Opioid addiction kills thousands of people every year. In 2014, for example: There were 18,893 overdose deaths related to prescription painkillers There were 10,574 overdose deaths related to heroin Despite these shocking numbers, the problem continues to grow. (It quadrupled in the first decade of this century and continues to explode). In the past twelve…
The Trends and Complexity of Provider-Administered Drugs With approximately 50 percent of the $124 billion annual specialty drug spend is billed on the medical benefit. Each year, we study this trend with commercial payers in our annual Medical Pharmacy Trend Report. This report continues to be the only publication of its kind to analyze high-cost injectable…
Uncertainty is the name of the game for many industries today, including healthcare. With rapidly emerging technologies, regulations and changing consumer demands, companies must manage differently in order to keep up. Jeff Dyer, innovation visionary and co-author of the highly acclaimed, The Innovator’s DNA and its follow-on publication, The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills…
The room at the inaugural Magellan Open Vision Exchange (MOVE) this past March was a sight to see. Filled with a buzz of energy and openness to think differently, Magellan executives, clients and partners gathered in shared pursuit of a better, more efficient healthcare experience of tomorrow. Collectively, the leaders in the room had impact over…
Opioid addiction has grown over the past fifteen years from a personal issue to a national emergency. A new infographic from Magellan Healthcare reveals the devastation that this epidemic is causing. In 2014, there were 18,893 overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers There was a 3,203% rise insurance claims for opioid dependence diagnosis from 2007-2014…
**The following blog post was co-authored by Dr. Maria Lopes, chief medical officer of Magellan Rx Management, and Dr. Karen Amstutz, chief medical officer of Magellan Health. Value is more than a buzz word among health care stakeholders, but stakeholders – payers, providers, patients and pharmaceutical manufacturers — define value differently, based on their needs,…
What’s in a word? Much more than many of us realize. In the context of behavioral health, substance use and even physical health challenges, using terms and phrases that group people by diagnosis, disability, disease and other characteristics perpetuates stigma, discrimination and exclusion. Yet this type of language has been part of the healthcare lexicon…
Magellan Health marked October as Substance Abuse Prevention Month, with its chief medical officer, Dr. Karen Amstutz, releasing the following statement: “Substance abuse does not discriminate. It pays no mind to gender, race, age or income level. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the abuse of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs costs the United…