Podcasts about hhs secretary alex azar

united states donald trump coronavirus americans white house cdc mike pence politico dan diamond hhs secretary alex azar

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2020 13:16

U.S. health officials have told Americans to begin preparing for the coronavirus outbreak. What's the current risk to the United States — and what is the Trump administration doing to protect us? David Lim joined Dan Diamond to discuss the state of public health, Trump's response and POLITICO's own reporting about the spreading outbreak. MENTIONED ON THE SHOW David was first to report that problems with CDC lab tests were delaying efforts to expand U.S. screening for coronavirus. In a follow-up story, David reported that the CDC wasn't ready to detect stealth coronavirus spread — hours before a new case of "unknown origin" was announced in California, after testing had been delayed for days. Dan reported on the growing scrutiny on whether CDC was adequately prepared to fight the virus and on how the Trump administration was increasingly seeing the outbreak as the biggest threat to the president's re-election. Dan also joined POLITICO's Nancy Cook to scoop that the White House was considering a shake-up to the coronavirus task force, hours before President Donald Trump announced that Vice President Mike Pence would oversee efforts instead of HHS Secretary Alex Azar.

Virus Fears Hit Stocks, HHS Secretary: “Threat to Americans Very Low” & The Busiest Day of Earnings

Squawk on the Street

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2020 55:43

Carl Quintanilla, David Faber & Jim Cramer discuss today’s stock slide as the coronavirus continues to spread & its death toll rises. Plus, HHS Secretary Alex Azar on the U.S. health response and why the “virus threat to Americans is very low.” And it’s the busiest day of corporate earnings, 47 S&P 500 companies reporting including Biogen, Coca-Cola, Eli Lilly, UPS, Verizon & Amazon after the bell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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HHS Secretary Alex Azar

The Scott Sands Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2020 12:16

HHS Secretary Alex Azar

hhs secretary alex azar

Inside the fight shaking HHS, with Adam Cancryn and Rachana Pradhan

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2019 31:30

HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CMS Administrator Seema Verma are the two most important health officials in the Humphrey building — but they've spent months disagreeing on policy, personnel and priorities. The longstanding cold war between them has heated up amid questions over Verma's use of outside public relations contractors. On this episode of "Pulse Check," POLITICO's Dan Diamond joins colleagues Adam Cancryn and Rachana Pradhan to discuss the team's recent reporting on the Azar-Verma relationship, what it means for the Trump administration's policies and where it's all headed. MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Verma's faced congressional inquiries and an inspector general probe following a POLITICO report that she directed millions of federal dollars toward PR communications contracts that benefited her personal brand. Azar and Verma's battles have affected big ideas — like the administration's plans to replace Obamacare — and smaller moments like who gets to announce new regulations, POLITICO reported last week. Azar also has clashed with the White House — and specifically Joe Grogan, the domestic policy council chief — over policy ideas.

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When immigration and health care collide, with Mark Greenberg and Scott Lloyd

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2019 56:33

President Donald Trump has repeatedly relied on HHS to help carry out his sweeping immigration agenda, and a new order that would limit visas to people who aren't "health care burdens" could be the latest dramatic change. Mark Greenberg, who served as the acting assistant secretary for children and families during the Obama administration, sits down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss HHS' role in immigration and why he's so worried about Trump's recent order (starts at the 6:00 mark). Then Scott Lloyd, the Trump appointee who led the HHS refugee office, joins Dan to discuss his experience after the administration began separating migrant families and thousands of children ended up in his office's custody (starts at the 25:45 mark). REFERENCED ON THE PODCAST The Migration Policy Institute predicted that Trump's recent proclamation linking health care and insurance could block as many as two-thirds of green card applicants. Career health officials have raised concerns that Trump's latest order on immigration and health care could be illegal. Watchdogs like GAO and the HHS inspector general have found that family separations began months before the Trump administration officially announced the policy. HHS Secretary Alex Azar emerged as the face of the family-separation crisis last summer, even though HHS didn't lead the policy. House Democrats and watchdog groups have pressed Lloyd over his decisions and testimony.

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ACS CAN President Lisa Lacasse Discusses Advocacy Priorities, Partnership with ASCO

