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An analysis of Medicaid coverage for substance abuse treatments revealed that the services and medications covered vary widely by state. The Health Affairs study raised concerns that patients in some states may not have adequate access to necessary addiction treatment.

A vascular surgeon suggests that patients with diabetes may have so many issues to cover during a 15-minute appointment that they don't mention occasional leg pain.

Though there are many unknowns regarding how the Trump administration will affect policy, there is bipartisan support for lowering costs and increasing quality. The Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 is a separate law that was passed with 92% bi-partisan support in 2015. Read on for tips on creating a strategy that will set you up for success under advanced alternate payment models.

An exhaustive study conducted by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research has found that a woman’s social network can significantly affect her chances of survival following breast cancer.

In Hennepin County, Minnesota, which has one-fifth of the state’s population, the government has worked with the healthcare system to create a different way to care for people.

What we’re reading, December 12, 2016: veterans with dementia who used both the Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system and Medicare were more likely to be prescribed potentially unsafe medications; HHS will begin to conduct on-site privacy compliance audits in 2017; study finds that women with strong social connections have better breast cancer outcomes.

The United States is in the midst of an opioid epidemic that has been responsible for a 200% increase in deaths due to overdose of heroin or an opioid pain reliever since 2000. Guidelines provide clinicians with ways to identify patients at risk of opioid use disorder and best practices of prescribing opioids.

During the keynote speech at the inaugural conference of The National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs, Geoffrey Canada, president of the Harlem Children's Zone, discussed the challenge of addressing health disparities in poor communities.

Healthcare quality issues are a typical legal issue.

The report confirms what CMS made clear in the final rule for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act: many small and rural providers were not ready for a shift away from fee-for-service.

The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics released a report with new data on the 2015 US mortality rates. Here are 5 findings to take away from the report.

The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report recommends that Medicaid expansion states should direct more attention to smoking cessation programs to improve access and raise awareness about these programs among beneficiaries and providers.

Retaining seniors in the Diabetes Prevention Program will be important for community groups offering it through Medicare, because the proposal calls for payment to be based on performance.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research in the healthcare and mainstream press.

This week, the top stories in managed care included poll results that show growing numbers of Republicans want the Affordable Care Act scaled back instead of repealed, Jardiance received a new indication for patients with type 2 diabetes, and CareMore reported care coordination gaps for seniors.

What we’re reading, December 9, 2016: insurers haven’t taken advantage of 2011 Georgia law allowing interstate policy sales; 6 former executives of Insys Therapeutics arrested for fraudulently boosting sales of their fentanyl drug; with a month left in the year, 2016 has already seen decade-high mumps outbreaks.

Creating effective interventions to care for complex populations and making them available is only half the battle. That was the lesson gleaned from a workshop session at The National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs’ Putting Care at the Center conference, held December 7-9 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

During the first plenary session of Putting Care at the Center, the inaugural conference of The National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs, panelists discussed building new models to care for high-need, high-cost patients.

While Frieden reported progress in areas like reducing cigarette smoking, the challenge of reducing obesity remains stubborn.

At the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, researchers announced the creation of a model to identify patients with triple negative breast cancer who are most likely to respond to chemotherapy.

The American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals sent a joint letter to President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence highlighting the potentially devastating effects a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could have on community hospitals.

The report finds that if the Affordable Care Act is repealed, many who stand to lose are low-income parents who gained coverage under reforms that extended healthcare to families and raised eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level.

Two names are being floated as likely replacements for the current FDA commissioner: Scott Gottlieb, MD, a resident scholar with the American Enterprise Institute, and Jim O’Neill, a managing director at Mithril Capital, a global investment firm.

What we’re reading, December 8, 2016: Senate overwhelmingly passes the 21st Century Cures Act, sending it to President Obama for approval; Surgeon General issues a report calling for action to reduce e-cigarette use by young people; soaring costs of naloxone may hinder efforts to prevent opioid overdoses.

It seems intuitive that people with higher incomes enjoy better health. But for researchers, this general relationship raises many questions, not the least of which relates to “causality.â€

One-third of seniors say a family member coordinates their care, but another one-third say no one does.

A recently released report investigates the potential ramifications of partially repealing the Affordable Care Act through the process of budget reconciliation. The study by the Urban Institute Health Policy Center warned that such a move by Congress would double the number of uninsured Americans and significantly disrupt the insurance market, resulting in reduced access to care.

A panel of 21 expert clinicians from the field conducted a systematic review of meta-analyses randomized clinical trials, observational studies, and clinical experience, to develop recommendations that have been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The pharmaceutical leader's move comes after the American Diabetes Association asked Congress to investigate rising insulin prices.

What we're reading, December 7, 2016: health insurers provide demands if Republicans repeal Obamacare; women face 20% higher healthcare costs in retirement; and immunotherapies are being considered for sepsis.