Medicaid Expenditures for Cancer: Evidence from Medicaid-only Beneficiaries in Four States

This study estimates the cost burden of 6 prevalent invasive cancers—breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, melanoma, and prostate—on Medicaid programs in 4 states. The analyses use Medicaid claims and enrollment data for all Medicaid-only beneficiaries over age 18 in Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, and Maine with at least 1 month of enrollment in fee-for-service Medicaid from 2000 to 2003. We applied ordinary least squares regression analysis to a data set created from Medicaid claims and enrollment data to estimate annual expenditures attributable to each cancer after controlling for age, race, gender, and comorbid conditions. Cancers and comorbid conditions were identified on the basis of claims with an appropriate diagnosis code. Cancers include both incident and prevalent cases. In 2003 dollars, annualized Medicaid expenditures attributable to the 6 cancers combined in the Medicaid-only population were $84.0 million in Georgia,$79.7 million in Illinois, $51.4 million in Louisiana, and$29.4 million in Maine. Attributable annualized per-capita Medicaid expenditures were highest for lung cancer, then colorectal cancer. After adjusting for sociodemographics and comorbidities, only 10% to 50% of medical expenditures among Medicaid-only beneficiaries with cancer were attributable to cancer. Estimates of the costs of care for Medicaid-eligible cancer patients are critical to understanding the implications of cancer for state and federal budgets. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 is expected to substantially expand the adult Medicaid population. These estimates provide important baseline information for assessing the potential effects of increased Medicaid enrollment on Medicaid expenditures for cancer

Cancer Treatment for Dual Eligibles: What Are the Costs and Who Pays?

This study quantifies treatment costs for melanoma and breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer among patients with dual Medicare and Medicaid eligibility. The analyses use merged Medicare and Medicaid Analytic eXtract enrollment and claims data for dually eligible beneficiaries age18 in Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, and Maine in 2003 (n=892,001). We applied ordinary least squares regression analysis to estimate annual expenditures attributable to each cancer after controlling for beneficiaries’ age, race/ethnicity, sex, and comorbid conditions, and state fixed effects. Cancers and comorbid conditions were identified on the basis of diagnosis codes on insurance claims. The most prevalent cancers were prostate (38.4 per 1,000 men) and breast (30.7 per 1,000 women). Dual eligibles with the study cancers had higher rates of other chronic conditions such as hypertension and arthritis than other beneficiaries. Total Medicare and Medicaid expenditures for dual eligibles with the study cancers ranged from $30,328 for those with lung cancer to$17,011 for those with breast cancer, compared with $10,664 for beneficiaries without the cancers. However, only 9$256 million ($314 million in 2012 dollars). Dual eligibles with these cancers also had high rates of other medical conditions. These comorbidities should be recognized, both in documenting cancer treatment costs and in developing programs and policies that promote timely cancer diagnosis and treatment

Evidence-based models of care for the treatment of alcohol use disorder in primary health care settings : Protocol for systematic review

Background Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is highly prevalent and accounts globally for 1.6% of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) among females and 6.0% of DALYs among males. Effective treatments for AUDs are available but are not commonly practiced in primary health care. Furthermore, referral to specialized care is often not successful and patients that do seek treatment are likely to have developed more severe dependence. A more cost-efficient health care model is to treat less severe AUD in a primary care setting before the onset of greater dependence severity. Few models of care for the management of AUD in primary health care have been developed and with limited implementation. This proposed systematic review will synthesize and evaluate differential models of care for the management of AUD in primary health care settings. Methods We will conduct a systematic review to synthesize studies that evaluate the effectiveness of models of care in the treatment of AUD in primary health care. A comprehensive search approach will be conducted using the following databases; MEDLINE (1946 to present), PsycINFO (1806 to present), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (1991 to present), and Embase (1947 to present). Reference searches of relevant reviews and articles will be conducted. Similarly, a gray literature search will be done with the help of Google and the gray matter tool which is a checklist of health-related sites organized by topic. Two researchers will independently review all titles and abstracts followed by full-text review for inclusion. The planned method of extracting data from articles and the critical appraisal will also be done in duplicate. For the critical appraisal, the Cochrane risk of bias tool 2.0 will be used. Discussion This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to guide improvement of design and implementation of evidence-based models of care for the treatment of alcohol use disorder in primary health care settings. The evidence will define which models are most promising and will guide further research. Protocol registration number PROSPERO CRD42019120293

