The Massachusetts House passed a bill which aims to curb the use of step therapy by health insurers. Drugs that are designated with a “step therapy” condition of reimbursement are only paid for by ...

Step therapy is when Medicare Part D plans ask beneficiaries to try a more affordable drug before approving higher-cost prescriptions. In Medicare, Part D covers general prescription drugs, whereas ...

An opinion forum on recent news and major policy issues. Have a story suggestion? Let us know. For the third time in the past four years, the California Legislature considered a bill that would limit ...

The frequency with which 7 of the largest Medicare Advantage plans impose step therapy protocols in their Part B drug coverage decisions varies substantially. Objectives: First, to examine 7 large ...

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently sent shudders through the specialty drug market by authorizing Medicare Advantage Plans to use step therapy protocols for Part B drugs. The ...

To keep rising health-care costs in check, many health insurers have adopted a strategy known as "step therapy," a policy requiring patients to try cheaper drugs first—and find them to be ...

As science makes once-unthinkable treatments available, patients are increasingly facing a harsh reality: Insurance companies are forcing them to try older, less expensive therapies for months before ...

For roughly half my life, I have suffered from debilitating joint pain and inflammation that left me drained, fatigued, and, eventually, struggling to walk. At first, no one knew what was wrong with ...

When he was diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases, Joel Hechler knew he’d be in for a battle. He didn’t realize maybe his toughest one would be with his insurance company. “I think they put the ...

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on . Despite a mounting number of state-level laws enacted to protect vulnerable patients against step therapy ...

After President Donald Trump announced last week that the federal government will begin negotiating with drug manufacturers for lower prices on medicines paid for by Medicare Part B, discussion has ...