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Radio Shows
July 13, 2011
By Jennifer C. Smith
The market potential for companies in state exchanges is enormous considering that states could have multiple exchanges depending on internal geographies, said Brenda Gleason, president, M2 Health Care Consulting. "That's at least 100 exchanges and there will probably be more," she added.
"The way I look at it, there will be a hot level of competition among markets to pick up 30 million lives," Mendelson said. Half of those lives are under exchange and roughly the other half account for new Medicaid enrollees as part of the healthcare law's expansion of state Medicaid programs.
The rule allows an exchange to contract with a state Medicaid agency through which it determines patient eligibility. Medicaid managed care (MMC) organizations such as Centene (NYSE: CNC), Molina Healthcare (NYSE: MOH) and Amerigroup (NYSE: AGP) are eager to participate in the exchanges in order to have easier access to the nearly 15m patients that would roll into the government program, Gleason noted.
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Posted December 13, 2010
By Eugene J. Koprowski
"As a pure health policy concept, defined contributions are a great idea," Brenda Gleason, president of M2 Healthcare Consulting in Washington D.C., tells WND. "But there are major problems with providing defined contributions en masse for U.S. health-care consumers."
Gleason reckons that the marketplace does not provide enough easy-to-access information for consumers to be able to comparison shop among competing health insurance plans. So they cannot easily find out the true costs of the services provided by doctors, hospitals and others.
That problem, Gleason said, is a matter of making the information available in a uniform way. The new GOP Congress could put in place laws that require health-care vendors to provide "transparent information" on pricing and services, said Gleason.
But the bigger, political problem comes after that.
"Saying a specific constituency deserves a benefit is much easier than saying they deserve a dollar amount," Gleason said. "Politically, it is nearly impossible to provide benefits with clear dollar values with taxpayer money. Poor people get Medicaid. Old people get Medicare because the argument is either they deserve it or earned it. But arguing dollar amounts [for the general population] is a political loser."
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Posted Nov. 8, 2010
By Pamela Lewis Dolan
Early success of some regional extension centers -- consulting services created to help physician practices meet "meaningful use" standards for health information technology -- indicates that physicians may be more willing to work with people they already know and trust, or ones who offer their services for free.
More than $640 million was allocated from the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, a part of the 2009 economic stimulus package, to create 62 regional extension centers across the country. The centers develop their own models for advising physicians on health information technology issues. Although some received grants as early as February, many received funding only in September, leaving little time to recruit physicians.
"RECs aren't seen as particularly helpful for some physician practices, because the information they provide is limited, and in many cases they are charging for it," said Brenda Gleason, president of M2 Health Care Consulting, which has offices in Denver and Washington, D.C.
Gleason advises doctors to check back with the RECs if they decided they don't have much to offer right now. "As time goes by, and there is more pressure to enlist physicians, benefits could be added down the road. Decide now, and put a reminder on your calendar to check back in three months and six months to see if anything has changed," she said.
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September 27, 2010
By Peter Donnelly and Jennifer C. Smith
DexCom (NASDAQ: DXCM) is in discussions with mobile telecom operators in the US about potential JVs for a mobile health (mhealth) application of its diabetes product, a company source said.
But the lack of Food & Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines concerning mobile phone use in the delivery of medical information is proving a hindrance to the talks, the source at the San Diego-based medical device company added.
...But mhealth vendors don't know where they stand in FDA's medical device regulatory purview because the agency has not issued clear guidance on which devices are exempt from pre-market review, Gleason said. The vendor can market a product, but risk having it pulled by the FDA, she said. Or the vendor could spend the time and money to get premarket approval to then find out that such a move was not necessary.
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August 18, 2010
By Elizabeth Krutoholow & Jennifer C. Smith
The ASP + 6% model would mean a profit for physicians if the assumption that patients are covered 100% were true, noted Brenda Gleason, president of M2 Health Care Consulting. Still, she pointed out that the front-desk staff of oncologists' offices should know their patient coverage plans so as to inform physicians on whether denosumab would be an expense the patient and inevitably physicians could not afford.
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August 13, 2010
By Abigail Moss & Jennifer C. Smith
Brenda Gleason, president at M2 Health Care Consulting, called the ASCO letter "aggressive," yet said she does not think that CMS will cut the NCA process short and agree to cover Provenge right away considering the political climate. The public and Congress have expressed concerns on external influences in government decisions, such as in the passage of healthcare reform, and "it wouldn't look good if CMS did whatever ASCO wanted," she added. Yet CMS will have to make it very clear on why it is having the NCA, she noted.
