The introduction of injectable PCSK9 enzyme inhibitors to manage cholesterol—and the sticker shock the drug’s price will bring to consumers—might be the impetus for the healthcare system to develop consensus about the pricing of specialty medications.

Hospitals may have a reputation for being less than efficient, but an analysis of Medicare patients treated for MI, heart failure and pneumonia challenges that notion. Productivity in hospitals actually has grown in recent years, researchers report in Health Affairs.

The Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at Brookings has some suggestions if Congress again proposes a “pay for value” approach to Medicare payment.

Using an insertable cardiac monitor to identify atrial fibrillation in patients with cryptogenic stroke is cost-effective, at least from a UK healthcare system’s perspective. The results are likely to catch the eye of the FDA, too, the lead researcher told Cardiovascular Business.

The New York Times Upshot section considers “heart doctors as a great example” of the consequences of the shift from private to employed practice: higher fees because of Medicare’s funding system. The current budget proposal attempts to eliminate that gap, according to the article.

A second look at data from a study comparing ticagrelor to clopidogrel in patients with acute coronary syndrome explored the comparative cost-effectiveness of the two treatments. Ticagrelor scored on value but editorial writers raised concerns.  

While the perpetual patching of the sustainable growth rate formula remains a thorn in physicians’ side, the Upshot section of the New York Times argues it has forced lawmakers to look for savings within the Medicare budget. That maneuvering has helped keep costs down, which was the intention of the flawed legislation. 

If it seems like it has become harder to get devices such as valves, stents, diagnostic imaging technologies and drugs covered under Medicare’s national coverage determination process—well, it has. So concludes an analysis published in the February issue of Health Affairs.