Translational development of difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) for the treatment of neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma is a childhood tumor in which MYC oncogenes are commonly activated to drive tumor progression. Survival for children with high-risk neuroblastoma remains poor despite treatment that incorporates high-dose chemotherapy, stem cell support, surgery, radiation therapy and immunotherapy. More effective and less toxic treatments are sought and one approach under clinical development involves re-purposing the anti-protozoan drug difluoromethylornithine (DFMO; Eflornithine) as a neuroblastoma therapeutic. DFMO is an irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (Odc), a MYC target gene, bona fide oncogene, and the rate-limiting enzyme in polyamine synthesis. DFMO is approved for the treatment of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense encephalitis (“African sleeping sickness”) since polyamines are essential for the proliferation of these protozoa. However, polyamines are also critical for mammalian cell proliferation and the finding that MYC coordinately regulates all aspects of polyamine metabolism suggests polyamines may be required to support cancer promotion by MYC. Pre-emptive blockade of polyamine synthesis is sufficient to block tumor initiation in an otherwise fully penetrant transgenic mouse model of neuroblastoma driven by MYCN, underscoring the necessity of polyamines in this process. Moreover, polyamine depletion regimens exert potent anti-tumor activity in pre-clinical models of established neuroblastoma as well, in combination with numerous chemotherapeutic agents and even in tumors with unfavorable genetic features such as MYCN, ALK or TP53 mutation. This has led to the testing of DFMO in clinical trials for children with neuroblastoma. Current trial designs include testing lower dose DFMO alone (2,000 mg/m2/day) starting at the completion of standard therapy, or higher doses combined with chemotherapy (up to 9,000 mg/m2/day) for patients with relapsed disease that has progressed. In this review we will discuss important considerations for the future design of DFMO-based clinical trials for neuroblastoma, focusing on the need to better define the principal mechanisms of anti-tumor activity for polyamine depletion regimens. Putative DFMO activities that are both cancer cell intrinsic (targeting the principal oncogenic driver, MYC) and cancer cell extrinsic (altering the tumor microenvironment to support anti-tumor immunity) will be discussed. Understanding the mechanisms of DFMO activity are critical in determining how it might be best leveraged in upcoming clinical trials. This mechanistic approach also provides a platform by which iterative pre-clinical testing using translational tumor models may complement our clinical approaches

Evidence based models of care for the treatment of alcohol use disorder in primary health care settings : A systematic review

Background Pharmacological and behavioural treatments for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are effective but the uptake is limited. Primary care could be a key setting for identification and continuous care for AUD due to accessibility, low cost and acceptability to patients. We aimed to synthesise the literature regarding differential models of care for the management of AUD in primary health care settings. Methods We conducted a systematic review of articles published worldwide (1998-present) using the following databases; Medline, PsycINFO, Cochrane database of systematic reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Embase. The Grey Matters Tool guided the grey literature search. We selected randomised controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of a primary care model in the management of AUD. Two researchers independently assessed and then reached agreement on the included studies. We used the Cochrane risk of bias tool 2.0 for the critical appraisal. Results Eleven studies (4186 participants) were included. We categorised the studies into ‘lower’ versus ‘higher’ intensity given the varying intensity of clinical care evaluated across the studies. Significant differences in treatment uptake were reported by most studies. The uptake of AUD medication was reported in 5 out of 6 studies that offered AUD medication. Three studies reported a significantly higher uptake of AUD medication in the intervention group. A significant reduction in alcohol use was reported in two out of the five studies with lower intensity of care, and three out of six studies with higher intensity of care. Conclusion Our results suggest that models of care in primary care settings can increase treatment uptake (e.g. psychosocial and/or pharmacotherapy) although results for alcohol-related outcomes were mixed. More research is required to determine which specific patient groups are suitable for AUD treatment in primary health care settings and to identify which models and components are most effective. Trial Registration PROSPERO: CRD42019120293

Children with new onset seizures: A prospective study of parent variables, child behavior problems, and seizure occurrence

OBJECTIVE: Parent variables (stigma, mood, unmet needs for information and support, and worry) are associated with behavioral difficulties in children with seizures; however, it is not known how this relationship is influenced by additional seizures. This study followed children (ages 4-14 years) and their parents over a 24-month period (with data collected at baseline and 6, 12, and 24 months) and investigated the effect of an additional seizure on the relationship between parenting variables and child behavior difficulties. METHODS: The sample was parents of 196 children (104 girls and 92 boys) with a first seizure within the past 6 weeks. Child mean age at baseline was 8 years, 3 months (SD 3 years). Data were analyzed using t-tests, chi-square tests, and repeated measures analyses of covariance. RESULTS: Relationships between parent variables, additional seizures, and child behavior problems were consistent across time. Several associations between parent variables and child behavior problems were stronger in the additional seizure group than in the no additional seizure group. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that interventions that assist families to respond constructively to the reactions of others regarding their child's seizure condition and to address their needs for information and support could help families of children with continuing seizures to have an improved quality of life

Taking Blockchain Seriously

In the present techno-political moment it is clear that ignoring or dismissing the hype surrounding blockchain is unwise, and certainly for regulatory authorities and governments who must keep a grip on the technology and those promoting it, in order to ensure democratic accountability and regulatory legitimacy within the blockchain ecosystem and beyond. Blockchain is telling (and showing) us something very important about the evolution of capital and neoliberal economic reason, and the likely impact in the near future on forms and patterns of work, social organization, and, crucially, on communities and individuals who lack influence over the technologies and data that increasingly shape and control their lives. In this short essay I introduce some of the problems in the regulation of blockchain and offer counter-narratives aimed at cutting through the hype fuelling the ascendency of this most contemporary of technologies

Invasive Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Respiratory Virus Co-infections

Each year, especially in the winter, many get sick and some die of invasive pneumococcal pneumonia. Does this type of pneumonia increase in the winter because people are in closer contact indoors?  Or are people more susceptible to this bacterial disease after having had a seasonal respiratory virus infection?  A season-by-season analysis found an association between pneumococcal pneumonia and two viruses (influenza and respiratory syncytial virus). The association varied by season and was strongest when the predominant influenza virus subtype was H3N2. Vaccination against influenza and RSV should also help protect against pneumococcal pneumonia

Fiction Fix 14

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