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July 30, 2010
By Jennifer C. Smith
Gleason said smaller companies do not have the infrastructure and institutional expertise that larger firms have. "They may be more innovative, but they are less savvy when it comes to dealing with regulators," she said. She also said that 2011 "would be the absolute earliest" she would expect changes in the regulatory structure or even an issuance of guidance. The FDA officials acknowledged at a Congressional hearing last week that it considers LDTs to be devices requiring the agency's clearance or approval but these devices have been a long-standing concern, Gleason pointed out.
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August 5, 2010
By Drew Armstrong
Today's report suggests the business climate will be shifting in favor of insurers looking to cut medical costs and away from doctors and hospitals fighting for higher rates, said Brenda Gleason, president of M2 Health Care Consulting in Washington. The Medicare trustees, in stronger language than in the past, said providers must "adjust their expectations," she said in a telephone interview.
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June 07, 2010
By Alex Nussbaum
The new rules may turn the rate-setting process into "a game of Whack-a-Mole" for health plans, said Brenda Gleason, president of Washington, D.C.-based M2 Health Care Consulting. "The first plan to stick its head up and ask for more than its competitors are asking is going to get whacked."
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May 10, 2010
By Ryan Schuster
Health insurance companies acknowledge some of the virtues of the new health care legislation that will extend coverage to 32 million uninsured and help some small businesses afford insurance coverage.
The new legislation also includes more than $11 billion in funding over the next decade for the expansion and improvement of community health centers in rural and urban parts of the country, which is intended to help nearly double the number of patients the facilities will be able to see in the next five years.
"That's a big chunk of change,” says Brenda Gleason of the Washington, D.C.-based M2 Health Care consulting firm. "Those clinics will get more money, they will be able to hire more doctors and bring in more technology that they don't have right now.” Read more
April 05, 2010
By Alex Nussbaum
While the 2011 rates won't keep up with rising medical costs, insurers will offset some of the expense by raising premiums on customers, said Brenda Gleason, a health-policy consultant to drug companies and private equity firms.
"I don't think you're going to see any major hit to earnings to these companies in the next 12 months," Gleason, president of Washington-based M2 Health Care Consulting, said yesterday in a telephone interview. "They're well-prepared to do what they need to do as far as contracting goes." Read more
March 03, 2010
By Charlie Mead
In audio, Brenda Gleason, president of Washington D.C.-based M2 Health Care Consulting LLC, and other health industry leaders explain the consequences of Medicare Part D and the recent proposals to close the gap.
Includes an interactive graphic explaining the Medicare doughnut hole. Read more
Feb 25, 2010
By Charlie Mead
The pitch offers a strategic glimpse into an industry rife with insecurity, as purveyors of health care information software scramble to book clients without knowing for sure the specific criteria their products must achieve. The government's economic stimulus plan allocates huge sums to encourage adoption of electronic health records.
"This is really going to be an elbow-to-elbow, gladiator type fight," said Brenda Gleason, president of Washington D.C.-based M2 Health Care Consulting LLC, of the competitive landscape among vendors. Read more
February 22, 2010
by Alex Nussbaum
Obama is nonetheless giving insurers "most of what they bargained for" when the industry offered its own reforms more than a year ago, said Gleason, the president of M2 Health Care Consulting, in a telephone interview.
The insurers' biggest win is the mandate, retained in Monday's summary, that all Americans obtain insurance coverage, she said. While the rate-review board may cut into profit, it's doubtful the board would completely deny requests for higher premiums, Gleason said. The administration knows that doing so might cause companies to pull out of markets altogether, she said. Read more
October 1, 2009
By Celeste Altus
Kennedy's legacy was one of pragmatic compromise to get a bill passed, even if
it didn't have everything he wanted, agrees Brenda Gleason, an author and
president of Washington, DC's M2 Health Care Consulting.
"His absence has left many left-leaning policymakers in the capital desperately
wanting to do something for Teddy, or do what Teddy would have done," Gleason
said. "The trouble is, everyone is using this as a rallying cry for defending
whatever their particular position is. In reality, what 'Teddy would have done'
is compromise and get all the cats herded to get some kind of reform bill
passed.