ASCO in Action Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2019 31:04

Subscribe through iTunes and Google Play. Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Advocacy Network, speaks passionately about the critical importance of advocacy and ACS CAN’s partnership with ASCO in reducing the cancer burden, in latest AiA podcast with host ASCO CEO Dr. Clifford Hudis. Find all of ASCO's podcasts at podcast.asco.org TRANSCRIPT Ad: Hi. My name is Shannon McKernin. And I am the host of the ASCO Guidelines Podcast Series. When a new ASCO guideline publishes, we release a podcast episode featuring an interview with one or more expert panel members. Each episode highlights the key recommendations and the implications for patients and providers. You can find the ASCO Guidelines Podcast Series on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening to this show. And you can find all nine of ASCO's podcasts, which cover a wide range of educational and scientific content, and offer enriching insight into the world of cancer care at podcast.asco.org. Disclaimer: The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement. Clifford Hudis: Welcome to this ASCO in Action Podcast, brought to you by the ASCO Podcast Network, a collection of nine programs covering a range of educational and scientific content and offering enriching insights into the world of cancer care. You can find all of the shows, including this one, at podcast.asco.org. This ASCO in Action Podcast is ASCO's podcast series where we explore policy and practice issues that impact oncologists, the entire cancer care delivery team, and the individuals we care for-- people with cancer. My name is Clifford Hudis. And I'm the CEO of ASCO, as well as the host of the ASCO in Action Podcast series. For today's podcast, I am really pleased to have Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, or ACS CAN, as my guest. Welcome, Lisa. Lisa Lacasse: Thanks so much, Cliff. It's really great to be with you today. I appreciate the invitation. CH: Well, I'm really delighted that you could join me today for this discussion. And I think there are probably hundreds of topics that you and I could discuss. But I want to start with the big picture first. The American Cancer Society, of course, is a very well-known, nationwide organization with a mission of saving lives and leading the fight for a world without cancer. Can you tell our guests about the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, ACS CAN? What's the relationship with ACS itself? And what exactly does ACS CAN do? LL: So thanks. That's a great question, Cliff. So many are very familiar with the American Cancer Society, which is a large, old organization that attacks cancer from every angle. The Society works to advance breakthroughs in research, treatment for patients, providing direction and information to help people manage their cancer care, and also mobilizes volunteers at the community level to really support patients in their fight against cancer. But we know that the fight to end cancer doesn't just happen in a doctor's office or a scientific lab. It really requires the government and all elected officials to join us to impact the disease. And so that effort to engage government requires advocacy. And that's where the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, ACS CAN, steps in. And we are the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society. So ACS CAN simply urges lawmakers and rallies all of our community partners to lead in the fight against cancer. And together-- the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network-- although we're two independent organizations, we're working towards the same mission. However, ACS CAN uses different but complementary set of tools. So we obviously resemble ACS in a lot of important ways. We're both nonprofits. We are both absolutely, obviously evidence-based. And we're both supported by a vast army of volunteers. And we all focus on the ultimate goal of eliminating cancer as a major health problem. But ACS CAN advances this mission using tools that aren't fully available to ACS. One, an electoral program called Cancer Votes, which is really an effort to educate voters on important issues to cancer. And we also do a significant amount of lobbying. And that's not just in Washington DC, but in all 50 state capitals and many, many localities. And because of the breadth of that direct lobbying, that's often beyond what's allowable for a charity. So back in 2001, which is-- we're coming up on our 20th anniversary, which is very exciting-- the American Cancer Society Board really recognized that if we were going to achieve our goal to reduce the cancer mission, we had to do that by improving public policy. And so they decided to create ACS CAN. And my job as president is really to empower this huge network of grassroots advocates across the country. And with their staff partners-- we have about 200 people that work for ACS CAN-- every single day, they're imploring their elected officials, working with administrative officials to impact the cancer burden. CH: Well, I mean, that's a remarkable portfolio. And I would say, obviously that ACS CAN has been a key ally and a natural partner for us here at ASCO in our own mission to conquer cancer through research, education, and the promotion of the highest quality patient care. I know that ASCO shares many advocacy priorities with your organization, including our strong support for robust federal funding for cancer research, improving patient access to clinical trials, and addressing, among other things, the alarming rise in youth tobacco use-- something listeners will recall, we discussed in detail with Scott Gottlieb last year. So it's really a privilege to be able to talk to you about all of this. One of the efforts I think that many of our listeners would want to hear more about would be the Medicare Part D, six protected classes issue. I think earlier this year, ACS CAN mounted a very public outcry and a very visible advertising campaign against a proposal that would have potentially impeded or limited access to lifesaving drugs within the Medicare Part D program, specifically in the six protected classes. And we were proud to join your campaign. We at ASCO couldn't have been more pleased than we were with the impact. Can you explain why this effort was so necessary and talk to our listeners a little bit about how it turned out? LL: Absolutely. And I do want to say thank you to ASCO's partnership on this issue. It was really important. So this is a regulatory issue. As you mentioned, it's colloquially referenced as the "six protected classes." But that's policy that was established more than a decade ago to make sure that Medicare beneficiaries had access to innovative therapies. So really, the concept's fairly simple. If you're a health insurer and you provide a Medicare Part D plan to a Medicare beneficiary-- so you sell a Part D plan, which is a prescription drug plan-- you are, by definition, required to cover virtually all drug therapies that treat cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and organ transplant. And unfortunately, late last year, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed to alter that rule. And if the rule that they had put forth had been finalized, we believe it would have dramatically impacted access and affordability to critical medications for cancer patients who are part of the Medicare Part D program. So the proposal, although it was put forth as an effort to save Medicare money-- programmatically to save Medicare money-- we were really concerned that that approach would potentially have the exact opposite effect. We were worried that it would result in raising costs in other parts of the Medicare program and absolutely shifting costs to patients. So that certainly would have happened, because the proposed changes included, for example, excluding drugs from formularies or increasing the use of utilization management tools, such as step therapy. And we know that for a disease like cancer, specific drugs are very important for specific cancers. So if beneficiaries were unable to access their prescription drug that was most medically appropriate for them, they certainly would incur higher costs because it wouldn't be a covered medication. But we also were worried that they wouldn't get physician services, or they would need additional physician services because they weren't getting the right medication, and/or they would end up in the emergency room, which is all things that we know happen if you're not on the right drug regime for your cancer diagnosis. So had these proposed changes gone into effect, it really could have been devastating for cancer patients and survivors. And because of that, once we analyzed the proposed rule, we launched a multi-pronged campaign. It's one of the things that we take a lot of pride in, and we're able to address these issues in many different ways. But one of the most powerful is working in coalition. So ACS CAN and ASCO were joined by nearly 60 other patient and provider organizations. And we ran an advertising campaign-- a very visible advertising campaign. We did a Twitter Day of Action, where all of our volunteer advocates from all of our organizations directed their concern to HHS Secretary Alex Azar. We know that he heard from us. We got confirmation of that. And additionally, ACS CAN and ASCO were among more than 23 patient provider organizations actually went to the Hill for a day, did a lobby day on the hill-- again, making sure that our legislators, congressional members really understood the patient perspective of this proposed policy change. And then finally, ACS CAN did something that we actually don't do that often, which is we shot and ran some television spots. We really wanted to make sure that we were coming at this issue from many different directions because we felt it was so critical to our cancer patients and their need to have access to innovative drugs. So once we went through all of that, we were really proud and, more importantly, thrilled for our cancer patients. The final rule did not include all the proposed changes to the six protected classes that were put forth. These plans are not allowed to impose additional utilization management techniques such as prior authorization and step therapy if a cancer patient already has an established Medicaid regimen. And we really think-- we know, actually-- that HHS and the White House, hearing from doctors and patients and survivors in such an incredible coalition made the agency realize that this could be a very problematic rule. And so I want to, again, Cliff, say thank you to ASCO providing such a critical perspective from your physicians, your oncologists. They know firsthand what these barriers and delays can mean. And the partnership really, really worked. And we're proud of the outcome of that campaign. CH: Well, again, we want to applaud ACS CAN for your bold leadership on the issue and the wonderful success. It does show the tremendous impact that we can have with a unified, collective voice on behalf of people with cancer. So another issue that I guess, in a way, relates at least tangentially to this-- and I know is near and dear to your heart-- is federal funding, in this case for cancer research and for clinical trials. But before you started ACS CAN, which I think is more than a decade ago, as I understand correctly, you were the CFO of the NIH's Cancer Research Center. So how did that experience shape your understanding of the federal research infrastructure and the need for increased funding for cancer research at the federal level? LL: So it's a great question. And it is true. I was at NIH for nearly a decade, a decade ago. I have been at ACS CAN for just a little over 10 years now. And NIH is really a fascinating place to work. And I learned so much when I was on the NIH campus just up the road in Bethesda. And I would say most importantly and what has been most impactful is really through that time understanding that the pathways to discovery, particularly in cancer, are very long, and they're very complex, and they are extremely resource-intensive. And all parts of that journey-- every single step has to work well together from the very early scientific discoveries at the bench to ultimately bringing those discoveries to the bedside of patients. And the government has a critical role to play in that journey. Because a lot of that initial science, as you know, is risky, you really have to take a long view. And the very, very early clinical trials, which is what the clinical center focused on-- really phase 0 and phase 1, a few phase 2 trials, natural history trials-- those can only be done in certain types of facilities that have a lot of resources like the NIH Clinical Research Center. And then the other thing that I think about often as I'm doing my work is the many, many patients that I met while I was there at the Clinical Center. We had a 200-bed hospital, a huge outpatient center. And they really are the true heroes. I really think a lot about the many patients who knew that they were enrolling on trials that may or may not benefit them, but would potentially move us forward in the fight against cancer. And so I'm very passionate about the resources that are needed for NIH and NCI. And a lot of that is driven because of this, what I consider, a really transformative experience for me while I was at NIH. CH: Well, many listeners will remember that I occasionally talk about when I was president of ASCO back in 2013 and '14. And that was the end of an era-- about a decade-long era-- where we had flat funding in dollars. And that, of course, with inflation meant a relative loss of purchasing power and missed opportunities. And this really rallied our broad community. And this is a bit of a little detour, but one of the things that ultimately helped, I think, increase the enthusiasm of many of our members for political engagement and reduce some of our cynicism is that the last few years, we've seen, instead, a steady rise and consistent support for federal funding. And it's crossed party lines. It's clearly been bipartisan. I wonder-- I