This was originally published as an October 29, 2018 post in Health Affairs Blog.

By Ari Ne'eman 

​As policymakers around the world seek to manage rising drug expenditures, people with disabilities find ourselves increasingly concerned by the potential harms that cost-cutting measures may bring. The growing fight between health care purchasers and drug manufacturers offers yet another instance where people with disabilities and chronic conditions may find themselves caught in the cross-fire.

In This Week’s Issue:
 
1. Health Affairs: Formulary Restrictions Devalue And Endanger The Lives Of Disabled People, click here to read the blog.
2. 2018 PCORI Annual Meeting, see details below.
3.PCORI Advocacy Webinar: The Politics and Policy of PCORI Reauthorization,click here to access a recording and slides. 
4. Tell Insurers: Don't Discriminate on Care, click here to view.
5. Register: PQA’s Social Determinants of Health Forum, click here to register
6. STAT: Turning the tables, people with mental illness share what they want scientists to study, click here read the article
7. Call for Webinar Participants: To Inform a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Agenda for Personalized Medicine, see details below.
8. DBSA Meeting: Patient Focused Drug Development Meeting, click here to register.
9. Mental Health America: 2019 Call for Proposals is Now Open, click here for details
10. CMS Technical Expert Panel Opportunity: Impact Assessment of CMS Quality and Efficiency Measures, click here to apply. 
11. Upcoming ICER Studies: Angiodema, Asthma, Opioid Use Disorder, click here to provide patient input.
12. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below.
13. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
14. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below. 

​The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) was established in 2010 to establish priorities and set an agenda for the conduct of comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER). Its Board of Governors is selected by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and includes three designated seats for representatives of patients and consumers.  GAO concluded in a March 2018 report that PCORI is fulfilling its Congressional mandate to generate evidence that patients and those who care for them can use to make better-informed healthcare decisions. Following the National Academy of Medicine's definition of CER, PCORI invested nearly $2.4 billion in more than 600 patient-centered CER studies and related projects that support CER to date. PCORI’s Methodology Committee, also appointed by the GAO, provides guidance to the PCORI Board of Governors and its contract researchers about the appropriate use of CER methods, methodological standards, as well as establishing priorities to address gaps in research methods or their application.

In This Week’s Issue:
 
1. Tell Insurers: Don't Discriminate on Care, click here to view.
2. PIPC/Xcenda: Finding the Patient Voice in ICER’s Value Assessments, click here to read the report.
3. PCORI Advocacy Webinar: The Politics and Policy of PCORI Reauthorization
4. Call for Webinar Participants: To Inform a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Agenda for Personalized Medicine, see details below.
5. Op-ed: Looking to the future of patient-centered cancer research and treatment, click here to read the op-ed
6. Watch: Research on Voluntary Patient-Centered Opioid Tapering, click here to watch the video. 
7. DBSA Meeting: Patient Focused Drug Development Meeting, click here to register.
8. Mental Health America: 2019 Call for Proposals is Now Open, click here for details
9. CMS Technical Expert Panel Opportunity: Impact Assessment of CMS Quality and Efficiency Measures, click here to apply. 
10. Upcoming ICER Studies: Angiodema, Asthma, Opioid Use Disorder, click here to provide patient input.
11. 2018 PCORI Annual Meeting, click here for details.
12. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below.
13. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
14. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below. 

In This Week’s Issue:
 
1. Tell Insurers: Don't Discriminate on Care, click here to view.
2. PIPC/Xcenda: Finding the Patient Voice in ICER’s Value Assessments, click here to read the report.
3. Op-Ed: One-Size-Fits-All Cost-Based Formulas: Rationing Care for Cancer Patients, Click here to read the op-ed.  
4. Patient EngagementHIT: Record Copying Fees, Admin Hurdles Harm Patient Data Access, click here to read the article.
5. The PCORI Blog: PCORI at Age Eight – Progress, Impact, and More to Do, click here to read the blog.
6. DBSA Meeting: Patient Focused Drug Development Meeting, click here to register.
7. Mental Health America: 2019 Call for Proposals is Now Open, click here for details
8. CMS Technical Expert Panel Opportunity: Impact Assessment of CMS Quality and Efficiency Measures, click here to apply. 
9. Upcoming ICER Studies: Angiodema, Asthma, Opioid Use Disorder, click here to provide patient input.
10. 2018 Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network (LAN) Fall Summit, click here to register.
11. 2018 PCORI Annual Meeting, click here for details.
12. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below.
13. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
14. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below. 

In This Week’s Issue:
 
1. PIPC/Xcenda: Finding the Patient Voice in ICER’s Value Assessments, click here to read the report.
2. Over 90 Stakeholder Groups to CVS: Don't Discriminate on Care, view letter here.
3. NAM Essay: Transformation — My Experience as a Patient and an Advocate in Three Chapters, click here to view Gwen’s personal story.
4. DBSA Meeting: Patient Focused Drug Development Meeting, click here to register.
5. Patient EngagementHIT: How Does Medication Prescribing Impact Patient Satisfaction Levels? Click here to read the article.
6. The PCORI Blog: An Exciting Step Forward — New Support for the Next Generation of Learning-Health-System Researchers, click here to read the blog.
7. Mental Health America: 2019 Call for Proposals is Now Open, click here for details
8. CMS Technical Expert Panel Opportunity: Impact Assessment of CMS Quality and Efficiency Measures, click here to apply.  
9. Upcoming ICER Studies: Angiodema, Asthma, Opioid Use Disorder, click here to provide patient input.
10. 2018 Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network (LAN) Fall Summit, click here to register. 
11. 2018 PCORI Annual Meeting, click here for details.
12. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below.
13. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
14. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below. 

In This Week's Issue:
​
1. New Report from PIPC and Xcenda: Quantifying Incorporation of Patient Input in Value Frameworks, click here to read the report.
2. Over 90 Stakeholder Groups to CVS: Don't Discriminate on Care, see details below.
3. GAO Makes Appointments to PCORI Governing Board, click here to view the announcement from the GAO.
4. This Tuesday — Beyond Opioids: Evidence-Based Delivery of Alternative Treatments for Chronic Pain, click here for details. 
5. Health IT Analytics: $40M AHRQ, PCORI Grants Will Support a Learning Health System, click here to read the article.
6. The PCORI Blog: Putting PCORI's Updated Engagement Plan Template to Work in Research, click here to read the blog.
7. Mental Health America: 2019 Call for Proposals is Now Open, click here for details
8. CMS Technical Expert Panel Opportunity: Impact Assessment of CMS Quality and Efficiency Measures, click here to apply.  
9. Other Upcoming ICER Studies: Angiodema, Asthma, Opioid Use Disorder, click here to provide patient input.
10. 2018 Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network (LAN) Fall Summit, click here to register. 
11. 2018 PCORI Annual Meeting, click here for details.
12. Upcoming Events and Webinars, see details below.
13. Medical Journal Articles, see details below.
14. AHRQ Effective Program Updates, see details below.