"Kennedy's passing could turn out to be pivotal if no one else is willing to
pick up the ball and run with it-that is, put constituents before ideology and
do something, even if it's not perfect," Gleason added. Read more
August 24, 2009
By Francesca Lunzer Kritz
Many colleges offer their own plan, typically costing about $1,000 to $2,000 per
year. That can be well below the cost of continuing coverage under a parent's
employment plan and below individual plans you might buy through insurance
brokers such as ehealthinsurance.com. But Brenda Gleason, president of M2 Health
Care Consulting in Washington, D.C., says you'll want to check to see how
comprehensive the coverage is.
"Some college plans may exclude some pre-existing conditions, such as allergies
or even cancer, which could mean you'd have to factor in how to pay for the care
you need for a condition, such as drugs for asthma," she says. Read more
July 13, 2009
By Simona Covel
M2 Health Care Consulting was profiled in a WSJ Small Business piece focused on
health reform and purchasing health insurance for employees. Read more
July 10, 2009
By Morgan Lewis, Jr.
"If the problem is the number of uninsured, reform was a success," says Brenda
Gleason, an adjunct faculty member at the George Washington University School of
Public Health and Health Services, and president of M2 Health Care Consulting.
"If the problem is cost, reform has failed. Costs have gone up, not down. Since
Massachusetts reformed their system, health costs have followed the same path as
the U.S. as a whole: a steady upward climb, faster than inflation or wages."
Read more
May 18, 2009
By Troy May
"Studies show small practices will pay an average of $125,000 over five years to
implement an EMR. It is true the incentives alone won't cover the cost of
purchasing an EMR, but it is very unlikely a subsidy will be offered again,"
said Brenda Gleason, president of M2 Health Care Consulting in New York City.
"So while practices may be thinking it's still too expensive, it won't get less
expensive if you wait. In fact, it may get more expensive if penalties are
enforced, as they are scheduled to, starting in 2015," she said. Read more
May 2009
By Marcia Clemmitt
M2 was interviewed regarding policy and reproductive ethics for the May 2009
issue. The CQ Researcher offers in-depth, non-biased coverage of today's most
important issues. Each report is on a single topic-more than 12,000 words of
text and extensive bibliographies. Read more
April 30, 2009
By Angelo DePalma
In its defense NICE must make do under budgeting constraints that dictate
decisions come down to simple arithmetic. "It's a very well-defined line," says
Brenda Gleason, MPH, president of M2 Health Care Consulting (Washington, DC), a
health policy consulting firm. "If you clear it you're covered; if you don't
you're not." Read more at Pharmaceutical Commerce
By Kristen King
Providing extensive commentary in the latest issue of the ASCO-sponsored journal
(Vol 5, No 2 (March), 2009: pp. 80-82), when it comes to comparative
effectiveness, Brenda recommends oncologists act as activists and advocates:
"Oncologists need to remain vigilant in using the guidelines in place when they
exist, and continue to advocate for patients, and their own professional
integrity as experts in their field, when the guidelines don't exist," says
Brenda Gleason, president of M2 Health Care Consulting, LLC. Read more
April 8, 2009
By Steve Weinstein
Three years ago, Lior Blik saw the future, and it was health care. More and more
hospitals and medical practices were signing up with NIT Connect, the Manhattan
information-technology consultant and service provider that he founded and
heads. Today, the privately held company's health care division accounts for
three-quarters of its nearly $7 million in annual revenue.
Thanks to a provision in President Barack Obama's stimulus package, Mr. Blik
expects that sales could grow by as much as $10 million next year. As he
jokingly puts it, "Our future is definitely brighter since we hired Obama as a
marketing consultant."
The Obama administration wants all health providers to go paperless by 2015. It
has put forward a proposal that Brenda Gleason, president of M2 Health Care
Consulting in Washington, D.C., calls a "combination of carrot and
stick"-awarding higher payouts to Medicare physicians and hospitals that use
electronic health records, and penalizing those that don't. Participating
doctors would receive $44,000 over five years, and hospitals could get much
more, into the millions of dollars.
Read more at Crain's New York
Friday, February 27, 2009
Washington Business Journal - by Jennifer-Nycz-Conner Staff Reporter
When Steven Shapiro isn't teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of
Maryland or lecturing to land use trade groups, he can often be found on a
tennis court studying ways to defeat his opponents there.
Success in both arenas - public speaking and sports - depends on preparation.
Lately, Shapiro has been turning up the jazz to prepare for trips to both the
tennis court and the speaker's podium.
