article thumbnail

The heart of the question: Who can get Medicare-covered weight loss medicine?

Science Daily - Heart Disease

With Medicare now covering semaglutide for people with obesity and cardiovascular disease who don't have diabetes, a study looks at who that might include, depending on what cutoffs prescription plans apply.

Medicare 128
article thumbnail

GLP-1 Receptor Agonists for Diabetes Tied to Slightly Lower Depression Risk

Med Page Today

(MedPage Today) -- In older adults with diabetes, GLP-1 receptor agonists were tied to a slightly lower risk for depression compared with one diabetes drug class but not another, a target emulation trial using Medicare data found. Among 13,711.

article thumbnail

Medicare Drug Cuts Target CVD Meds, Drive Debates

CardiacWire

The White House finally unveiled its negotiated Medicare drug prices , bringing 38%-76% reductions to the first 10 drugs, while drawing mixed industry reactions. Medicare drug price negotiations are one of the highlighted results of 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act, allowing CMS to negotiate drug prices for the very first time.

article thumbnail

Weight Loss Drugs Land Medicare Coverage for Cardiovascular Events

CardiacWire

Less than two weeks after Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy gained expanded FDA approval for cardiovascular event risk reduction, CMS issued a new Medicare Part D guidance that allows coverage of obesity drugs for senior patients with “an additional medically accepted indication”… like cardiovascular disease.

article thumbnail

How to Get Free or Lower Cost Insulin for Your Medicare and Non-Medicare Patients: Shattering Barriers to Insulin Access

Cardiometabolic Health Congress

Astronomically high insulin costs have led to complications and barriers to access for millions of Americans with diabetes. However, the complexities of state-regulated insurance, Medicare insulin caps, and insulin manufacturers’ patient assistance programs create a web of resources that is complicated to navigate.

article thumbnail

Trends in direct health care costs among US adults with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with and without diabetes

Cardiovascular Diabetology

Objective Population-based national data on the trends in expenditures related to coexisting atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD) and diabetes is scarce. Individuals with diabetes had a 1.5-fold fold higher mean expenditure that those without diabetes. individuals aged ≥ 18 years.

article thumbnail

Validation of Medicare Advantage Claims for Long-Term Outcome Assessment in Low-Risk Aortic Valve Replacement

Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality & Outcomes

BACKGROUND:Although Medicare Advantage (MA) plans provide coverage to >50% of Medicare beneficiaries, it is unclear whether MA claims can be used similarly to Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) claims for clinical outcomes assessment. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, Ahead of Print.