mean, we like to take some credit for it-- but, of course, I was one of thousands of people knocking on doors and one of many thousands of people repeating the message. But why do you think that we currently are enjoying a period of such steady and reliable bipartisan support? And as you answer that, I would ask you to think about the future. Do you think that support can continue? LL: Yeah. Look, I think it's a really important question. And I do think that one of the important things that we collectively lend to this discussion is a bipartisan lens. I mean, cancer does not discriminate. It is not political. We ran a big campaign, as you might remember, a few years ago that we dubbed the "One Degree Campaign," because if you are not your own cancer story, you are certainly not more than one degree away from a cancer story. I think there are a couple reasons why we've been able to rally support from a bipartisan standpoint. One is, I do think that people can clearly understand the important role government has in the fight against cancer. But also, just that our patients are very compelling storytellers. They are there, talking to their lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Washington DC when they're in district about their experiences-- their own, personal experiences about their fight or their engagement with someone else in the fight against cancer, and how critically important federal investment is in what their experience has been. And I do think that when members hear those stories from people who've been directly impacted, or maybe they've experienced it themselves or seen it themselves, it's compelling. I think collectively, as a community, we're getting better at continuing to show the incredible impact that NIH has. And the statistics sort of bear this out, right. There has been incredible progress in diagnosing cancer, treating cancer, caring for people who have cancer. And in the last 50 years, every major medical breakthrough in cancer can be traced back to NIH and the NCI. So I think when we tell those stories, we remind so many people that people that they love are alive today because they have helped fuel that discovery. And they do that by appropriating money for NCI. And so to that end, we would like to call it an evergreen issue. Getting appropriations every year from Congress is something that we can never let up on. It is a sustained effort. And we must continue to really coordinate well among partners-- so between ACS CAN and ASCO and many, many of our cancer partners-- so that we're sure to be bringing a concerted, collective voice to this issue. And we certainly know, because we see it every day in our political lives, that Congress definitely has a habit of reacting to the latest crisis. And so we want to make sure that we don't want cancer to continue to be such a huge crisis. We want continued forward movement. And that's why it's so critical that we bring the patient voice to this issue. We are good partners, again, united with ASCO, ACS CAN, and others in One Voice Against Cancer, which we fondly call "OVAC," which is our coalition that continues to make the case on a regular basis to lawmakers and their staff. But I'm really seeing-- and, Cliff, I know you probably have through your career, as well-- but if we get the patient voice to an elected official, it's not hard for them to support our cause and to understand why these funds to NIH are so critically important to changing the face of this disease. CH: Well, one of the ways-- I mean, one of the most tangible, obvious ways that we do that and the patients see it, of course, is through clinical trials. Those advances you describe at the NIH have to lead to clinical trials before they can actually change a standard of care. And this is another policy area where we've been working together, in particular advocating for the passage of the Clinical Trial Act. This is legislation that would federally require Medicaid to cover those routine care costs that come with participating in clinical trials, which would bring Medicaid into line with every other major payer, including Medicare, for example. Can you talk a little bit about what impact this bill would have on patients with cancer? And I ask that, reminding everybody that we will shortly post another podcast where we discuss this in detail with Melissa Dillmon, who is the current chair of our Government Relations Committee and on the front lines. LL: And a shout-out to Dr. Dillmon, because she actually worked with us on a congressional briefing around the six protected classes. And she is a fabulous leader. So congratulations for getting her to work with you. Because her voice needs to be heard in these fights, as well. And I want to do a shout-out to ASCO for your leadership in this particular piece of legislation. So specifically with Medicaid-- I mean, Medicaid by definition obviously serves people facing financial challenges. So right now, it is, as you mentioned, the only major category of insurance where routine costs in cancer clinical trials aren't covered. And so just to be clear, there's the experimental part of a cancer trial, but there are also maybe just regular standard of care that a patient would be getting even if they weren't enrolled in the trial. And those are the costs that you're talking about in this piece of legislation, and that when we talk about the financial challenges of enrolling on a clinical trial, it's not the experimental part of the trial itself. It's really the care around that. So currently, only 12 states and the District of Columbia have state requirements that Medicaid cover these routine trial costs. So that means 38 other states, if a patient wants to enroll in a trial, they're responsible for 100% of that routine costs out of pocket, which we know very few Americans could afford, much less those on a limited incomes. So to us, we see this as essentially a ban on participation by Medicaid patients, which really doesn't make any sense since, by definition, those routine costs would certainly be covered if they were seeing a doctor just on a regular visit. And we also don't want to exclude this whole cohort of millions of patients that we want to have participate in these clinical trials, since that is a critical success factor, as you noted, getting discovery out there that can impact a cancer diagnosis. CH: Well, while we're on the topic of Medicaid-- and here we were focusing on coverage of its beneficiaries' participation in clinical research-- but can you talk a little bit about your Medicaid Covers Us campaign? How does that relate to this, if it does at all? Or what direction does that take us in? LL: So Medicaid Covers Us-- I really hope that people that are listening to the podcast can take a minute and go to our URL, which is medicaidcoversus.org. And this is a campaign that we launched last year. And although ACS CAN has a very long history of advocating for Medicaid, Medicaid is just an insurance coverage, right. It just happens to cover a lower level of income for patients. But really, the focus of that program is to improve access to screening, diagnosis, treatment, which happens if you have insurance coverage. So when the Affordable Care Act was passed, there was an opportunity to expand Medicaid, although it is optional for a state. ACS CAN has worked hard with many partners to actively advocate for expanding and really educating the public on how important Medicaid is in the insurance landscape. And so part of that-- what we realized is that we really wanted to make sure that people understood what Medicaid truly is. And one of the ways we are doing that is through this campaign. And this is a public education campaign that's really trying to create a dialogue for everyone who touches health care, which is really an entire community, to understand the importance. If you want to achieve a healthy community, healthy economy, health care is a really important part of that. And Medicaid plays an important role in health care. So we decided to pursue kind of this larger educational effort, and it's really been an exciting project. We have gotten a lot of opportunity to have many members of a community have this conversation. And we're excited about the role that we're able to play in continuing to make sure that people understand that quality cancer care needs access to insurance. And access to insurance for many, many people means access to Medicaid. CH: So really, in the last few moments we've talked about Medicaid from two perspectives. One is coverage for a substantial bloc of Americans at about 42 million, if memory serves me correctly. And the second is specific coverage of a vulnerable subset that is those beneficiaries who need access to clinical research for advanced cancer or cancer at all. Is that a fair summary of the two prongs of this effort? LL: 100%, 100%. And I think that we want comprehensive coverage. And Medicaid provides, again, a lifeline for so many patients. And we really want to work to address a couple of big challenges right now in Medicaid. One is that there still 15 states that have not fully expanded their Medicaid program. So that means that there are low-income parents, adults that are not able to access affordable health insurance. And we've seen through a significant amount of research that we've done on our end that there are a lot of cancer patients in the Medicaid program. So that program itself is very, very important to our mission. And then another issue that we're paying a lot of attention to and trying to make sure through ACS CAN that we're having influence on, our policy changes that are creating some barriers if you actually are in Medicaid-- things like what are known as 1115 waivers that are introducing things like work requirements, or maybe some other types of barriers like a lockout period that really create a significant barrier in a pathway for patients to make sure they continue to be able to seek care. So we want to make sure that for all Medicaid enrollees with serious conditions like cancer, that they're able, one, to continue to work-- if they are unable to work, though, that they don't lose their coverage. So we are continuing to work on many, many components of Medicaid, so both the public education and awareness, but also a lot of these very direct lobbying issues. CH: You know what's interesting, I was thinking as you described all that, the ability to understand the system and then help to constructively shape it is, in fact, the reason-- personally, I can tell you-- that I was so interested in making the career change to go from breast cancer doctor to ASCO CEO. You've been at ACS CAN in total, as we heard already, for just about a dozen years. But recently you stepped into the role of president for the organization. So thinking about all of this, I wonder, has your view of the organization and its role and potential changed over these years? And what are the things that you want to focus on, going forward with this tool that you now have at your disposal? LL: Yeah. So that's a great question. I'm almost at my six-month mark, so that's very exciting. And it's certainly interesting and always very, very different to work in an organization from a different vantage point. But as president, the first thing I'll say as I continue to be unbelievably impressed with our partnerships and our staff and our incredible volunteers nationwide and their ability to impact policy through very deliberate approaches that we have trained people on-- and when we're clear about the impact that we can have and we talk to our legislators about that impact, we've found a lot of champions. I continue to be very proud, but also convinced that the role of advocacy is critically important to the future of cancer and changing that future for more and more people to have more opportunities to successfully fight their diagnosis. And for organizational goals, I think we obviously want to continue to grow ACS CAN. The bigger our organization is, both from a network of volunteers to resources, the more influence I know that we can have. And then finally, a personal passion of mine is to make sure that our organization is relevant to the entire cancer ecosystem, but particularly everyone who is going to face a cancer burden. And we know that cancer burden is unequal in many, many segments of our population. So I feel a great responsibility and drive to work with my many colleagues, including you, Cliff, and ASCO, to do everything we can to very deliberately reduce the disparity of cancer. CH: Well, that's an inspiring way, I think, to wrap up this conversation. I can't thank you enough for joining me today for this ASCO in Action Podcast. ASCO and ACS CAN share so many common goals, as I'm sure everybody will hear through this conversation. And we are both dedicated to helping people whose lives have been affected by cancer. And when patients, survivors, families, cancer care providers work together the way we do, and so many others, it's clear that the results can be tremendous in terms of impact and change. So thanks again for leading this charge with us. LL: Well, Cliff, it really was my pleasure to do this today with you. And I look forward to many years of productive partnership between ASCO and ACS CAN. Thanks for having me today. CH: Sure. And for all of you listening, if you want to keep up with ASCO's advocacy efforts, I encourage you to visit our website. This is ascoaction, written as one word, .asco.org. And there's more information about ACS CAN and Medicaid Covers Us available at fightcancer-- that's written as one word-- .org. And, Lisa, I think you previously told us that there's a special website for Medicaid Covers Us. What's that URL again? LL: Medicaidcoversus.org. CH: I don't know how I forgot it. So until next time, thank you for listening to this ASCO in Action Podcast. If you enjoyed what you heard here today, don't forget to give us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. And while you're there, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an upcoming episode. The ASCO in Action Podcast is just one of ASCO's many podcasts. And you can find all of them at podcast.asco.org.

