Reports Outline Managed Care Findings from National Center for Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion (Review of Publicly Available State Policies for Long-acting Reversible Contraception Device Reimbursement): Managed Care

2022 AUG 30 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators publish new report on Managed Care. According to news reporting from Atlanta, Georgia, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Provider challenges to accessing long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) include level of reimbursement for LARC device acquisition and cost to stock. State-level LARC device reimbursement policies that cover a greater proportion of the cost of the LARC device and enable providers to purchase LARC upfront may improve contraceptive access.”

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from National Center for Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion, “To summarize state-level policies that include language on LARC device reimbursement in the outpatient setting, we conducted a systematic, web-based review among all 50 states of publicly available LARC device reimbursement policies that include coverage of LARC devices as a medical or pharmacy benefit, the use of the 340B Drug Pricing Program to purchase LARC devices, and separate payment for LARC devices outside of the Medicaid Prospective Payment System (PPS) payment rate for Federally Qualified Health Centers or Rural Health Clinics. Forty-two percent (21/50) of states with publicly available state-level policies included language on LARC device reimbursement. Among the states, 24% (5/21) had coverage policies as a medical benefit, 33% (7/21) as a pharmacy benefit, and 19% (4/21) as both a medical benefit and pharmacy benefit; 38% (8/21) used the 340B Program to purchase LARC devices; and 62% (13/21) indicated separate payment for LARC devices outside of the Medicaid PPS payment rate. State-level policies for LARC device reimbursement vary, highlighting differences in reimbursement strategies across the U.S.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Future research could explore how the implementation of these payment methods may impact LARC device reimbursement and whether increased reimbursement may improve access to the full range of contraceptive methods.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Review of Publicly Available State Policies for Long-acting Reversible Contraception Device Reimbursement. Journal of Women’s Health, 2022;31(7):1048-1056. Journal of Women’s Health can be contacted at: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc, 140 Huguenot Street, 3RD Fl, New Rochelle, NY 10801, USA. (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. - www.liebertpub.com; Journal of Women’s Health - http://www.liebertpub.com/overview/journal-of-womens-health/42/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Lisa Romero, Cdcp, Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion, Atlanta, GA, United States. Additional authors for this research include Charlan D. Kroelinger, Ekwutosi M. Okoroh, Chioma Erondu, Shanna Cox, Olivia R. Sappenfield, Keriann Uesugi and Julia F. Howland.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2021.0361. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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