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Upcoming Events featuring
National CooperativeRx
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The 5th Annual Pharmacy Benefits Academy
An MBGH Learning Network educational curriculum
August 23-25
Rosemont, IL
Learn more
Health and Welfare Plan Management for Midsize Employers Conference
September 13-16
Las Vegas, NV
Learn more
2011 Wisconsin SHRM State Conference
October 12-14
Madison, WI
Learn more
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National CooperativeRx is a not-for-profit coalition founded and owned by plan sponsors to achieve higher value prescription benefits through volume purchasing, clinical solutions, actionable data and unparalleled customer service. For your sales and marketing needs, please contact us at 866-679-9479, extension 223
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Have you read the recent HealthLeaders report on the potential PBM merger of Express Scripts and Medco?
If not, you can access it here.
Following news of the potential PBM merger, National CooperativeRx® CEO Greg Horstman was interviewed by HealthLeaders' Senior Analyst Chris Lewis for Horstman's insight on what is going to happen next within the PBM industry.
A sneak peek at what the report includes:
"UnitedHealthcare and other health plans are probably going to be more resistant to allowing self-funded employers to carve out their drug component, which further limits a self-funded plan sponsor's options and ability to customize their plan by evaluating each of the pieces," Horstman speculates.
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American Medical News. Smart phones are once again proving themselves to be useful for more than just making phone calls and browsing the internet. A new, FDA-approved application allows users to manage their Diabetes. A study showed that people with Diabetes had better health outcomes from using the application than those using traditional methods. It is able to analyze data and provide real-time advice to patients. (Dolan, 8/17) Full story
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HealthDay. From 2007-2009, 9% of children ages 5-17 were diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This is 2% higher than the number of children diagnosed between 1998-2000, and most likely due to a greater awareness of the disorder and better access to health care, not necessarily a higher prevalence of the condition. (Mozes, 8/18) Full story
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HealthDay. A drug recently approved by the FDA is showing promise in helping patients with late-stage melanoma. The pill, Zelboraf, targets a mutant gene found in half of patients with melanoma. It locates the tumor and shrinks it, stopping the cancer's progression. Patients in a recent international study were either given Zelboraf or standard chemotherapy, with those taking Zelboraf 63% less likely to die from the disease. (8/17) Full story
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Pharmalot. The latest drug company making a payment to a state for inflating drug prices is AstraZeneca, for overstating the average wholesale price of its drugs in Idaho. AstraZeneca will be forced to pay 2.5M. Average wholesale pricing is what Medicaid and other government healthcare programs use to set reimbursement rates. (Silverman, 8/12) Full story
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Wall Street Journal. Did you know that soon there will be a standard health insurance form? It is being compared to nutrition labels on food packaging, and it will notify consumers of the details of each policy in an effort to make it easier and less confusing to understand and compare plans. The standard forms will describe deductibles for specific categories like drug coverage, the amount they must pay before coverage kicks in, and lay out the average cost for three common scenarios: having a baby, treating breast cancer and managing diabetes. (Matthews, Adamy, 8/17) Full story
If you'd like to see an example of the template click here , or here for a fact sheet.
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American Medical News. The Department of Health and Human Services is looking into speeding up the process of approving federally funded clinical trials. The country's human-research subject regulations were adopted three decades ago and these changes could ease the regulatory burden faced by the estimated 30,000 U.S. physicians who act as clinical investigators. (O'Reilly, 8/15) Full story
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