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National Public Health Week kicked off on Monday with an event that focused on the importance of building strong relationships within communities in order to address health inequities, as well as the declining life expectancy in the United States.

The governor of Iowa signed a law allowing health plans that are not compliant with the Affordable Care Act; custom medically designed meals keep patients healthier, a study found; the CDC is probing a teen suicide outbreak in an Ohio county.

CMS finalized its 2019 Medicare Advantage rates, raising payments it pays to insurers, and also made changes to a final rule aimed at curbing opioid misuse and abuse by Medicare beneficiaries. Payments to Medicare Advantage plans will rise an average of 3.4%, and with another 3.1% adjustment coming from a change in risk scores (which are a measure of the sickness or health of the population served) the payment increase could be as high as 6.5%.

Black–white disparities in hospital readmission rates in the United States narrowed after the introduction of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), but hospitals that serve a large number of minority patients continue to disproportionately receive penalties for their readmission rates, a study published in Health Affairs said Monday.

Following the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO's) evaluation of leading oncology clinical pathway vendors nationwide, an article in Journal of Clinical Pathways provided insight into the evaluation from 2 of the report's co-authors.

Two separate studies published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine suggest that marijuana has a role to play in helping patients cut back on prescription opioids. One study looked at prescribing patterns for opioids in Medicare Part D and the implementation of state medical marijuana laws. The other looked at Medicaid prescription data from 2011 to 2016.

The National Institutes of Health's alcohol chief told an industry official in an email he would stop research about marketing to teens; California sues Sutter Heath, alleging antitrust violations; whether the Department of Veterans Affairs chief resigned or not could have broader implications for the agency.

The insurer's chief medical officer reports that the CDC metric is proving useful over time.

Some Medicare Advantage plans may not be fully ready for the requirements of this history-making preventive service.

As the opioid epidemic persists as a public health crisis in the United States, there has been growing concern the injection drug use will affect infectious disease, as it increases the risk of infections, such as HIV. A graphic series from Kaiser Family Foundation took a look at the interaction between the nation's HIV and opioid epidemics. Here are 5 take aways.

Results of a double-blind, randomized, phase 3 trial, published last week in The Lancet, show that siponimod—a selective sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator—slowed the progression of disability in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.

In general, respondents using 2 TRICARE health plans who participated in surveys from 2012 to 2015 reported improved satisfaction and access to care compared with respondents to surveys from 2008 to 2011.

After taking recommendations from providers, Mississippi lawmakers pass a bill that would end caps on prescription drugs and office visits in Medicaid.

New findings emerged from an examination of alternative places of service for healthcare in a recent white paper.

This week, the top managed care stories included another insurer announcing it would pass on drug rebates to consumers; FDA approved a new continuous glucose monitor and created a new medical device class; new guidelines address how to treat people with both HIV and cancer.

What makes for a healthy physician and what can be done to prevent accompanying burnout? To address that issue, major medical organizations and centers are coming together behind a “Charter on Physician Well-Being” published this week in JAMA.

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

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)’s 23rd Annual Conference, held March 22-24 in Orlando, Florida, brought together stakeholders from across the oncology landscape. Here are 5 key takeaways from the meeting.

Walmart is in talks to buy insurer Humana; new CDC Director Robert Redfield told his staff he thinks an end to AIDS is possible wiithin the next 7 years; a New York agency for the dying created directives for those with dementia allowing them to withhold food and water if they wish.

The #AskTheHIVDoc series, launched by Greater Than AIDS in 2015, tackles frequently asked questions that patients at risk for or living with HIV want to know, should know, or are nervous to ask their doctors about. The series has also found usefulness among physicians and health groups.

With most accountable care organizations (ACOs) continuing to participate in the upside-only track, the Medicare Shared Savings Program has not netted the savings that the Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2010. But some findings indicate the program will see greater savings as more ACOs transition to the downside-risk tracks and gain more years of experience.

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/landing/1137

Despite having higher rates of insurance coverage and more education, cancer survivors were more likely to report difficulties accessing and affording care than adults with no reported history of cancer.

A new report from the Commonwealth Fund says the Trump administration’s proposed regulations encouraging the sale of various health insurance plans that are noncompliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is likely to leave the marketplaces with a smaller group of enrollees who are sicker, unless states step in to consider “regulatory options” to protect the individual insurance market.

Breaking the cycle of prescription opioid abuse requires new thinking around pain management and alternative options for helping patients deal with chronic pain. Here are 6 things physicians should consider before prescribing an opioid.

Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, MD, is out and will be replaced by the White House personal physician; Iowa's governor will sign a bill allowing insurers to sell plans that don't comply with the Affordable Care Act; death certificates missing data lead to an undercounting of opioid overdose deaths.

A natural dietary supplement called nicotinomide riboside mimics caloric restriction and improves blood pressure and arterial health, particularly in those with mild hypertension, according to a small pilot study published Thursday.

There are racial and socioeconomic disparities evident in whether or not patients with kidney failure complete the transplant process, but the use of a navigator can help increase access for these patients in the long term, according to a study.

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/landing/1139

As the companies that remain on the market have gained more experience with the individual and small group market risk pools, and have set higher premiums for exchange plans, their gross profit margins have increased. The Council of Economic Advisors said that the fact that premiums continue to rise “is a clear sign of a distorted market that involves larger transfers from taxpayers to insurers.”