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What it's like to run Medicaid, with Tim Hill

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2019 43:31

Tim Hill carved out a nearly three-decade career in the federal government, ultimately rising to a role where he oversaw Medicaid for much of last year. Now at IMPAQ International, Hill sat down with Dan Diamond to discuss the day-to-day operations of programs like Medicaid, balancing civil service with political changes and some CMS initiatives that have been overshadowed. (Starts at the 1:00-minute mark.) After the break, Rachana Pradhan and Adam Cancryn join Dan to discuss POLITICO's report on rising tensions between HHS and the White House. (Starts at the 25:00-minute mark.) MENTIONED ON THE SHOW The Trump administration's controversial Medicaid work requirements were blocked earlier this year by a federal judge. CMS Adminstrator Seema Verma has touted efforts to improve maternal mortality. POLITICO's report on HHS Secretary Alex Azar's recent clashes with the White House.

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Don't be Surprised by this Week's Topic

Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2019

Surprise billing is continuing to receive a significant amount of attention from lawmakers, with last week's house and senate versions, and this week with the introduction of a comprehensive healthcare reform discussion draft that includes provisions to tackle the topic. On this week's episode, NAHU's Marcy M. Buckner, John Greene and Chris Hartmann review how the conflicting recently introduced proposals may find consensus among Democrats and Republicans who are pushing to pass legislation by this summer. They also review NAHU's meeting with HHS Secretary Alex Azar on prescription drugs, the latest hearing on single-payer healthcare, guidance on association health plans in the wake of a court ruling overturning the rule, and what to expect after the Memorial Day recess.

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Don’t be Surprised by this Week’s Topic

Catalog of Interviews and Bits

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2019 32:07

Surprise billing is continuing to receive a significant amount of attention from lawmakers, with last week’s house and senate versions, and this week with the introduction of a comprehensive healthcare reform discussion draft that includes provisions to tackle the topic. On this week’s episode, NAHU’s Marcy M. Buckner, John Greene and Chris Hartmann review how the conflicting recently introduced proposals may find consensus among Democrats and Republicans who are pushing to pass legislation by this summer. They also review NAHU’s meeting with HHS Secretary Alex Azar on prescription drugs, the latest hearing on single-payer healthcare, guidance on association health plans in the wake of a court ruling overturning the rule, and what to expect after the Memorial Day recess.

