May 21, 2024
Providers | Tea Leaves
  • Health and Wellness company Hims & Hers announced that it will begin offering weight loss shots at an 85 percent discount compared to the popular drug Wegovy. The telehealth company’s stock soared over 27 percent Monday after it said it would begin selling compounded versions of the GLP-1 injections that are soaring in popularity. The treatments will be offered for $199 monthly, which “includes unlimited medical consultations with a licensed provider” and must be prescribed based on what is “medically appropriate and necessary for each patient,” the company said. (Articles here and here)
  • The Senate Finance Committee on Friday released a white paper proposing that Medicare adjust doctor reimbursement to account for inflation, a key goal for physician lobbies. In the Friday white paper, the Finance Committee said it was interested in policy options to update the conversion factor in a more predictable way while taking into account rising costs. That could include tying the annual conversion factor update to the Medicare Economic Index, an annual measure of cost inflation for clinicians. The Committee is also interested in exploring ways to use incentives to increase provider participation in alternative payment models and potential changes to Medicare’s budget neutrality requirements, which require CMS to cut payment to certain specialties to raise it for others. (Article here)