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For millions, the Affordable Care Act promised relief from the expenses of contraception. So why are many still not feeling it?

Including a real-time decision support tool in the prior authorization process significantly reduced the cost of therapy for UnitedHealthcare, while complying with nationally accepted guidelines established by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

The healthcare community needs to understand and address the personal and social circumstances that contribute to a patient’s health before they can improve the quality of care, according to 2 presentations in the first segment of the National Committee for Quality Assurance Quality Talks conference in Washington, DC.

Lawmakers have been working on the problem of what to do about out-of-network bills that result from emergency room care for more than a year.

Analysis by researchers from the American Cancer Society has found that US southern states rank at the top when it comes to death from cigarette smoking.

What we’re reading, October 24, 2016: Cigna makes it easier for clinicians to prescribe drugs to treat opioid addiction; some hospitals move to eliminate sugary drinks from their campuses; and a researcher at the National Cancer Institute was months late to notify authorities of 2 deaths in the clinical trial he oversaw.

While the link between stress and medication adherence is well known, this study attempted to measure how much stress affected adherence.

The number of accountable care organizations (ACOs) has grown rapidly over the last 4 years, with more than 800 ACOs now covering an estimated 28 million Americans. A study found that commercial ACOs were significantly larger and more integrated with hospitals and had lower benchmark expenditures and high quality scores compared with noncommercial ACOs.

Despite awareness of a rapidly increasing size and proportion of older persons in the United States, the nation is not investing sufficiently in keeping people healthy late in life, and significant deficiencies are predicted in our capacity to deliver the medical, public health, and support services needed for the future frail and ill older population.

Freestanding children’s hospitals had the largest financial losses for pediatric inpatients covered by Medicaid, and may be unable to offset reductions in federal Disproportionate Share Hospital payments because of the expansion of health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

A home-based palliative care (HBPC) program tested within an accountable care organization (ACO) demonstrated substantial cost savings and reduced hospital admissions for patients near the end of life, according to a Journal of Palliative Medicine study.

A study of heavy drinkers found that those who drank coffee regularly were less than half as likely to develop alcoholic hepatitis. A certain genotype was also found to be a significant protective factor.

The top stories in managed care included Vice President Joe Biden's released his report on the Cancer Moonshot initiative, complaints were filed against 7 insurers for discriminating against people with HIV, and Pfizer announced it plans to launch its Remicade biosimilar in November.

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

What We’re Reading, October 21, 2016: KEYNOTE-045 for pembrolizumab stopped early; new recommendations for digital media use by children; and Walgreens merger with Rite Aid pushed to 2017.

Communication gaps complicate healthcare and can devastate the prognosis of a patient undergoing cancer treatment. Here are a few ways to overcome inconsistencies with cancer care delivery

Current work seeks to perfect the algorithm that would someday let the insulin pump automatically make the multitude of delivery decisions that would have been made by a healthy pancreas. Advances are happening alongside a shifting landscape in payer coverage, with advocates worried that they might lack choice amid so much innovation.

The study of teenagers found that the risk of early death from diabetes increased at BMI levels below the cutoff for what is considered "normal" in adults.

The assessment comes after HHS has put months of effort into attracting young, uninsured adults, including those who have previously paid a penalty for not being insured and those who are likely eligible for financial assistance.

A study presented at the 2016 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons claims that one-third of women diagnosed with breast cancer do not receive their follow-up exam.

What we're reading, October 20, 2016: CDC recommends fewer doses of the HPV vaccine; HHS expects an enrollment to increase by 1 million in the upcoming season; and HIPAA violations result in a multimillion fine for St. Joseph's Health.

Implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate in 2012 was associated with more consistent use of generic oral contraceptives, according to a new study.

Diets lacking essential nutrients can exacerbate chronic conditions in survivors of childhood cancer and dietary interventions might be necessary to reduce morbidities in this population.

In current Medicare benefit designs, out-of-pocket costs do not reflect the expected clinical benefit or value of care. Research indicates that increasing patient cost sharing not only reduces the use of non-essential care, but also reduces the utilization of essential care.

The findings in Diabetologia separate the effects of activity from diet and other behaviors across 23 studies covering more than 1 million people.

Seventy Americans and 9 international members were elected to the National Academy of Medicine this week.

What we're reading, October 19, 2016: the District of Columbia will vote on right-to-die legislation; huge premium increases for Obamacare plans; and why primary care physicians haven't gotten involved in the opioid epidemic.

Atezolizumab, an inhibitor of the programmed death ligand-1 protein, has been approved for the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer who failed to respond to treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy.

For millions, the Affordable Care Act promised relief from the expenses of contraception. So why are many still not feeling it?

Supportive housing targets individuals who have experienced homelessness with chronic disease, disabilities, mental health issues, or substance use disorders. And with the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, the program can help address supportive housing needs.