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Democrats Defend Rashida Tlaib and Termination from TuneIn

"Tapp" into the Truth

Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2019 62:48

Colby Bledsoe was unable to make it but I'm leaving the original show description in case you want to check out his work.Leftist Democrats and their allies like HHS Secretary Alex Azar want to impose socialist European-style drug price controls on American health care professionals! Critics say that if they succeed, medical development will grind to a halt, possibly cutting off your access to potentially life-saving medicines. Colby Bledsoe, Director of Grassroots for FreedomWorks, will join me to discuss it. Don't forget about the Edwards Notebook and the Veteran's Tip of the Day! All of this and more as time allows. Listen live, join the chatroom, be a part of the show. Tapp into the Truth

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Democrats Defend Rashida Tlaib and Termination from TuneIn

"Tapp" into the Truth

Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2019 63:00

Colby Bledsoe was unable to make it but I'm leaving the original show description in case you want to check out his work. Leftist Democrats and their allies like HHS Secretary Alex Azar want to impose socialist European-style drug price controls on American health care professionals! Critics say that if they succeed, medical development will grind to a halt, possibly cutting off your access to potentially life-saving medicines. Colby Bledsoe, Director of Grassroots for FreedomWorks, will join me to discuss it. Don't forget about the Edwards Notebook and the Veteran's Tip of the Day! All of this and more as time allows. Listen live, join the chatroom, be a part of the show. Tapp into the Truth

[44] Traveling with Confidence

An AARP Take On Today

Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2019 7:28

Travelers lost almost $70 million to travel related scams last year and a new AARP survey found many travelers may have a blind spot when it comes to protecting themselves. Tune in to pick up some new tips to avoid scams when planning your next vacation. Also, an update on last week’s episode: reports indicate that President Trump has signaled his support for the legislation, and has directed HHS Secretary Alex Azar to work with Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis.

ColbyBledsoe

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2019

MEDICARE FOR ALL? SOCIALIST PRICE CONTROLS? WHY IS TRUMP'S HHS SECRETARY IN FAVOR OF SOME OF THIS? SOCIALIZED MEDICINE GUEST: Colby Bledsoe, is the Director of Grassroots for FreedomWorks. He oversees FreedomWorks' nationwide network of activists and manages state advocacy campaigns. Stop the Democrats from Imposing Socialist Price Controls! Leftist Democrats and their allies like HHS Secretary Alex Azar want to impose socialist European-style drug price controls on American health care professionals! If they succeed, medical development will grind to a permanent halt, cutting off your access to potentially life-saving medicines. We need to fix patients, not prices! Contact your Members of Congress and tell them to OPPOSE socialist-style drug price controls today! BIO: Before joining FreedomWorks, Colby worked for a political consulting firm in D.C. offering clients strategic advice on political and advocacy campaigns. He also worked on a number key races in Virginia, including serving as deputy political director for former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's Gubernatorial campaign. WEBSITE: www.freedomworks.org FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/ColbyBledsoeVA/friends_mutual TWITTER: @cbledsoeva, @FreedomWorks

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'Historic' payment pilots and Ariadne Labs' Asaf Bitton

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2019 45:36

HHS Secretary Alex Azar and other officials this week unveiled new payment pilots that they say will transform primary care. Are they right? POLITICO's Rachel Roubein and Paul Demko join Dan Diamond to discuss the payment pilots (starts at the 1:30 mark), the latest Obamacare changes (starts at the 9:35 mark) and new developments in the "Medicare-for-All" debate (starts at the 17:10 mark). Then Asaf Bitton, the new leader of Ariadne Labs — the Atul Gawande-founded think tank — joins PULSE CHECK to discuss his vision for Ariadne and his experience as an adviser on this week's primary care reforms (starts at the 25:10 mark). MENTIONED ON THE SHOW HHS on Monday unveiled new payment pilots intended to reward primary care providers for high-value care. In a speech, Azar called it a "historic turning point in American health care." CMS last week finalized new rules for the Obamacare marketplace in 2020, which the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said will hit many consumers' pocketbooks. A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that "Medicare for All" has fallen behind other priorities like lower drug costs. POLITICO's Rachana Pradhan and Dan Goldberg looked at blue states' fight to create "public option" health plans. Meanwhile, Bitton was named the new leader of Ariadne Labs, succeeding Gawande, and laid out his strategy.

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Rep. Joe Kennedy on defending Medicaid in the Trump era

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Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2019 32:48

Rep. Joe Kennedy first appeared on this podcast in early 2017, at House Democrats' lowest moment: The GOP had steamrolled the party, speeding an Affordable Care Act repeal bill that seemed inevitable. But the GOP's efforts ultimately failed; Democrats retook the House a year later; and Kennedy this week rejoined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to reflect on how House Democrats' health policy has changed as they've become the majority party, why he now supports a Medicare for All bill, how he approaches questioning Trump officials like HHS Secretary Alex Azar and more. MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Kennedy's 2017 appearance on the "Pulse Check" podcast. House Democrats have worried that the push for "Medicare for All" could divert the caucus' energy from other health care priorities, like preserving the Affordable Care Act. Kennedy's questioning of HHS Secretary Alex Azar during a hearing last month, which went viral. Kennedy last week introduced a bill to strengthen Medicaid and CHIP funding.

Recapping CapCon with Jessica Watts

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2019

NAHU held its 29th annual Capitol Conference this week with remarks by HHS Secretary Alex Azar, senior Trump Administration health policy officials, numerous members of Congress, and other key stakeholders. To recap the week's events, NAHU Legislative Council Vice Chair, and host of this year's conference, Jessica Watts joins NAHU's Vice President of Government Affairs Marcy M. Buckner. They share their thoughts on the remarks of Secretary Azar, as well as the sessions on how NAHU is working to oppose Medicare-for-All, the role of association health plans and the forthcoming final rule on health reimbursement arrangements. They also discuss the action items for members of Congress as part of our federal priorities, and the other ways NAHU members can interact with policymakers and fellow agents and brokers throughout the conference, as well as why those who haven't yet come to a "CapCon" should begin making plans for next year.