Other public speakers have their own methods for getting rid of the jitters
before a presentation. Below are just a few of them. See if one or more these
techniques can help you avoid the dreaded pre-presentation freakout.
"The best thing you can do in the hour before is act like a participant. Listen
to the other speakers with genuine interest - in the end that is what you will
want the most when you take the stage," advised Brenda Gleason, president of M2
Health Care Consulting. Read more at Washington Business Journal
By Marc Longpre
February 26, 2009
President Obama's budget proposal for 2010 contains a larger than expected hit
to health insurers, industry experts said, but if approved would serve as a
substantial push toward his promise for health reform in 2009.
The proposal aims to pinpoint areas of potential savings in order to eventually
pay for the ambitious health reform agenda. In total, the administration expects
to save USD 634bn on health care as part of the president's budget proposals.
And while industry observers widely expected the cuts, the aggressiveness with
which they are being pursued is surprising, those interviewed said.
The biggest surprise focuses on Medicare Advantage, where payments to insurance
companies have been about 14% higher than what the government typically spends
per beneficiary. Obama's proposal would require insurers to competitively bid in
order to offer plans beginning in 2012, sooner than many expected, those
interviewed said.
"Everyone knew that was on the table but he's being more aggressive about it
than some of us expected," said Brenda Gleason, president of M2 Health Care
Consulting. "This is going to hit their margins hard. I think they hoped they
had more time." Read more at Pharmawire
By Mari Edlin Feb. 1, 2009
THINGS HAVE CERTAINLY CHANGED since the 1950s and 1960s. Baby boomers probably
recall standing in line in the elementary school auditorium for an oral polio
vaccine.
Today, some parents are up in arms about the battery of immunizations facing
their school-age children—from influenza and hepatitis B to pneumococcal
conjugate and human papillomavirus (HPV), not to mention measles-mumps-rubella
(MMR), varicella (chicken pox) and tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis
(DTaP). Some refuse inoculation based on religious or medical reasons, such as
the questionable relationship between vaccines and autism.
Brenda Gleason, president, M2 Health Care Consulting LLC, based in Washington,
D.C., says there are other barriers to childhood and adult vaccinations,
including timeliness and specificity of the vaccine. Read more on Managed
Healthcare Executive
January 2009
CMS Says Beneficiaries Will Pay Less for Meds in 2010
The business model most likely to be affected is that of the PBM, said Brenda
Gleason, president of M2 Health Care Consulting, Washington, DC. Ms. Gleason
told Managed Care – First Report (MC – FR) that part of the service PBMs provide
to health plans is pharmacy management, which includes encouraging patients to
take generic drugs. “Part of the incentive package for this formulary management
is the price the PBM charges the pharmacy, especially for generics. If the
pharmacy can pay less for the drug than the copay they charge the patient, they
make money,” she explained, adding that this is a legitimate way for pharmacies,
PBMs, and health plans to incent the use of generics. Read more on MCC News
Healthcare as a whole will be rocked by the global economic crisis, which will
have a ripple effect on the pharmaceutical industry despite its strong cash
position.
by Steven Niles
January 2009
Although the pharmaceutical industry appears to be sufficiently cash-rich to
ride out the global credit crisis, the industry will not be immune to the ripple
effect of struggling consumers. Healthcare spending is among the largest drivers
of the U.S. economy. The largest health-related impact of the economic crisis
will be the compounding effect on the health conditions of those Americans who
forgo treatment or a diagnostic test, skip the filling of a prescription, or
miss an office visit in an attempt to save money in the short term.
“The large, publicly traded companies are in good shape to ride out the economic
crisis, according to Brenda L. Gleason, president, M2 Health Care Consulting LLC
(m2hcc.com). "Companies like Amgen, Pfizer, and Lilly are sitting on huge cash
on hand reserves plus marketable securities," she says. "They’re in a position
to weather the storm, continue paying dividends if they pay them now, and go on
a buying spree. So, biotech firms that are either not publicly traded or are
publicly traded and need some type of cash infusion, they’re on sale right now."
Read more on MedAdNews
By Marc Raybin
December 12, 2008
With the U.S. recession now officially here, we continue to hear a lot of
analogies about it being a sick patient and the government coming up with the
medicine and antidotes to treat the illness. That is an interesting comparison
considering healthcare will most likely remain one of the relatively stronger
sectors as the economy continues its steady death spiral.
