Read today’s Kaiser Health News
In other news:
House Republicans unveil Medicaid cuts that Democrats warn will leave millions without care: A good short summary.
What Are the Projected 2025 Health Plan Cost Trends?: Key health plan cost trend survey findings
In addition to the double-digit projected prescription drug trend noted above, key survey findings about the coming year’s trend projections include:
Survey respondents project the per-person cost trend for PPO/POS plans to be 7.9 percent.
Projected specialty drug trend is 13.3 percent. Drivers of projected specialty drug trend are primarily due to the utilization of new high-cost specialty drugs, replacing lower-cost therapies. Trend attributable to utilization is forecast to be 7.8 percent, accounting for almost 60 percent of the specialty drug gross cost trend increase before rebates.
Unit cost, including factors like price inflation, is still the primary driver for inpatient hospital trends.
Plan sponsor focus has shifted dramatically to cost- and quality-management strategies related to prescription drugs and weight loss-treatments specifically, which now account for four of the top five cost-management strategies.
Trend projections for dental provider organizations are 4.5 percent.
Projected vision trend is 3.0 percent for reasonable and customary plans.
While the projected medical trend for Medicare-eligible retirees with Medicare Advantage PPO plans is 4.9 percent, the projected Medicare Part D trend is 8.9 percent.
About pharma
Trump signs executive order seeking to lower US drug costs by challenging prices in other countries: President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order Monday morning that promises to crack down on “unreasonable or discriminatory” practices by foreign countries that result in Americans paying far higher costs for prescription drugs.
Also, drugmakers must start offering US patients the lowest price paid for a drug in a peer country, known as the “Most Favored Nation” price, or face consequences, the president said. He directed the Department of Health and Human Services to come up with price targets within 30 days.
About the public’s health
FDA Approves First At-Home Cervical Cancer Test: On Friday, a San Francisco-based startup received FDA approval for the first-ever at-home cervical cancer test.
The company, named Teal Health, was founded in 2020 and has raised $23 million. The startup has developed an at-home cervical cancer screening kit, which seeks to give patients an alternative to the in-office pap smear.