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Recapping CapCon with Jessica Watts

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2019 28:31

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This Week in Managed Care—State of the Union Health Initiatives and Other Health News

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Play Episode Listen Later Feb 9, 2019 5:37

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast. This week, the top managed care news included President Trump's State of the Union address highlighting healthcare; HHS Secretary Alex Azar taking on drug rebates; physicians asking Congress to fully implement the HITECH Act. Read more about the stories in this podcast: Trump Highlights New Initiatives for Childhood Cancer, HIV in State of the Union: https://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/trump-highlights-new-initiatives-for-childhood-cancer-hiv-in-state-of-the-union Azar Promotes Efforts to Tackle Rebate System: https://www.ajmc.com/conferences/academyhealth-2019/azar-promotes-efforts-to-tackle-rebate-system AcademyHealth 2019 National Health Policy Conference: https://www.ajmc.com/conferences/academyhealth-2019 Campaign Seeks Push to Improve Usability of EHRs: https://www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-week/campaign-seeks-push-to-improve-usability-of-ehrs Getting Ready for the Use of Real-World Evidence: https://www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-week/getting-ready-for-the-use-of-realworld-evidence Does Comparing Cesarean Delivery Rates Influence Women’s Choice of Obstetric Hospital? https://www.ajmc.com/journals/issue/2019/2019-vol25-n2/does-comparing-cesarean-delivery-rates-influence-womens-choice-of-obstetric-hospital

Ashish Jha on hospital readmissions and global health

Podcast – The Human Element with Brian Fisher

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2019 29:31

Ashish Jha has spent years sounding the alarm about the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program — an Obamacare policy intended to encourage hospitals to provide better care. But Jha argues the program instead put patients at risk, and new data suggests he might be right. Jha, the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, joins POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss the readmissions policy and the latest data. Jha also reflects on the Trump administration’s approach to global health and how his perspective has evolved over the past two years. MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Jha’s February 2017 appearance on POLITICO “Pulse Check,” where he discussed his career and global health priorities. A JAMA study in December found a link between the readmissions policy and rising mortality. Harvard researchers this month also concluded that Medicare has overstated the benefits of its readmissions policy. Yale’s Harlan Krumholz helped develop the policy and has extensively defended it, including in this 2017 comment in JAMA. Writing in the New York Times, Paula Span reviewed the latest arguments and data. HHS Secretary Alex Azar has a unique perspective: Even as he oversees a policy to cut readmissions, Azar was readmitted to the hospital last year while suffering an intestinal infection.

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HHS Could Change The Abortion Landscape

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 15, 2019 28:48

The powerful U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can change the abortion landscape in America. Brian discusses 5 questions pro-lifers should ask HHS to ensure that the children are rescued from abortion under President Trump. Helpful Resources: Contact HHS Secretary Alex Azar HHS Office of the Secretary Email: Phone: 202-690-7000 Contact your Elected Officials 1. What is HHS’s Strategic Plan for Ending the Abortion Crisis? It is HHS’s job to identify and address the health and wellness crises facing the nation. Under Trump, HHS has identified, and rightly so, the Opioid Crisis as one of its top priorities. According to HHS, opioid overdoses are claiming the lives of over 115 Americans each day. In response, HHS has developed to fund the resources and research needed to mitigate the effects of this crisis in the U.S. Abortion, by contrast, is claiming the lives of 3,000 Americans each day. Yet, there has been no strategic plan released to address the abortion crisis by this pro-life HHS. 2. What is the status of litigation against the Protect Life Rule? What steps are being taken to ensure that Title X funding to Planned Parenthood halts in the meantime? Each day, Planned Parenthood kills about nine hundred children. An executive department that defines life as beginning at conception and worthy of protection should have a firm and uncompromising posture toward the entities that stand opposed to that mission. 3. How is HHS using existing programs to serve women and children targeted by the abortion industry? The abortion-seeking woman is the most unreached and underserved individual in the United States. There are programs within HHS, like the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program and the Pregnancy Assistance Fund that are not currently being used to serve pregnant women who need help. HHS has the power to use these programs and budgets to reach and serve women who are otherwise likely to be lied to and sold an abortion by businesses like Planned Parenthood. 4. What public education initiatives is HHS implementing to inform pregnant women and the public at large about fetal development, life-affirming resources, and the destructive effects abortion is proven to impose on women and families? Again, it is HHS’s job to address public health crises, and that includes abortion. Abortion is currently the leading cause of death in the United States, killing about one million children per year. HHS addresses crises like opioid abuse and AIDS with widely-disseminated public service announcement campaigns, resource centers, educational materials, counseling services, and more. Pregnant women are a people group that most desperately need these educational opportunities but are not receiving them. 5. What is HHS doing to enforce the law within its own agencies in the face of evidence that Planned Parenthood and other abortion allies committed criminal activity? Undoctored evidence of abortion industry wrongdoing was collected by David Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) and compiled into the project and released in 2015. In response, Congress convened a panel of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which obtained further documents and testimonies from the abortion industry players in question. This led to and other abortion industry allies to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal prosecution. Because of this evidence, HHS Secretary Alex Azar ultimately canceled a fetal body parts procurement contract that had been signed during the Trump Administration – but that small contract was one of on research of this nature that HHS continues to send to the abortion industry under President Trump. This is likely to continue as long as the status of Planned Parenthood’s prosecution remains obscure. The post appeared first on .

Mandatory Bundled Payment Models Are Coming: What You Need to Know

The Change Healthcare Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2018 10:47

Representatives from CMS just announced a policy shift regarding mandated alternative payment models. HHS Secretary Alex Azar said the administration would “revisit” mandatory models that it had previously abandoned in cardiac care, noting the time had come for “exploring new and improved episode-based models in other areas, including radiation oncology.” To understand the impact this policy shift might have on payers and providers, Patrick McGuigan, Producer of Episode Intelligence, connected with Dr. Andrei Gonzales, who leads the product development efforts for Change Healthcare’s value-based payment solutions. In this interview, they discuss: What CMS is introducing and why it’s generating so much news [00:23] What this means for commercial health plans [02:40] What health plans should be doing now to prepare for this change [04:46] How providers are reacting to this news, and how they can prepare for a future that includes mandatory payment models [06:03] Related Resources SUBSCRIBE to the podcast using any podcatcher or RSS reader Download the audio and listen offline Get the iOS app Get the Android app Suggest or become a guest

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This Week in Managed Care—Addressing Social Needs Impacting Health and Other Health News

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Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2018 6:10

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast. This week, the top managed care news included HHS Secretary Alex Azar hinting that the government may get more involved in addressing social needs impacting health; work rules in Arkansas cost thousands their Medicaid coverage; research finds a shorter course of hepatitis C treatment may be just as effective as the full course of treatment. Read more about the stories in this podcast: Azar: CMMI Will Get More Involved in Addressing Social Needs Driving Health Issues: www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-week/azar-cmmi-will-get-more-involved-in-addressing-social-needs-driving-health-issues Advocates Lambast Growing Number of Uninsured in Arkansas Due to Work Rules: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/advocates-lambast-growing-number-of-uninsured-in-arkansas-due-to-work-rules Shortening Treatment Time Maintains Efficacy, Saves Costs in Hepatitis C: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/shortening-treatment-time-maintains-efficacy-saves-costs-in-hepatitis-c Stricter Blood Pressure Guidelines Could Prevent Cardiovascular Events, but Debate Continues: www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-week/stricter-blood-pressure-guidelines-could-prevent-cardiovascular-events-but-debate-continues The American Journal of Managed Care® Names Dr Erin Trish as the 2018 Recipient of the Seema S. Sonnad Emerging Leader in Managed Care Research Award: www.ajmc.com/press-release/the-american-journal-of-managed-careisupregsup-names-dr-erin-trish-as-the-2018-recipient-of-the-seema-s-sonnad-emerging-leader-in-managed-care-research-award AMA's McAneny Calls for Real-time Oncology Payment Model Led by Physicians: www.ajmc.com/conferences/pcoc2018/mcaneny-calls-for-realtime-oncology-payment-model-led-by-physicians Patient-Centered Oncology Care 2018: www.ajmc.com/conferences/pcoc2018

