A new study examining the use of high-cost drugs among patients with colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer found those insured through Medicare Advantage received less expensive cancer drugs compared to others on Traditional Medicare.

The findings were published today in JAMA Health Forum.

"Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and colorectal cancer ranks third. Gaining a better understanding of treatment options and their costs under different insurance plans is important for assessing the overall healthcare landscape and how insurances manage patient costs,” said the study’s first author Cathy Bradley, PhD, Dean of the Colorado School of Public Health.

The study found Medicare Advantage patients received less expensive cancer drugs, particularly for colorectal cancer, when compared to Traditional Medicare. But this was not the case for non-small cell lung cancer. The researchers found there are less low-cost treatment alternatives available, resulting in high-cost drugs regardless of insurance.

Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have found that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)—organizations that negotiate access to medicines for most patients in the United States—steer patients to use their own pharmacies. However, these pharmacies appear less used in Medicare than in other market segments. These PBMs are part of integrated health care conglomerates that own insurance companies and pharmacies, which may create conflicts of interest.

A new study highlights growing public support in the United States for eco-social policies designed to address the interconnected ecological and social crises of our time. The research, led by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) and the London School of Economics (LSE), evaluated public support for four key innovative eco-social proposals: reducing working hours (as low as 28 hours per week), downscaling fossil fuel production, providing universal basic services, and limiting advertising for high-emission goods.

In this Policy Forum, John Bistline and colleagues analyze the potential impacts of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s finalized power plant rules regarding greenhouse gas emissions. Using nine models of the U.S. electric sector and energy systems, the researchers found that the rules would speed up the reduction of emissions in the power sector. Under the rules, the levels of carbon dioxide emitted by the sector would be 61%-81% below 2005 levels by 2040. Under current policies, emission levels would be 51% to 83% below 2005 levels by 2040, indicating that the finalized rules would narrow the range of emission levels. As the U.S. electric power sector is the second-highest greenhouse gas emitting sector in the world’s second highest emitting country, the researchers suggest their analysis can help guide utilities and lawmakers as they make technology and compliance changes in response to the new rules. The models by Bistline et al. also show that the costs of regulations under the new rules are limited relative to costs without the rules, mainly due to the cost-effectiveness of coal CO₂ reductions and flexible compliance options. The rules also reduce co-pollutant emissions that “can bring near-term air quality benefits and improve public health in environmental justice communities, which have historically been disproportionately impacted by pollution, and beyond,” Bistline et al. write. However, the fate of the EPA finalized rules is uncertain under a new presidential administration, the researchers note.

Contrary to the long-held belief that the mid-career crisis plagues everyone, new research suggests that job satisfaction follows a U-shaped trajectory only for managerial and professional workers. This provocative finding challenges societal perceptions surrounding midlife and calls for a revaluation of workplace support for individuals in their 40s and 50s.