans-big-warning-for-employers.html Mark Cuban is issuing a big warning to self-insured employers: If your company receives pharmacy rebates through employee benefits, prepare for an eventual lawsuit. “It’s not a question of if, it’s […]

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PBMs Overpay Their Own Pharmacies to the Detriment of Insurers, Taxpayers, FTC Says https://www.medpagetoday.com/pharmacy/pharmacy/111338 You’re busier from open to close, but making less than you did the last year, every year Cash crunch pushes independents to the brink, data shows PBMs the cause Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) often reimburse their own affiliated pharmacies at higher […]

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IMO, it will end up being referred to as the “National Gold Mine Program”. After UHC gets a full complement of provider groups to sign on to the program. The providers will discover that UHC took all the “gold” out of the mine and left the provider groups with “THE SHAFT” UnitedHealthcare launching national gold-card […]

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Appetite grows for mail-order pharmacies: Study https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pharmacy/appetite-grows-for-mail-order-pharmacies-study.html Patients are becoming less satisfied with physical pharmacies as popularity rises for online and mail-order services, according to J.D. Power’s 16th annual U.S. Pharmacy Study. Compared to the company’s 2023 study, customer satisfaction with mail-order pharmacies saw a six-point increase (on a 1,000-point scale). Chain drugstores, meanwhile, received […]

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