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A pharmaceutical company proactively reached out to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of HHS to find out if giving a costly drug for a rare condition—free of charge, in the hope of eventually getting the drug covered by payors—to hospitals would violate federal kickback law, and was told it probably would.

During a case study, employees were more willing to have less robust coverage in areas like dental, vision, and diagnostic benefits so that the group could have access to more comprehensive mental health and maternity services.

According to a new study, cellular proliferation generates the majority of infected cells during antiretroviral therapy (ART), suggesting that reducing proliferation can decrease the size of the HIV reservoir and work toward a cure.

There have been few therapeutic options for treating thrombocytopenia in MDS patients. Now, early phase data suggest that CC-486 (oral azacytidine, an investigational drug sponsored by Celgene) is a relatively safe and effective treatment for thrombocytopenic patients with MDS.

Ultrasounds are a safer and equally effective diagnostic tool compared with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to diagnose and monitor pregnant women with suspected active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a new report published in Radiology Case Reports.

A new investigational drug has demonstrated high response rates in patients with a rare but highly aggressive blood disease that currently has no approved therapies, according to new research led by investigators at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr, D-New Jersey, who is set to be chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, supports the concept of a single-payer “Medicare-for-all” bill in the next Congress, but said the votes aren’t there and there are other priorities; an emergency department doctor was shot and killed by her former fiancé at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, along with a first-year pharmacy resident and a city police officer who rushed into the chaos; Kaleo, which sells a voice-activated auto-injector device that delivers a version of naloxone, raised the price of its opioid antidote product by more than 600% between 2014 and 2017.

The Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania will become the 28th member institution to join the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), it was announced Tuesday.

A new study, published in the International Journal of COPD, concludes that the increase in endothelial microparticles and various microparticles in the systemic circulation that accompanies chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can lead to disease exacerbation and could be used as early biomarkers on disease progression.

Earlier this month, Merck announced that the FDA approved its anti–PD-1 therapy, pembrolizumab (sold as Keytruda), for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have been previously treated with sorafenib.

A 2015 study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health made a change in blood pressure guidelines seem inevitable. But there is disagreement between the standards promoted by societies for family physicians and those for cardiologists, leading to confusion for those in daily practice.

Following treatment with either a lifestyle intervention or migraine education, patients with migraine had improved pain acceptance and lower migraine-related disability.

A California union that provided major funding for successful ballot campaigns to expand Medicaid in 3 red states this year, is looking ahead to 2020; smoke from the wildfire in Northern California has created dangerous air quality that exceeds pollution levels in China and India; the World Health Organization evacuated 16 people working to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo following a rebel attack.

A recent review looked at the role lipocalin 2 (LCN2), a secreted glycoprotein that transports small lipophilic ligands, might play in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and the possibility of potential LCN2-targeting agents.

The quantity of opioid prescribed after surgery is associated with higher patient-reported opioid consumption, according to a recent study.

The quick sequential (sepsis-related) organ failure assessment can help emergency department physicians identify which patients with neutropenia are at risk of a poor prognosis and should receive prompt empirical antimicrobial therapy, according to a new study.

A recent study sought to learn more about how estrogen receptor signaling occurs in vivo in normal and cancerous tissue.

A new study found that in 50% of patients, the standard 12-week treatment regimen for hepatitis C could be shortened to as few as 6 weeks without compromising efficacy.

Researchers tested the hypothesis that a genetic risk score based on single-nucleotide polymorphisms may influence headache response to triptans in patients and found a significant relationship between triptan efficacy and the cumulative score of genetic risk.

As Arkansas said this week it removed thousands of people from its Medicaid expansion program for not reporting work requirements, advocates for those with low incomes said those subject to the rules are probably unaware of them.

The FDA announced Friday it expanded the approved use of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) in combination with chemotherapy for adult patients with certain types of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, using a new review process designed to increase efficiency.

Treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has remained a challenge, partly because of an insufficient understanding of the molecular mechanisms that promote and maintain the leukemic state of AML cells.

The addition of nivolumab to azacitidine led to significantly better overall response rate and overall survival compared with previous hypomethylating agent-based regimens in patients with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to the results of a recent phase 2 study.

Following release from prison or jail, people living with HIV have higher mortality rates than the general population, indicating that resources are needed to identify and treat HIV and other medical needs following release from incarceration in order to reduce mortality.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar plans to ensure his agency handles both the health and the human services, as stated in its name, of Americans. In a recent speech, he hinted that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation will be doing more work in areas adjacent to healthcare, such as food insecurity, and housing, utility, and transportation needs.

President Donald Trump is planning to announce details of his plan to expand the role of the private sector to deliver healthcare to veterans; research looking at connections between mental health and gun violence is not so clear cut; the suicide rate among Americans of working age (between 16 and 64) increased 34% from 2000 to 2016 across 17 states.

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

An investigation into the effects of a self-management intervention (SMI) called “Better Living with COPD” found that the intervention had a significant positive short-term effect for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The November 2018 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) has a special focus on substance use disorder, but its studies also touch on disparities in patient portal adoption and the cost impacts of dementia. Here are 5 findings from the research published in the issue.

This week, the top managed care news included research that showed c​​​​ancer surpassed cardiovascular disease to be the leading cause of death in high-income counties; HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced a new mandatory payment model is coming to oncology; a policy change could make mental health treatment more available.