CER Daily Newsfeed

The Comparative Effectiveness Research Daily Newsfeed®, known for short as the CER Daily Newsfeed®, offers the latest news, research and related information on comparative effectiveness research, real-world data and evidence, value assessment and other important health care topics. 

News from Friday, March 17, 2023

Articles

QALY Control: House Bill Would Ban Cost-Effectiveness Tool In US Programs

(3/16, Michael McCaughan, Pink Sheet) reports “...The current statutory language was attached to the section creating the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute to make clear that PCORI would not use QALYs in its analyses and then, almost as an aside, that Medicare would not use the metric either. It now appears to be settled in Congress that QALYs are evil or, at least, that it is bad politics to say otherwise. Thus, while Democrats said they remain unable to support the exact language of the bill, it cleared the subcommittee by voice vote. They may not have voted ‘yes,’ but no one voted ‘no.’ As for what metrics should be used for cost effectiveness analysis if QALYs are banned? No one said anything about that, either.” Paid Subscription Required

 

Inaxaplin Reduces Proteinuria in FSGS With APOL1 Variants

(3/17, Natasha Persaud, Renal & Urology News) reports “...According to Neil R. Powe, MD, MPH, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, ‘This research appears to be a major scientific breakthrough with enormous implications, especially for persons of African ancestry.’ Comparative effectiveness research on inaxaplin is now needed, he suggested in an accompanying editorial, including in patients with hypertensive kidney disease and with a clinical endpoint of change in eGFR and/or end-stage kidney disease. APOL1 testing is uncommon, but may increase if future studies continue to show promise results.” Full

 

Video: Dr Samyukta Mullangi: Thyme Care Provides Cancer Navigation Services at Scale With Aligned VBC Incentives

(3/17, Matthew Gavidia, The American Journal of Managed Care) “Thyme Care’s proprietary tech platform combines navigation software with analytics to ensure equitable care delivery at scale, and conducts contracting directly with payers via risk sharing contracts to align value-based care (VBC) incentives, said Samyukta Mullangi, MD, MBA, oncology fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and incoming medical director at Thyme Care.” View Video

 

The Cost of Bladder Cancer Care Is Rising. Could Value-Based Care Models Help?

(3/17, Alan P. Lyss, MD, Cancer Therapy Advisor) reports “...Solving the problem of financial toxicity ‘is going to be very difficult,’ said Cary J. Stimson, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, when giving a related presentation at ASCO GU 2023. However, Dr Stimson suggested that providing value-based care could be a solution. He defined value-based care as ‘paying for health care that works’ and said value is determined by dividing outcomes by the amount spent. He said clinicians provide value-based care when they accept financial risk for the costs of care.” Full

 

Clinical Investigators Need to Be Wary of Confounding and Bias in Real-World Studies; Here Is What to Look for and How to Address It 

(3/17, Jess Paulus, ScD, Rachel Bogh and Melissa Dsouza, The Science Advisory Board) comments “...There is increasing interest and potential for converting RWD into RWE that, through careful design, addressing bias, analysis, and interpretation, can be used to inform healthcare decision making. To help pave the way forward, several initiatives (e.g., HARPER, REPEAT, and the ISPOR/ISPE task force) are underway with the aim to improve the transparency, reproducibility, and validity of real-world studies. In addition, in 2021-2022, the FDA released a set of guidelines for improving the validity of RWD studies for regulatory decision-making, with advice on mitigating bias arising from RWD sources” Full

Press Releases

ICER Publishes White Paper on Using Comparative Effectiveness Research to Address Prescription Drug Spending in California

(3/16, ICER Press Release) “The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review recently published a White Paper, ‘Applying the Results of Comparative Effectiveness Research to Control Drug Costs: Policy Options for California,’ detailing how comparative effectiveness research can be used by policymakers and health insurers in California to address rising drug costs by aligning spending with the degree of benefit a treatment provides. ICER received a grant from the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) to develop the White Paper.” Full

Reports

Applying the Results of Comparative Effectiveness Research to Control Drug Costs: Policy Options for California

March 2023

ICER