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The Senate cleared the way for lawmakers to decide on Thursday whether to confirm Sylvia Mathews Burwell as secretary of health and human services.

Health insurance exchanges continue to be a work in progress, at least for several states that are facing ongoing challenges. In particular, 5 states-Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, and Oregon-estimate that it will cost $240 million to fix their existing exchanges, or to transition to using the federal exchange.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology's algorithm to help oncologists evaluate the clinical benefits, side effects and costs of a cancer drug or therapy will be fine-tuned over the summer and should be available for public comment by the fall, said Dr. Lowell Schnipper, chair of the society's Value in Cancer Care Task Force.

A physician-scientist who developed a personalized immunotherapy for leukemia using patients' own T cells is the recipient of the 2014 Taubman Prize for Excellence in Translational Medical Science, awarded by the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at the University of Michigan Medical School.

Despite promising results, experts believe it's too early to use ipilimumab for early-stage melanoma, high toxicity being one of the limiting factors.

Robert Gabbay, MD, PhD, discusses the changes he wishes to see in the healthcare system that he calls a "journey toward quality," and with his work at the Joslin Diabetes Center, he dreams of ridding the world of diabetes by implementing innovation.

Lilly's CYRAMZA (ramucirumab) significantly improved overall survival in phase 3 non-small cell lung cancer study. Results from the REVEL trial were published in The Lancet and also presented at ASCO 2014.

Starlin Haydon-Greatting, MS, BSPharm, claims that pharmacist education has changed; by furthering education and credentials, a pharmacist's role in the healthcare world can extend far beyond what were once thought to be the traditional roles of the pharmacist. Pharmacists' involvement in programs such as the Medication Therapy Management, for example, can have a positive impact on health management in general.

Jan Berger, MD, MJ, begins the discussion by asking the panelists what they believe to be the biggest challenge in addressing diabetes.

Josh Benner, PharmD, ScD, President and Founder of RxAnti, discusses a new program designed to help improve medication adherence through a better engagement of healthcare providers.

Nadia S. Islam, PhD, shares her experiences with overcoming ethnic disparities in diabetes care regarding her work in the Asian American communities of New York City. She explains that her research primarily relies upon the active participation of community members and academia, focusing more specifically on the extraordinarily diverse Asian American population.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) will likely improve insurance coverage for most young adults, but subsets of young adults in the United States will face significant premium increases in the individual market. We examined the association between insurance status and cancer-specific outcomes among young adults.

Special Guest Speaker Jay Hewitt, an Ironman triathlete who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1991, capped Thursday night's sessions with a personal account of living with diabetes. Mr Hewitt provided important insight to the importance of appropriate diabetes management.

A recent study found evidence suggesting that genetically modifying immune cells might effectively treat multiple myeloma.

Knowledge is power. The statement holds true in the emergency department, as a new study has found that physician access to information in EHRs may have a significant impact on patient care.

Many residents in New England are going to have more choices in the public exchanges this fall, as some insurers' growth strategies are tested.

The CMS' release of per capita spending for Medicare beneficiaries shows that some states, particularly in the South, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, are spending significantly more on inpatient and post-acute care than northern and western states.

Cancer Care Administered by Oncologist-Owned Practices Costs 3 to 14 Percent Less Than Hospital-Owned Oncology Practices Greatest dollar gaps seen in metastatic colorectal cancer, according to ASCO presentation.

For oncologists and other cancer care specialists, value-based care is essential.

Excitement at ASCO 2014 on Incyte's new immunoonoclogy drug candidate, INCB024360 ('360),in melanoma, despite a small 'n'.

In recent years, spending in just about every area of the nation's health care system remarkably has slowed. U.S. health care costs rose by just 3.7 percent in 2012, according to a report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), marking the fourth consecutive year of slow growth.

Charges for some of the most common inpatient procedures surged at hospitals across the country in 2012 from a year earlier, some at more than four times the national rate of inflation, according to data released by Medicare officials on Monday.

A new study finds that Medicare is spending billions of dollars more than it needs to on prescription drugs for low-income seniors and disabled beneficiaries.

The federal government may reimburse doctors for talking to Medicare patients and their families about advance care planning, including living wills and end-of-life treatment options potentially rekindling one of the fiercest storms in the Affordable Care Act debate.

With 36 states utilizing Healthcare.gov, and with at least 2 additional states considering enrollment, the concept of a national healthcare insurance exchange (HIE) may quickly become a reality.

In the search for meaningful patient care improvements and sustainable financing, some independent physician groups are charting unique approaches that may offer models for payers and providers in the age of cost-containment and risk-sharing.

Specialty pharmaceuticals are currently the object of payer focus as one of the major drivers of increased pharmacy spending in 2014 and beyond.

2.5 Credits - CPE | Expires 05/21/2016

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has resigned amid widespread troubles in the VA healthcare system. President Barack Obama says he accepted the resignation with "considerable regret."

Beginning July 1, health providers can expect to receive incentives for prescribing specific cancer treatments backed by the insurance company WellPoint. The WellPoint's innovative program will pay providers $350 per patient per month each time they choose 1 of the insurer's "preferred" cancer treatment options.