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Nebraska voters will decide on Medicaid expansion in November; a medical watchdog has called for a stop to a clinical trial for sepsis treatment; Medicare Advantage insurer Clover Health is expanding its health plans to 6 new markets.

As cure rates for young patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) improve, the historically negative impact of treatments has to be considered. However, a new study has found that over time, childbearing rates for female survivors of HL have improved to the point of approaching the rates of the general population.

Serious vascular events in patients with diabetes can be prevented with aspirin use, according to results of the ASCEND (A Study of Cardiovascular Events iN Diabetes) trial, which were presented at the ongoing ESC Congress in Munich, Germany.

Is limiting or discontinuing opioid use in clinical care the answer to addressing the opioid epidemic?

GOP senators have introduced legislation they say would protect provisions for preexisting conditions under the Affordable Care Act; Cigna shareholders have voted in favor of the acquisition of pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts; and study results show that aspirin does not lower cardiovascular (CV) risk in the long-term.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) still rely on their healthcare providers as the source of primary information about their disease but about a third will bring information from the internet to appointments to discuss, and prioritize information about symptom control, a recent online survey reported.

In a new commentary in JAMA Internal Medicine, authors highlighted the results of the hospital-at-home (HaH) program at Mount Sinai Health System that resulted in the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee recommending full implementation of the bundled HaH program, as well as clinical and policy issues raised by the program.

A new study aimed to assess the prevalence of allergic sensitization, asthma, eczema, and hay fever from infancy to adulthood, finding that patterns of atopic disorders vary throughout childhood.

Viruses, when engineered, may have the potential to alter the course of cancer by driving tumor cells to express novel viral antigens or enhance the production of existing tumor antigens.

CMS recently approved Medicare coverage for a portable, pocket-sized diagnostic device for osteoporosis when used in ambulatory surgical centers (ASC) and outpatient hospital settings.

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells, a rare form of lymphocyte that defend the body from pathogens, may have immune-regulatory functions in rheumatoid arthritis and play a key role in the development of inflammatory arthritis, according to immunologists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg.

A recent review evaluated current data on the effects of sex hormones on transient receptor potential channels, which contribute to the sensitization in migraine and chronic pain syndromes.

A recent study at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy discovered a new way to use bioinformatics to determine how a patient’s immune system responds to immunotherapy.

Here are 5 things to know about respiratory health, including diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and the environment, both the external and the internal.

A Health Affairs analysis showed a wide range of cost-effectiveness estimates for 30 of the most commonly prescribed cardiovascular drugs, suggesting that drug pricing is not consistently aligned with value.

Researchers recently developed a systematic map of the cell types that make up the mouse nervous system which has the ability to reveal new information about the origin of neurological diseases, and may lead to a detailed map of the human brain.

This week, the top managed care news included a panel mostly endorsed the use of patient-reported outcomes for coverage of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy; the US Preventive Services Task Force released new recommendations for cervical cancer screening; research found accountable care organization penetration may be changing how physicians work.

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

Researchers found that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) usage is linked to routine care, such as influenza vaccination, tobacco and depression screening, and glucose testing.

The Senate approved an $854 billion spending measure, including a 5% boost for the National Institutes of Health; Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court said 2 lower-court rulings ordering the state to implement the voter-approved Medicaid expansion stand; the chief information officer of California’s public employee benefits and retirement system (CalPERS) is trying to use data to analyze trends and recommend policies to stem rising costs.

The first patient has been treated in a phase 2b dose-confirmation study of AMT-061, an investigational gene therapy for the treatment of patients with severe and moderately severe hemophilia B. Once the dosing of AMT-061 is confirmed, the safety and efficacy of the therapy will be evaluated in the global phase 3 HOPE-B clinical trial.

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/on-demand/scientific-advances-in-als

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/on-demand/new-horizons-in-the-diagnosis-and-treatment-of-hereditary-angioedema

A chronic health situation may worsen or, more likely, a crisis may happen suddenly with a call in the middle of the night. Millions of Americans then find themselves as a caregiver to a loved one, and as people live longer, as well as farther away from their families, healthcare providers, healthcare systems, policy makers, and employers need to change how they recognize and respond to the growing numbers of caregivers taking care of older adults, experts in the field said.

Earlier this month, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) released new treatment guidelines for a group of rare cancers that impact women during pregnancy.

The proposed Medicare Shared Savings Program rule has many sweeping changes that present a number new opportunities, but also challenges. In addition, the National Association of ACOs highlighted its concerns that the changes will decrease the number of ACOs and may discourage new entrants.

The diagnosis of osteoporosis is typically determined by bone mass density (BMD); however, bone turnover markers (BTMs) can provide information involving the bone remodeling process. A recent study found that BMD correlates negatively with BTM and positively with estradiol (E2) and magnesium (Mg(2+)) levels, and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-5b (TRAP-5b) demonstrates a specificity in identifying patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Facing ever-increasing costs, some families are forgoing traditional medical insurance in favor of patching together an alternative using multiple sources; a new initiative led by former CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt is looking to transform Medicaid with actionable solutions to address the health and social determinants of vulnerable populations; before kids go back to school, sales of the EpiPen usually spike, but this year parents are scrambling to find the injector.

According to the CDC, understanding disparities in access to care could help identify interventions that would improve access, receipt of necessary services, and care coordination. Such interventions, the report notes, could help improve health-related behaviors, prevent secondary conditions, and delay the progression of disability.

During a meeting of the Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC), panelists heard from chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T therapy drug makers, health researchers, and policy makers, and mostly endorsed including patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in its final national coverage analysis decision, expected next year.