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Consolidation in California’s healthcare system has had a noticeable impact on measures of vertical integration and premiums for insurance bought through the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, according to a study published Tuesday in Health Affairs.

Amgen has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application to the FDA to expand the prescribing information of carfilzomib (Kyprolis) to include a once-weekly dosing option in combination with dexamethasone for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

The COMBI study, a prospective, open‐label, single‐arm phase 2 study ongoing in Denmark, is investigating the feasibility of treating patients with low- to intermediate-risk myelofibrosis or polycythemia vera with low-dose pegylated interferon alfa-2 in combination with ruxolitinib.

Senate Democrats plan to use the confirmation battle for Brett Kavanaugh's to the Supreme Court of the United States to mobilize their base around threats to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the social safety net, and reproductive rights; a Texas courtroom will be the setting for another critical chapter in the fate of the ACA; consumers who buy insurance through ACA markets will find premiums have stabilized in 2019.

A new index released by Oxfam has ranked Washington, DC, along with the 50 US states based on their policies around minimum wages, health and safety, leave, etc—which could be used as a surrogate for the well-being of the labor force. Virginia ranked last and Washington, DC, led the list.

Oncology care model (OCM) practices are awaiting CMS' release of the first performance period one true-up and performance period two initial reconciliation results.

A new long-acting treatment for hemophilia A has been approved for previously treated patients, aged 12 years and older. Bayer’s Jivi was also approved for on-demand treatment and the perioperative management of bleeding in the same population.

As the healthcare system considers alternative payment models that reward high-value care delivery, programs that utilize lay health workers (LHW) may be valuable. A study in JAMA Oncology analyzed whether an LHW program can increase the documentation of patients’ care preferences.

Ovid Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, recently announced that the phase 2 STARS trial, which tested the efficacy of the investigational drug OV101, achieved its primary endpoint of safety and tolerability for treating Angelman syndrome.

Fragility fractures are a serious complication of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but many clinicians who treat patients with diabetes are not aware of the increased risk of these fractures.

Early hospital readmissions for patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represent a major economic burden within the healthcare system and recent research found that comorbid chronic rhinitis is significantly associated with 30-day asthma and COPD related readmissions

A recent review of nearly 582,000 heart attack cases over the span of 19 years found that female patients had a significantly higher survival rate when treated by a female physician in the emergency department.

New research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute has found that although there was some erosion in health insurance offered by employers after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the percentage of private-sector employers offering health benefits increased in 2017 for the first time since 2008.

Here are the top 5 articles for the month of August.

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

E-cigarette use in the United States is more prevalent in people who are younger, have comorbid conditions, or are former or current conventional cigarette smokers, according to results from a recent Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System national report.

Researchers evaluating the different methods used to predict the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) found that human–machine hybrid predictions led to better prognoses than did machine learning algorithms or groups of humans alone.

This week, the top managed care stories included encouraging results from the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization model; concerns that CMS' new billing rules will hurt the sickest patients; a study confirms the value of daily aspirin for patients with diabetes.

A study recently found that an immunotherapy combination treatment of ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo) shrank melanoma that had spread to the brain in more than half of participants.

It’s been more than 100 days since President Trump and HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced the “American Patients First” drug pricing blueprint. Here are 5 actions the government has taken since its release.

A judge tossed a lawsuit brought by pharmaceutical companies to block a California law requiring advance notice of big price increases; the FDA is testing all angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) over a discovered impurity that is linked to cancer; research in monkeys has suggested that an experimental painkiller is effective at easing pain without being addictive.

A survey of patients in the United Kingdom who were diagnosed with cancer found that patients with blood cancers were the least likely to say they completely understood what was wrong when the doctor explained it. They were also less likely to say that their treatment options were explained before treatment started compared with patients with other cancers.

Patient with chronic migraine were more likely to have aggression, anger, and hostility. Comorbid aggression may help to identify suicidality in migraine patients.

Targeted treatment interventions for populations with low levels of viral suppression, paired with tailored prevention packages, will be essential to ending the HIV epidemic in the United States, say researchers.

A look at the experiences of 2 leaders in cross-sector collaboration show how cross-sector data can guide the development of innovative initiatives to improve people’s lives.

A substantial number of prescribers did not regard nonselective beta blockers as contraindicated, suggesting the need for improvement programs that target the prescribers’ awareness and knowledge.

A study has shed new light into the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in multiple sclerosis (MS) and how fingolimod, an immunomodulator drug, affects EVs.

The expansion of Medicaid may mitigate health disparities in cancer diagnosis, according to a recent study that found state variation in reductions in the percentage of uninsured patients aged 18 to 64 years diagnosed with cancer. The researchers said that the results have implications for future disparities in state mortality rates, because health insurance coverage is linked to the ability to have better treatment and survival after diagnosis.

Illinois has passed a law allowing doctors in the state to prescribe marijuana as pain medication in a fight against the opioid epidemic; the FDA has told California that a cancer warning label for coffee is misleading; and the FDA is continuing its push against the illegal sale of opioids.

Hospital participants shared how they have utilized technology to enhance care for heart failure patients. Below are some highlights of these resources and initiatives.