“…PBMs make up an oligopoly of rich, vertically integrated conglomerates that routinely prey on health care practices, providers, and their patients.”
2/ “PBMs have done this by overwhelmingly abusing their responsibility to protect Americans from this country’s drug pricing crisis, instead exploiting the opacity throughout the nation’s drug supply chain to enrich themselves.”
3/ “[The report] explores how the recent levels of consolidation among PBMs and health insurers is adversely impacting #cancer care, fueling drug costs, all while allowing for massive profits for #PBMs and health insurance companies.”
4/ “Examining the most pervasive and abusive #PBM tactics, each section highlights the adverse impact of PBMs on #patients, health care payers (including #Medicare, #Medicaid, employers, and taxpayers), and providers, while also detailing potential solutions.”
5/ “[Solutions] include legislative efforts at both the state and federal levels…regulators (both state and federal) have tremendous tools available to them, that up until this point, have not been widely utilized.”
6/ To read the @oncologyCOA report, “Pharmacy Benefit Manager Exposé: How PBMs Adversely Impact Cancer Care While Profiting at the Expense of Patients, Providers, Employers, and Taxpayers.” please see: communityoncology.org/wp-content/upl…
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🚨🧵UnitedHealth Group (UHG) issued a press release 4/22 with more info about the Change Healthcare #Cyberattack and the impact of the breach on personal data.
UHG officials have agreed to address any additional questions from the @AmerMedicalAssn or the Federation.
2/ Please read the UHG press release here:
Send any questions you may have to ama.advocacy@ama-assn.org. AMA will try to get answers from UHG. tinyurl.com/2mcj4uh5
3/ UHG’s press release states its preliminary findings from ongoing investigation & review of data involved in the cyberattack are:
a. Based on sampling of their data, files containing protected health info (PHI) or personally identifiable info (PII) were involved in the breach.
🚨🧵@AmerMedicalAssn 3/26 Update on Change Healthcare cyber outage
❗️Important Survey: How has the cyber outage affected your practice? Help inform AMA advocacy for you. Deadline 3/29 tinyurl.com/9bjca2ft
2/ On March 25, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) distributed these resources to assist physicians, pharmacists and hospitals, with the aftermath of the Change Healthcare #cybersecurity attacks.
3/ AMA told HHS multiple times that physicians were having difficulty securing info from health insurers about:
-availability of assistance w/payments
-flexibilities from admin requirements
-additional contact info for troubleshooting d/t Change Healthcare cybersecurity attack
🚨🧵@AmerMedicalAssn Update on Change Healthcare cyber outage:
3/19, @RepMMM @RepRobinKelly + 94 bipartisan Reps wrote @SecBecerra alerting the Admin of ongoing challenges physicians & patients continue to experience as part of the #Cyberattack.
🚨🧵 AMA urged @HHSGov @USDOL & all healthcare system partners to use all regulatory flexibilities to continue supporting physicians & addressing the enormous interruption in physician practice ops caused by CHNG #cybersecurity incident.
2/ The letter also asked the Depts to address additional concerns of physicians:
1. Create an inventory of all the health plans that are currently offering advance payments.
2. Ensure all Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and health plans are accepting paper claims.
&
3/ Letter also asks Depts to:
3. Provide more specifies and support for physicians requesting expedited electronic data interchange enrollment to switch claims processing clearinghouses.
4. Automatically apply hardship exemptions for CMS-impacted programs.
🎇🧵High levels of market concentration leaves millions of Americans with limited competitive options for health insurance.
Can harm patients by raising insurance premiums above competitive levels.
@AmerMedicalAssn identified industry giants with biggest market shares.
2/ The 2023 edition of Competition in Health Insurance: A Comprehensive Study of U.S. Markets examined 381 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), the 50 states and D.C. and tabulated market shares for the two largest health insurance companies.
3/ The report also analyzed state and MSA-level market concentration according to measures used in current federal antitrust guidelines: tinyurl.com/24phh5jd
🧵@AmerMedicalAssn released new principles for augmented intelligence #AI development, deployment, and use—“a critical step toward fostering a consistent governance structure for advancements in health care technology.”
3/ “… the organization's commitment to supporting the implementation of national governance policies that prioritize the development and deployment of #AI in a manner that is ethical, equitable, responsible, & transparent.”