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The HHS Pharmaceutical Forum brought together a diverse set of stakeholders to share ideas on delivering affordable but high-quality care, improving outcomes, and continuing to lead in innovation. Here are 5 things that came out of the daylong meeting.

What we're reading, November 20, 2015: CMS wants to penalize doctors for ordering routine prostate-cancer screening tests; lawmakers, patients, and advocates call for head of Drug Enforcement Agency to be fired; and specialty drug costs exceed household incomes.

A panel that discussed the prospect of FDA regulation of diagnostic tests in oncology helped open Patient-Centered Oncology Care November 19, 2015, in Baltimore, Maryland.

At the Patient-Centered Oncology Care 2015 meeting, held November 19-20, 2015, in Baltimore, Maryland, keynote speaker Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology provided perspectives on the challenges faced by oncologists as the healthcare system transitions to define and incorporate value in the care delivered.

Rates of uninsured individuals vary dramatically across the country, and while some states made huge gains in covered individuals, others have lagged behind.

Steven M. Goldman, a former NJ insurance commissioner, sued the department he once led on behalf of a group of hospitals, saying officials had abdicated their duty in approving Horizon's tiered network plans.

The study population took part in the landmark ORIGIN trial, which evaluated hypoglycemia effects in persons with high CV risk and diabetes.

Collaboration between organizations serving the young adult cancer population benefits all involved

Due to poor performance in the Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchange's, UnitedHealth Group is considered pulling its plans from the exchanges in 2017.

Eligibility for prescription coverage and family income significantly influenced women's decisions to continue hormonal therapy and prevent recurrence of breast cancer, the authors found.

A majority of life sciences companies are planning on acquisitions and are targeting companies with a personalized medicine focus.

What we're reading, November 19, 2015: the American Medical Association is calling for a ban on direct-to-consumer television advertisement of prescription drugs and popular silver plans on HealthCare.gov have largest premium increases.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology has made public its detailed guidance to CMS, supporting implementation of physician-focused and other alternative payment models under MACRA.

The hiring of William J. Castner, Jr., comes after St. Peter's Hospital won the right to a hearing where the insurer will have to give more details on why it left the hospital out of its OMNIA network. However, a spokeman for the insurer said the hiring is due to a restructuring.

This is the company's third biosimilar Biologics License Application in the United States.

The study found that 1 in 10 Americans struggles with a drug use disorder at some point in their lives.

A weight-loss cell phone app alone did not help overweight young adults sustain weight loss any better than a written handout did.

The action by NICE highlights discussion on both sides of the Atlantic about the cost of PCSK9 inhibitors, which lower LDL cholesterol.

Although, data on predictive risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been limited until now, researchers from the United Kingdom recently developed a model for predicting exacerbation risk using data obtainable from primary care.

What we're reading, November 18, 2015: global drug spending is expected to grow 30% in 5 years; Robert M. Califf, MD, sits through mostly friendly senate confirmation hearing for FDA nomination; and moderate coffee consumption could reduce some risks of death.

CMS has made available $32 million in funds to support efforts to further reduce the rate of uninsured children who are eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program.

The drug is estimated to cost close to $13,000 per month.

Critics say there's little documentation for the $51.3 million in savings the Branstad administration says it will achieve in the first 6 months of 2016.

It is time to regulate laboratory-developed tests that cost Medicare $9.7 billion in the year 2012 alone.

Many nonprofit hospitals have "far from perfect" performance on a requirement of the Affordable Care Act to notify patients who qualify for charity care.

What we're reading, November 17, 2015: misunderstanding of antibiotics has fueled the rise of drug-resistant superbugs; healthcare leaders overwhelmingly support government intervention to curb rising cost of drugs; and the FDA wants more regulation on laboratory-developed tests.

CMS has finalized a rule for a bundled payment test for hip and knee replacements that will be mandatory for nearly all hospitals in 67 geographical areas across the country.

The drug was approved based on results of 2 open-label studies that showed reduction in tumor burden of patients who had previously received multiple lines of therapy.

Express Scripts has dropped a specialty pharmacy from its network and filed a lawsuit seeking $140 million from Horizon Pharma. The drugmaker claims Express Scripts' lawsuit relates to a previous dispute.

The study suggests treating depression could help combating poor diet and obesity. But in Kentucky, the future of Medicaid expansion is in doubt following the recent election.