In Brief: State’s Minorities Less Likely To Receive Colon Cancer Screening Advice; Covered California Imposes Specialty Drug Cost Caps

State’s Minorities Less Likely To Receive Colon Cancer Screening Advice

A new study by researchers at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has concluded that minorities may be getting short shrifted on advice for colon cancer screening.

The study, which used data from the California Health Information Survey, focused on nearly 5,800 residents between the ages of 50 and 75 who had never undergone a colon cancer screening. Such screenings are recommended after the age of 50. Slightly more than half of the group was white, 21% were Latinos; 12% were Asian; and 5.3% were African-American.

According to the responses from those surveys, 19% overall said they had not received a screening recommendation from their physician. But 25% of African-Americans, 21% of Latinos and 22% of Asians did not obtain a screening due to the lack of a physician recommendation. By comparison, just 17% of whites said their doctors had failed to make such a recommendation.

Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that the screening rates among whites is 56%, but well below 50% for most minority groups. That's despite the fact that colon cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. and that African-Americans are far likelier to die from the disease than any other minority group.

The study, which was published in the most recent issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology, suggested that more research be undertaken to determine why there was a gap among recommending screening among racial lines.

Covered California Imposes Specialty Drug Cost Caps

The Covered California health insurance exchange has moved to cap patient costs for specialty prescription drugs.

Covered California's board of directors voted earlier this month to initiate the cost caps, which range from $150 a month for those enrolled in gold plans to $500 a month for those enrolled in bronze plans. The vast majority of Covered California enrollees will have their costs capped at $250 per month – the limit for those enrolled in silver plans -- the exchange said in a statement. The caps will go into effect starting Jan. 1 of next year. 

“This is the first time that an exchange has ensured that all of its consumers have access to the medications they need,” said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee. “These new policies strike a balance between ensuring Covered California consumers can afford the medication they need to treat chronic and life-threatening conditions while keeping premiums affordable for all.”

The caps are in response to dramatic increases in the costs of drugs in recent years, particularly those that can cure chronic diseases. According to data recently released by Express Scripts, more than 500,000 Americans had drug costs that exceeded $50,000 last year.

Covered California resisted calls from health insurers to set the caps at higher rates that would have started at around $500 a month.