For private equity firms sitting on piles of cash, this could be a good thing.
While the number of deals and the sizes of deals in the asset class overall
continue to decline, firms sitting on the billions in dry powder collecting
maintenance fees will be forced to invest capital. Limited partners will
undoubtedly nudge general partners to do something with their money and chances
are healthcare will be the space to which many firms will look.
“The healthcare sector has held up better than most other sectors in private
equity this year,” says Brenda Gleason, the president of M2 Health Care
Consulting who counts private equity firms among her clients. “That is comparing
the horrible to the merely bad, but still, healthcare is hanging in there.”
Not everything in healthcare will be a boon for private equity, but Gleason and
others point specifically to companies in the sector that can crunch numbers as
being an interesting place to put money. Read more on PrivateEquityCentral.com
By Marc Longpre
PharmaWire (subscription-only), week ending 8/15/08
"Brenda Gleason, president of M2 Health Care Consulting, said Part D was
favorable to PBMs because it represented steady and visible revenue going
forward. PBMs were better able to estimate how many patients they would have
with Part D, a more challenging task for populations outside Medicare, she said.
Gleason said it was likely PBMs would oppose any efforts to reform Part D. "They
wouldn't be fond of that," she said. "If all of a sudden you were only getting a
Medicaid price instead of a Medicare price, those PBMs would be worse off."
Kenneth Schafermeyer, professor of pharmacy administration at Saint Louis
College of Pharmacy, agreed with Gleason's view." Read more on FT.com
Pharmaceutical Executive
December 1, 2008
By: Walter Armstrong The Drive to Divest
“Lilly's ImClone acquisition eclipsed what some experts viewed as a more
interesting deal: the sale in August of its early-stage R&D facility to contract
research firm Covance for $50 million, plus another $1.6 billion in
drug-development contracts over the next decade. By shedding a portion of its
drug discovery and outsourcing a portion of its clinical development, Lilly is
slicing and dicing its R&D value chain in a way that is new for pharma.
‘The deal acknowledges Covance's ability to bring drugs to market faster and
more efficiently. With this investment, Lilly is solidifying its outsourcing
strategy in a way that turns a contractor into a true partner,’ says Brenda
Gleason, president of M2 Health Care Consulting.” Read more on PharmExec.com
PharmaLive
October 2008
With a close presidential election just around the corner, pharmaceutical
vote-watchers are trying to work out what a McCain or an Obama administration
might mean to the industry.
"An airing of these proposals by the next president will do the industry little
good in the public eye, according to Brenda Gleason, president of M2 Health Care
Consulting LLC (m2hcc.com)." Read more on PharmaLive.com
Psychiatric News
September 19, 2008
McCain and Obama Take on Health System Reform.
Read more on PsychiatryOnline.org
Healthcare Finance News
September 1, 2008
"The workload for implementation will fall disproportionately within the
industry, said Brenda L. Gleason, president of M2 Health Care Consulting in
Washington."
"The changeover of systems by public and private payers accounts for the
greatest portion of the cost of the new rule, but the brunt of the pain of
switching will be borne by those who have more patient interaction - physicians
and billing administrators," she said.
Read more on HealthcareFinanceNews.com
The News and Observer (NC)
September 24, 2008
"In this day and age of active lives - going to the gym, picking up the kids
from soccer, flying somewhere for a work meeting -- we think of life as being
more 'germy,' says Brenda L. Gleason, president of M2 Health Care Consulting in
Washington, D.C. "But the main problem is people don't wash their hands
thoroughly with soap often enough."
"Hundreds of years of public health experience," she adds, "have taught us there
are just two simple rules we really need." Read more on NewsObserver.com
CVS Caremark should continue to benefit rapidly from Medicare Part D
PharmaWire (subscription-only),
Week Ending September 15, 2008
"Brenda Gleason, president of M2 Health Care Consulting, said Part D was
favorable to PBMs because it represented steady and visible revenue going
forward. PBMs were better able to estimate how many patients they would have
with Part D, a more challenging task for populations outside Medicare, she said.
Gleason said it was likely PBMs would oppose any efforts to reform Part D. "They
wouldn't be fond of that," she said. "If all of a sudden you were only getting a
Medicaid price instead of a Medicare price, those PBMs would be worse off."
Kenneth Schafermeyer, professor of pharmacy administration at Saint Louis
College of Pharmacy, agreed with Gleason's view." Read more on FT.com
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