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Persistent use of osteoporosis medications was associated with reduced risk of fracture and significantly lower total healthcare costs, a recent analysis of Medicare claims data found.

A recent study found that the association between vitamin D (Vit D) status and multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility is genotype dependent and suggested that the outcome of Vit D status in MS is determined by gene-by-sex interactions.

Accountable care organizations (ACOs), either directly or indirectly, are affecting physician employment patterns in regions where they have high penetration.

The authors of a recent editorial explained that the higher prevalence of migraine in obese individuals may be due to a common etiological factor, because both conditions are linked to inflammatory processes.

Every single future medical student who will study at the New York University School of Medicine, in perpetuity, will have their tuition costs fully covered; HHS has approved New Jersey’s waiver request to create a reinsurance program that would help lower insurance premiums for everyone in the state; an analysis highlights how marketing documents from the mid-1990s downplayed addiction to opioids.

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

This week, the top managed care stories included CMS outlining a plan to encourage Medicare accountable care organizations to take on more risk, faster; a study found substantial growth in Medicaid managed care enrollment; an analysis showed nearly 1 in 5 inpatient hospital stays includes a claim from an out-of-network provider.

The FDA cleared the first generic version of EpiPen and EpiPen Jr, an epinephrine auto-injector for severe allergic reactions, 2 years after generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals was first turned down in its bid to win approval for the device. The Teva device is the first-ever generic to the one marketed by Mylan, which is still in short supply during the busy back-to-school season in pharmacies due to production issues at Pfizer, which makes the device.

Next week, a CMS committee will hold a day-long meeting to discuss a national coverage determination (NCD) for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapies, and in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine, Peter B. Bach, MD, MAPP, reviewed several strategies open to CMS as it continues to try to determine how to pay for CAR T.

A recent study found that the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor talazoparib extended progression-free survival (PFS) and improved quality of life over chemotherapies for patients with metastatic human epidermal growth factor 2-negative breast cancer and mutations in the BRCA 1/2 genes.

A new technology platform utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) could change how drug combinations are designed and help doctors to identify optimal personalized drug combinations for patients with multiple myeloma.

A recent study investigated whether different insulin regimens, such as metformin and rosiglitazone, influence bone metabolism in individuals with type 2 diabetes, who often have an increased risk of fractures.

The FDA will start to review gene therapy experiments and products the same as other treatments and drugs; Alaska and Minnesota have become models for other states looking to curb health insurance premium increases with reinsurance programs; patients with limited English proficiency often have to rely on family members and friends to interpret for them, which can have serious consequences.

Less than 2 months after receiving a report showing that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in Ohio billed taxpayers 8.8% more for medications used by those in the state’s Medicaid program, the state this week said it is ending its contracts with all of its PBMs and starting over in transparent contracts.

Chronic diseases, insufficient access to care, and social determinants of health are targets that can help reduce maternal mortality.

A study recently published in Brain and Behavior has shown that certain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters correlated with a greater risk of recurrence and progression to multiple sclerosis (MS) within the first year following diagnosis of clinically isolated syndrome (CIS).

Insilico Medicine, an artificial intelligence (AI) for drug discovery company, and A2A Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on novel drug development for oncology, have recently announced their research collaboration to form a new company, Consortium.AI, which will apply advances in AI to discovery of novel small molecules for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and other rare diseases.

Contrasting the excitement and optimism coming out of clinical research presented at the AIDS 2018 conference, there was a sobering takeaway in the political and advocacy sphere. Among the general consensus that we are in a fragile moment in time, there were several policies and advocacy efforts that made it to the forefront of the conference.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and who have other comorbid conditions are undertreated when hospitalized for exacerbations, study finds.

The approval was notable not only for the promise that it offers patients, but also for the strategy by which Alnylam hopes to sell the drug: In order to help payers cope with the $450,000 annual list price of patisiran, Alnylam is working with commercial insurance plans to offer value-based contracts for the therapy.

Advocacy groups filed a lawsuit on behalf of 3 Medicaid recipients challenging Arkansas' Medicaid work requirements; CVS Health announced that its pharmacy benefit manager will target expensive drugs to be excluded from formularies if they are not cost effective; Senate leaders have received a letter from 120 consumer and patient associations on the impact Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh could have on health policy.

A web-based teaching conference was found to be an effective teaching model to improve adherence to clinical pathway guidelines in a large radiation oncology network looking to improve compliance with dosimetric parameters in whole breast irradiation, according to a report published earlier this year.

A special task force established by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) has developed 4 overall principles and 10 specific recommendations to ensure that physical activity is a part of the standard of care among patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), spondyloarthritis, and osteoarthritis in Europe.

Patients using only in-network facilities still have at least 1 claim from an out-of-network provider in over 15% of inpatient admissions, according to an analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

In a test of what could happen as more work requirements are attached as conditions to receiving government health benefits or other forms of government assistance, more than 25% of Medicaid recipients in Arkansas are at risk of losing health insurance for failing to meet work requirements, a recent blog post in Health Affairs said.

The 2018 International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam brought a plethora of new clinical implications for HIV care, reflecting ongoing investments in research efforts and optimism across all clinical domains, including vaccines, prevention, and new treatment approaches. However, with the excitement also came caution in other areas, such as stagnant incidence rates.

Major tech companies publicly committed at a Trump administration event to improve provider–patient communications and data exchanges in health information technology in an effort to cut costs and improve outcomes; public health advocates and the FDA are at odds over how to regulate the exploding electronic cigarette industry, even as both sides agree teens and college students are using the devices at an alarming rate; billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who last week said Cigna was overpaying for Express Scripts, is no longer intending to solicit proxies to vote against the $52 billion deal.

The first in a series of articles that identifies CMS' goals in updating the Medicare Shared Savings Program and how well the proposals make taking on more risk appealing for accountable care organizations.

A study that sought to replicate the effects of vaping on lung cells found that vapor from e-cigarettes boosts the production of inflammatory chemicals and disables key protective cells in the lung that engulf potentially harmful particles. Some of the effects were similar to those seen in regular smokers and people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

In a study published in JAMA Oncology, researchers found that a majority of patients eligible for immune checkpoint inhibitors started to receive the treatment within a few months of the drugs approval.