This Week in Managed Care—Cancer Is the New Leading Cause of Death and Other Health News

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Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2018 5:34

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast. This week, the top managed care news included research that showed cancer surpassed cardiovascular disease to be the leading cause of death in high-income counties; HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced a new mandatory payment model is coming to oncology; a policy change could make mental health treatment more available. Read more about the stories in this podcast: Cancer Surpasses CVD as Leading Cause of Death in High-Income Counties: https://www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-week/cancer-surpasses-cvd-as-leading-cause-of-death-in-highincome-counties Azar Announces Mandatory Oncology Payment Model Is Coming: https://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/azar-announces-mandatory-oncology-payment-model-is-coming HHS Lifting IMD Exclusion for Medicaid Payment for Inpatient Mental Health Treatment: https://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/hhs-lifting-imd-exclusion-for-medicaid-payment-for-inpatient-mental-health-treatment Gallup-Sharecare Report Shows How Diabetes Ranks Grew Across the US: https://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/gallupsharecare-report-shows-how-diabetes-ranks-grew-across-the-us The American Journal of Managed Care—November 2018: https://www.ajmc.com/journals/issue/2018/2018-vol24-n11

#32: Our Take October–Part 3

Health Care Rounds

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2018 9:16

Hoping all of our listeners had a wonderful and safe Halloween! In this episode, John discusses our take on health care news in the last week of October. He covers President Trump’s proposed change on how Medicare pays for certain drugs, based on an international pricing index of drugs. HHS Secretary Alex Azar referenced a report his agency recently completed—which compared U.S. prices for 27 drugs with prices for the same drugs in 16 other countries—tweeting that “Among these drugs, on average, the US pays 180% more than the international price.” HHS said the rule would include most of the drugs in Medicare Part B, which covers injectables and many specialty medications. About Darwin Research Group Darwin Research Group Inc. provides advanced market intelligence and in-depth customer insights to health care executives, with a strategic focus on health care delivery systems and the global shift toward value-based care. Darwin’s client list includes forward-thinking biopharmaceutical and medical device companies, as well as health care providers, private equity, and venture capital firms. The company was founded in 2010 as Darwin Advisory Partners, LLC and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. with a satellite office in Princeton, N.J.

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This Week in Managed Care—Calls for Increased Data Sharing and Other Health News

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2018 5:57

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast. This week in managed care, the top stories included HHS Secretary Alex Azar appearing before the Senate Committee on Finance to discuss the administration's plan to drive down prescription drug prices; FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, calling on payers to share data to aid drug innovation; and CMS calling for stricter oversight of Medicaid. Read more about the stories in this podcast: Azar Appears Before Senate Committee on Finance to Discuss Drug Innovation, Affordability: https://www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-week/azar-appears-before-senate-committee-on-finance-to-discuss-drug-innovation-affordability Gottlieb Calls on Payers to Share Data to Aid Drug Innovation: https://www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-week/gottlieb-calls-on-payers-to-share-data-to-aid-drug-innovation CMS Unveiling Stricter Oversight of Medicaid Due to Program Expansion: https://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/cms-unveiling-stricter-oversight-of-medicaid-due-to-program-expansion What We're Reading: SCOTUS Abortion Ruling; Use of HDHPs Grows; More Seniors Die at Home: https://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/what-were-reading-scotus-abortion-ruling-use-of-hdhps-grows-more-seniors-die-at-home Dr Robert A. Gabbay Highlights the Development of Joslin Diabetes Center's Clinical Guidelines: https://www.ajmc.com/interviews/dr-robert-a-gabbay-highlights-the-development-of-joslin-diabetes-centers-clinical-guidelines Evidence-Based Diabetes Management—June 2018: https://www.ajmc.com/journals/evidence-based-diabetes-management/2018/june-2018

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Unpacking a Week of Hearings, Announcements, and Tuesday's Primary Elections

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Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2018

Lawmakers came back from their Memorial Day recess with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell emphatically cancelling the customary month-long August recess so that legislators can focus on their growing workload ahead of the November elections. On the House side, HHS Secretary Alex Azar testified on the Trump Administration's priorities heading into the ACA's sixth open enrollment period and another hearing was held on legislative efforts to promote consumer directed healthcare, including NAHU's push to pass the Bipartisan HSA Improvement Act. NAHU's Vice Presidents of Congressional Affairs Chris Hartmann and John Greene join the podcast this week to help make sense of it all, in addition to breaking down the results of this week's “Super Tuesday” where eight states held primary elections, including California's much anticipated top-two primary.

Unpacking a Week of Hearings, Announcements, and Tuesday’s Primary Elections

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Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2018 23:51

Lawmakers came back from their Memorial Day recess with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell emphatically cancelling the customary month-long August recess so that legislators can focus on their growing workload ahead of the November elections. On the House side, HHS Secretary Alex Azar testified on the Trump Administration’s priorities heading into the ACA’s sixth open enrollment period and another hearing was held on legislative efforts to promote consumer directed healthcare, including NAHU’s push to pass the Bipartisan HSA Improvement Act. NAHU’s Vice Presidents of Congressional Affairs Chris Hartmann and John Greene join the podcast this week to help make sense of it all, in addition to breaking down the results of this week’s “Super Tuesday” where eight states held primary elections, including California’s much anticipated top-two primary.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar

The Laura Ingraham Show Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2018 20:45

