ACHI’s Dr. Joe Thompson on COVID, drug prescription negotiations

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Dr. Joe Thompson with the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) expects federal Medicare drug negotiations to expand in coming years as a more capitalistic and competitive approach to healthcare emerges.

This past week, the Biden administration announced 10 drugs that will be negotiated for price discounts in Medicare, a first for the program.

“This is a very significant change for the federal Medicare program. Medicare is what we care for elderly in our nation. Since 1965 when Medicare was first put in place, it did not cover prescription drugs. The Part D program that went in place after the turn of the century did cover prescription drugs, but it did not allow the federal government to negotiate price on prescription drugs. So this is the first time Medicare, our federal insurance program for the elderly, has been able to negotiate price with pharmaceutical companies for now 10 drugs that are some of the most expensive drugs for people to pay,” Thompson said.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/09/achis-dr-joe-thompson-on-covid-drug-prescription-negotiations/

12 Years of the ACA

By Kyle Kellams

The Affordable Care Act became law in March, 2010. We asked Dr. Joe Thompson, the president and CEO of Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, about the ACA and Arkansas.

https://www.kuaf.com/show/ozarks-at-large/2022-04-05/12-years-of-the-aca

Research about Mask Mandates in Arkansas Schools Published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

By UAMS News Staff

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) contains research on mask mandates in Arkansas school districts and how the mandates helped to limit COVID-19 at the schools.

Researchers from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health and College of Medicine teamed up with the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the project.

“This important and well-conducted study involving Arkansas schools amply demonstrates the efficacy of facemasks during viral surges,” said Mark Williams, Ph.D., dean of the UAMS College of Public Health.

https://news.uams.edu/2022/03/09/research-about-mask-mandates-in-arkansas-schools-published-in-cdcs-morbidity-and-mortality-weekly-report/

Research published in this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report finds that face masks were effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in Arkansas K-12 schools.

Arkansas Center for Health Improvement Publishes Local COVID-19 Case Data

The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, in collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Health, is providing key local coronavirus outbreak data on its ACHI website to Arkansas communities, healthcare agencies and the public to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

https://www.kuaf.com/post/arkansas-center-health-improvement-publishes-local-covid-19-case-data

Arkansas Center for Health Improvement Publishes Local COVID-19 Case Data

The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, in collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Health, is providing key local coronavirus outbreak data on its website to Arkansas communities, healthcare agencies and the public to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

COVID-19 in Arkansas

Updated: August 7, 2020 Dr. Joe Thompson, president and CEO of ACHI, provides a public service announcement regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. "Isolation" and "quarantine," two other terms often used in reference to avoiding the spread of illness, have similar but distinct meanings. Read More.