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This week, the top managed care stories included a road map to develop state-level programs to care for complex populations; the Physician-focused Payment Technical Advisory Committee backed 2 new alternative payment models; a new cancer gene profiling test may open doors to new targeted therapies.

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

Rhode Island and Vermont consider state-level individual insurance mandates; Utahns support full Medicaid expansion; CMS approves a first-of-its-kind 10-year Medicaid waiver for Mississippi.

A look at the most popular articles published in Evidence-Based Oncology™ in 2017.

Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have a significantly greater risk for additional atopic diseases, as well as significantly greater healthcare resource utilization and total cost compared with adults without AD. The burden of AD was generally comparable to that of psoriasis, although patients with AD reported increased use of emergency room visits compared with patients with psoriasis.

As 2017 came to close, The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) asked readers to weigh in on the events they believed had the greatest impact on managed care during the year. As the votes came in, it was clear that what happens in Washington, DC, matters—and that Capitol Hill policy makers will continue to make a difference in 2018.

The FDA has approved the sale of the Dermapace System, the first shock wave device intended to treat diabetic foot ulcers.

A majority of patients—most uninsured—presenting to a public hospital emergency department (ED) after treatment for the same complaint in another local, but private, ED were indirectly referred to the public one without transferring paperwork or records, incurring repeat testing and raising patient anxiety, according to a study published online ahead of print in the January 2018 issue of Academic Emergency Medicine.

A recent study found patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) have a higher rate of co-occurring adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Curbs on physician self-referrals in Medicare may have made sense in a fee-for-service environment, but they present significant barriers to payment reform as the nation moves to value-based models.

Poll finds one-third of Americans believe the Affordable Care Act has been repealed; enrollees in Obamacare coverage largely come from states that voted for President Donald Trump; 2 trials find Zika vaccines are safe and effective.

Adapting payment models to reward outcomes is key to making lifestyle change fit into a managed care framework, several articles find.

Checkpoint inhibitors, compared with docetaxel, are associated with significantly prolonged overall survival in second and later lines of treatment for advanced non–small cell lung cancer, according to study findings published in JAMA Oncology.

The authors of a study published in JAMA Cardiology assessed the relationship between growth in Medicaid expenditures and decreased mortality over a 15-year period.

After 14 weeks of treatment, both once-daily doses (15 mg and 30 mg) of upadacitinib met the study’s primary endpoints of low disease activity and ACR20 versus continuing methotrexate therapy.

Low medication adherence is a problem in healthcare, in general. However, adolescents with chronic health conditions also have low adherence, but they are at a critical age when they can create routines and health behaviors that optimize disease management as they become adults.

A recent study, published in JAMA Dermatology, investigated whether there was an association between insurance type and surgical delays for patients with melanoma.

One way to improve healthcare quality and efficiency and reduce the use of unnecessary care is to apply the principles of value-based insurance design, which aligns patients’ out-of-pocket costs with the value of services.

This year, papers published in The American Journal of Accountable Care® (AJAC®)explored novel notes systems, telemedicine, alternative payment models, specialist consult coordination, and health workforce use within accountable care organizations, in addition to many other topics. These 5 articles exploring the meaning of quality and how to achieve it were the most read from AJAC® in 2017.

In the last 4 years, the number of drug ads seen on TV has increased 65%; Kmart settled a prescription drug case over allegations it was being overpaid by the government; understanding the term "evidence-based" and how critics and supporters view it.

Patients cared for by physicians in their first year as hospitalists have worse 30-day and hospital mortality when compared with more experienced hospitalists.

While FoundationOne CDx, the comprehensive companion diagnostic test for solid tumors, gives patients the ability to be accurately matched with a targeted therapy, it also has potential benefits for patients with a less common types of cancers, said Stuart Goldberg, MD, chief scientific officer, Cota, in an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care®.

Based on long-term observations, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor utilization is a safe and effective treatment to prevent infections and improve quality of life in patients with cyclic neutropenia, according to an analysis in The New England Journal of Medicine.

More than 700 hospitals were penalized for having the highest rates of patient injuries; the Physician-focused Payment Technical Advisory Committee backed 2 new alternative payment models; and experts outline the biggest challenges of implementing and maintaining electronic health records going into the new year.

With reimbursement increasingly tied to outcomes, health systems and practices are trying to find ways to reduce costs while delivering better care. Some of the most-read articles in The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) in 2017 included an analysis of the benefits of treating everyone with hepatitis C with new, expensive treatments, a program to reduce readmissions, and a look at the impact of value-based contracting in Medicare Advantage.

Less than 10% of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who may benefit from pulmonary rehabilitation received a referral from their physician, according to a new study. However, there was no association found between referral status and COPD exacerbations.

The FDA has removed a boxed warning on medicines delivering a combinations of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and long-acting beta agonists (LABA) drugs.

Scientists from King’s College London uncovered a new mechanism of cellular communication, between neurons and immune cells, in a discovery that could lead to new treatment targets for neuropathic pain.

The spending bill featured a waiver to avoid Medicare cuts in 2018, before voters to go to the polls in the midterm elections.

Asthma, a leading cause of emergency department visits and hospitalizations among American preschoolers, may be worse in children aged 2 to 5 who are overweight or obese.