Throughout 2023, headlines signaled a new age in health care. But while research breakthroughs and innovative medications inspired hope for the future, insurers’ business-as-usual practices threatened patient-centered care.
Here’s a look back at the topics that dominated health policy in 2023.
Research delivered new treatments, but access proved challenging.
Breakthrough treatments gained approval across disease states. Even the nation’s most expensive disease, Alzheimer’s, saw new treatments roll out. Greater attention should focus on how these breakthroughs can be effectively evaluated and brought online faster for the patients who need them.
- Alzheimer’s Burden Demands Policy Solutions
- ICER Causes Alzheimer’s Community to Hold Their Breath, Again
- RSV Vaccine to Get Priority Review by the FDA
- Medicare Doubles Down on Restricting New Alzheimer’s Meds
- A New RSV Vaccine Could Save Seniors’ Lives
- First Alzheimer’s Agitation Drug Could Help Patients, Caregivers
- What Innovative Drugs are Worth to Society
- A Biosimilar Boom Could Be a Financial Boon for Patients
- Coverage Barriers Block Patients from Revolutionary Alzheimer’s Treatment
Insurance practices continued to complicate patient-centered care.
Every day, hundreds of millions of Americans depend on prescriptions medications. For far too many, however, the process of getting, and keeping, access to a prescription medication remains arduous – even in 2023.
- What “Alternative” Rx Funding Programs Mean for Patients
- The Hidden Impact of Pharmacy Benefit Managers
- With New Cancer Treatments Come Bigger Insurance Hurdles
- Skin Patients Struggle with Non-Medical Switching
- “Alternative” Funding Programs Put Patient Health at Risk
- When Insurers Push Heart Patients Off Their Medications
- Health Plan Delays Put Cancer Patients at Risk
Economic factors hampered medication access.
From supply chain disruptions to inflation, economic factors impacted medication supply, sustainable drug development and affordable health care access.
- Shortage of Cancer Drugs Demands Action
- Drug Shortages Leave Patients Vulnerable
- Pediatric Chemotherapy Drugs are in Short Supply
- What Price Negotiation Could Mean for New Heart Medications
- Patients, Employers Face Higher Health Insurance Costs in 2024
Policymakers showed an appetite for reform.
Reforms flooded the national stage, with policymakers aiming to improve medication access, encourage medical innovation and protect vulnerable patients. Heading into 2024, decisionmakers need to come together to envision and enact bold reforms that bolster patient-centered care.
- New Bill Would Protect Patients by Banning QALYs
- Improving Transparency and Speed of Prior Authorizations
- Pharmacy Benefit Managers in the Spotlight
- An Easier Way for Seniors to Cover Rx Expenses
- Medicare Lifts Cap on PET Scans for Alzheimer’s Patients
- A Faster Way to Get Life-Saving Technologies to Patients
- The ORPHAN Cures Act’s Promise for Rare Disease Patients
Health Policy Today will resume January 10, 2024. Enjoy the holidays and have a happy new year!