One week ago, HHS Secretary Alex Azar joined President Donald Trump in the Rose Garden to announce his signature initiative: A long-awaited plan to lower drug prices. The secretary’s been on a tour to explain the plan — which has faced resistance from pharma and was panned by some Wall Street analysts — and POLITICO’s Dan Diamond joined Azar at HHS headquarters to review the latest developments. On this episode, Azar discusses where drug prices rank as an administration priority and how he wants taxpayers to judge success (starts at the 1:40 mark), why the plan doesn’t include importing drugs from Canada, an idea that Trump supported as a presidential candidate (5:15), why Azar wants to put drug prices in TV ads (9:00), whether he was prepared for the backlash to the plan (10:15), why he suggested that the media doesn’t want the drug plan to be perceived as successful (12:10), how Azar wants to combine Medicare Part B and Part D negotiations (13:10), and what Azar sees as a former pharma executive (16:45). Then stick around after the credits for a closing thought from Azar on his time at HHS (19:30). We'd appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com. MENTIONED ON THE SHOW The Trump administration's "American Patients First" drug pricing plan: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/AmericanPatientsFirst.pdf Former Obama appointee Tim Gronniger, who steered CMS’ failed efforts to reform drug prices in 2016, joined POLITICO's podcast this week to share his perspective on the Trump plan: https://simplecast.com/s/7b2ddfbc The Community Oncology Alliance warned against the Trump plan: https://www.communityoncology.org/2018/05/16/may-16-coa-physician-survey-medicare-part-b-proposals-will-harm-patients-increase-costs-and-bureaucracy/ Vermont became the first state this week to permit drug imports from Canada: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/16/vermont-drug-imports-canada-546107 The FDA approved a biosimilar for an anemia drug this week: https://www.upi.com/FDA-approves-biosimilar-drug-for-anemia-treatment/4561526408086/ Azar appeared on the “Hugh Hewitt” radio show to discuss the drug plan this week: http://www.hughhewitt.com/hhs-secretary-alex-azar/

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HHS Secretary Alex Azar: The President is Attacking this Tough, and We're Going to Bring Down Those Drug Prices

Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2018

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tough attacking bring down drug prices hhs secretary alex azar

This is not your fathers or mothers AMA - the AMA’s Moonshot Moment - with Barbara McAneny MD, President-elect of the American Medical Association

Creating a New Healthcare

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2018 54:44

If you have not been following the great leap forward that the American Medical Association (AMA) has made over the past 5 years, then you’ve been missing out on something quite spectacular. It’s phenomenal, and phenomenally told to us by the President-elect of the AMA, Dr Barbara McAneny.What you’ll discover in this interview is that the current AMA is not your father’s or mother’s AMA. This is a bold organization that is attempting to launch the profession into the future. The breathtaking strategic initiatives and dramatic progress you’ll hear about may represent the largest inflection in the AMA’s history since the Flexner Report transformation over a century ago. And, Dr. McAneny is, in her own right, an impressive & inspiring example of leadership. She has distinguished herself many times over as a community-based oncologist, as well as a leader on the national healthcare scene.Here are a just a few snippets of the many forward thinking trajectories that you’ll hear Dr. McAneny expound upon in this interview:People want health and are not necessarily interested in healthcare, so the AMA has been focusing on improving health outcomes through the creation of their “innovation ecosystem” network.Patient outcomes are affected as much by their zip code as by the quality of the healthcare we offer; so it’s critically important to understand, measure and intervene on the social determinants of health.Medical care is no longer just an individual clinical endeavour, and will require highly collaborative partnering which combines medical science with digital technology, health economics, analytics and an understanding of patient behavior and socioeconomic factors…In this episode, Dr. McAnaney will also describe three major strategic arcs the AMA is focused on:First - the AMA’s (moonshot) “innovation ecosystem” network - a broad expanse of initiatives and highly progressive partnerships the AMA has engaged in to radically improve healthcare and health outcomes. It’s astounding to hear the sheer number of highly collaborative partnerships the AMA has formed with start-ups, accelerators, venture capitalists, tech developers & other organizations - in order to bring the physician sensibility to the development of new health technologies & digital technologies. The AMA has begun to act like an innovation convener - proactively partnering with companies such as IBM Watson, GE, Intel, the Scripps Institute, Partners Center for Connected Health, Intermountain Healthcare and Omada Health.Second - the AMA’s strategy to transform medical education by creating “the medical school of the future”. In this initiative - the ‘Accelerating Change in Medical Education’ Consortium - they’ve funded medical schools to create forward-facing curriculum and training programs. The goal is to create the ‘physician of the future’ - not only knowledgeable in the science & art of medicine, but also steeped in the science & art of management, leadership and systems thinking. At present there are over 30 medical schools involved, collectively representing a quarter of all medical students in this country.Third - the AMA’s focus on physician burnout and sustainability. Approximately 50% of physicians are burnt out according to numerous studies; and physicians daily spend over an hour on burdensome administrative work for every hour of direct patient contact. Dr. McAnaney emphasizes that it’s hugely wasteful and demoralizing to have the most highly trained and costly human resource in healthcare function as data clerks for hours each day. Of note and underscoring this point, HHS Secretary Alex Azar recently stated, “Its the patients who suffers when a provider spends more time reporting quality measures than delivering quality care”. Dr. McAneny compellingly advocates for the removal of these and other stressors, as a way to reduce physician burnout and improve healthcare. I came away from this interview with a renewed appreciation and admiration for the AMA and its mission; and with a profound respect and gratitude for the vision, integrity and selfless commitment that Dr. McAneny has manifested throughout her career.Dr. McAneny shares numerous pearls of wisdom throughout the interview - transformational inflections that you’ll want to listen to - likely, more than once. As always, I hope you get as much out of this as I have!Zeev

How the industry (and this ex-Obama official) is reacting to Alex Azar's remarks

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2018 49:13

HHS Secretary Alex Azar laid out an ambitious plan to promote value-based care this week, pledging that there's "no turning back" when it comes to reforming how hospitals and doctors get paid. What does it all mean? Karen Murphy's in position to know: She's the Chief Innovation Officer at Geisinger Health System, but she also previously worked in the Obama administration, helping to oversee value-based care efforts, and served as Pennsylvania's Secretary of Health too. Karen discussed how value-based care is playing out at the provider level, what she makes of Azar's comments on value-based care and medical marijuana, what Geisinger is doing on the biggest public health challenges and why she thinks every health care worker needs to do a stint in government. (Starts at the 18:20 mark.) But first: POLITICO's Sarah Karlin-Smith and Rachana Pradhan joined Dan Diamond to discuss the latest Trump administration changes to Medicaid, the most recent developments related to the opioid crisis and HHS' evolving communication strategy (Starts at the 1:50 mark). We'd appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com. Referenced on the podcast: Sarah's story on Donald Trump's suggestion of using the death penalty to stop the opioid epidemic: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/01/donald-trump-death-penalty-suggestion-opioid-crisis-376176 HHS Secretary Alex Azar's remarks on value-based care: https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/secretary/speeches/2018-speeches/remarks-on-value-based-transformation-to-the-federation-of-american-hospitals.html Penn professors Lawton Burns and Mark Pauly's article on value-based care: https://www.milbank.org/quarterly/articles/transformation-health-care-industry-curb-enthusiasm/

donald trump barack obama starts official reacting medicaid remarks azar pulse check geisinger geisinger health system karen murphy hhs secretary alex azar rachana pradhan mark pauly

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