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CMS proposed new rulemaking Wednesday to update 2019 Medicare payment policies for fee-for-service patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Likely due to a focus on preventive services, Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries had lower rates of complications, hospitalizations, and emergency care services compared with fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare beneficiaries.

Yesterday, drug manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that the FDA has approved the combination nivolumab (Opdivo) plus low-dose ipilimumab (Yervoy) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) that has progressed following a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, or irinotecan-based chemotherapy treatment.

Only 34% of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in a small study in China were likely to be positive about attempting treatment-free remission.

A new federal report found that Medicaid insurers have not done a good job in catching fraud or reporting it to states; Blink Health and former officials at Express Scripts have teamed up to create a venture that replaces the “complicated and opaque” pharmacy payment system; CDC is warning that people overdosing on synthetic opioids may need multiple doses of naloxone.

Researchers have recently discovered a new type of small-cell lung cancer, and the discovery may pave the way for the development of personalized medicine in order to target this newly discovered form of the disease.

While small and rural practices will likely perform better in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) than they have in previous programs, they will still be outpaced by larger practices. Stakeholders also outlined challenges they think will likely continue for these practices under MIPS.

While this is not the first value-based contract involving a diabetes therapy, there are signals that these agreements will become more common as both payers and drug makers seek to hold down prices.

The FDA has granted priority review for Keytruda (pembrolizumab) as a treatment for previously treated patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Through the use of a smartphone app, researchers observed that participants became more engaged with their HIV care, resulting in improved linkage to and consistency of care, increased CD4 counts, and decreased viral loads.

Breathing in additional oxygen improves the function of blood vessels in the brains of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to recent research.

A pair of articles paint a devastating picture of the effects of climate change on human health. One paper cited increased air pollution spurred by air conditioning and another paper said that the decreased nutritional quality of staple crops will increase diseases like anemia and diarrhea.

CMS cut the amount of money it is awarding to organizations that help individuals enroll in insurance for 2019 plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by $26 million, and, for the first time, is encouraging the so-called “navigators” to also sign people up for health insurance that provides a narrower level of coverage than the plans under the ACA.

A survey of low-income nonelderly people in Ohio, Indiana, and Kansas explored how alternative approaches to Medicaid can impact access, coverage, and healthcare satisfaction, as well as what effect implementing work requirements in Kansas would have.

After facing criticism from President Donald Trump, Pfizer is reversing course on recent drug price increases; HHS Secretary Alex Azar has become the point person for the migrant crisis, splitting his attention between reuniting families and healthcare issues like drug costs and the opioid epidemic; a Senate panel has voted to back Robert Wilkie to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Current standard of care treatment for rectal cancer, which recommends combining surgery with chemotherapy and radiation, fails to prolong survival in patients younger than 50 years of age, according to findings published early online in the journal Cancer.

In recent years, diabetes advocacy groups have called for greater attention to measures beyond glycated hemoglobin when evaluating diabetes drugs, because avoiding hypoglycemia and spending more time in range are important to health and quality of life.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) decided that current evidence is insufficient to recommend screening for peripheral artery disease and cardiovascular risk with the ankle-brachial index in asymptomatic adults.

A day before legislators will hold hearings on 15 bills relating to the 340B drug discount program for hospitals, 340B Health, which represents those hospitals and providers, released a report that said more than half of the disproportionate share hospitals would lose eligibility under one Congressional proposal.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common type of childhood cancer, and fractures from osteoporosis are an important cause of morbidity in patients with ALL. A recent study aimed to document the annual incidence and predictors of fractures in order to determine whether they occur years after chemotherapy.

How much you shell out for prescription medicine at the pharmacy counter depends on where you live, according to an analysis by GoodRx.

CMS quietly ended a pay-for-performance plan for Novartis' Kymriah—a half-million-dollar cancer treatment; President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court sets up an intense partisan fight over health care; lawmakers in Maine's state House failed to override Republican Governor Paul LePage's veto of a bill that would fund the first year of Medicaid expansion.

Ixazomib taken twice weekly with lenalidomide and dexamethasone resulted in high overall response rate (ORR) and a durable response among patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM).

Results of a Phase 1/2a gene therapy clinical trial in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) revealed a significant decrease in levels of serum creatine kinase, an enzyme biomarker associated with muscle damage caused by DMD.

Experts at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Policy Summit discussed the present challenges of transitioning to alternative payment models at a time when the costs of many cancer therapies are rising.

An updated review of value-based insurance design (VBID) as a strategy for increasing consumer adherence to prescription medications found moderate-quality evidence that such strategies are useful for increasing the use of high-value drug classes while lowering cost sharing.

About an hour before HHS Secretary Alex Azar was due to give a keynote speech about drug prices at the 340B Coalition Summer Conference, his appearance was foreshadowed by a tweet from President Donald Trump who singled out 1 drug company. Azar was at the conference to talk not only about drug prices but also changes to the 340B program.

Two years after initiating a high-touch customer model to better serve their members, WEA Trust has achieved a 31% reduction in readmission rates, resulting in savings of $1.9 million, as well as a 7.1% reduction in emergency room use, translating to $2.4 million in savings.

Atul Gawande, MD, starts his new job today leading the healthcare venture started by Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, and Berkshire Hathaway; what should have been an easy resolution at the United Nations–affiliated World Health Assembly this spring became ensnared in a US-led battle against breast milk; the majority of prison inmates with hepatitis C are not getting potentially curable drug treatment.

Blaming a recent decision by the US District Court for the District of New Mexico, CMS has announced that it has halted collections or payments under the risk adjustment program, including amounts for the 2017 benefit year, established by the Affordable Care Act for the 2014-2018 benefit period.