Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen likely will not have to enact draconian cuts to TennCare this year, but is still pursuing two methods to trim the pharmacy program in ways that will cut into pharmaceutica…
Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases in the elderly. The launch of several new therapies and new formulations of key brands will drive market growth, but g…
Health plans nationwide have been struggling to retain membership amid the ongoing economic crisis. Minnesota state health plans have responded by rolling out new plan designs targeting the growing in…
The Michigan agency that oversees Medicaid has elected to expand the pharmacy carve-out for psychotropic drugs, taking the responsibility away from the state's Medicaid HMOs. The advantage to the…
Florida's Medicaid program faces a massive reshaping as legislators grapple with a $2 billion budget deficit for the program. The Legislature is considering two options for the $18 billion program…
Brokers predict that enrollment for 2010 will be flat and that insurers will bump up their revenue with premium increases and changes in benefit designs. Health plan enrollment went down only slightly…
The economy has inspired fewer bold moves and more fiscal caution in the TriState health insurance market, both in government and the private sector. Connecticut is experiencing a seismic shift in its…
Through its full carve-out of the pharmacy benefit for Medicaid and CHIP, the Texas Health & Human Services Commission has saved billions of dollars through drug rebates. Texas' public-sector…
Ohio has decided to carve out Medicaid pharmacy in anticipation of the passage of a new federal law, the Drug Rebate Equalization Act. The Act will give managed care companies the same rebates – aroun…
A change in pharmacy benefit management at California's largest health insurer paves the way for a gradual shift in focus to home delivery of medications, particularly generics. Analysts say the p…
Chronic pain is a multi-billion dollar market saturated with well-established branded and generic analgesics that are only partially effective. While drugs with novel mechanisms of action that offer g…
Independence Blue Cross is one of the state’s largest health insurers, but is one of the last to cover its members’ self-injected specialty drugs under the medical benefit. But that’s changing in 2010…
Several Tennessee-based companies are confident enough about the future of Medicare Advantage programs to launch expansions. Most notable in the group is BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, the state’s…
Massachusetts' largest health insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, is embracing one of the latest trends in pharmacy benefit management, that of value-based benefit design. The Boston-based health pla…