Behind the 'Value-Based' Buzzwords on Insulin Pump Insurance Deals
Everyone's talking about "value-based" pricing in healthcare these days. In our own Diabetes Community, the volume's increased on this issue as the two largest insulin pump companies have entered into agreements with insurance giant Aetna for so-called "value-based" pricing, aka reliant on outcomes such as A1C measures. Recently, Medtronic announced a new partnership with Aetna that is now in effect. And on April 1, 2017, Aetna entered into a similar agreement with JnJ/Animas for the OneTouch Vibe and Ping insulin pumps, tying payments to A1C outcomes for now. It's a first-of-its-kind agreement for both diabetes device companies, and both are pretty adamant stating that the deals are aimed at "improving outcomes and reducing healthcare costs." But just where are we, the people living with diabetes, in all of this? Inside These Value-Based Deals We reached out to Aetna, Medtronic and Animas to get answers to some of our m