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This week in managed care, an exclusive report on how Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey's OMNIA plan will affect maternity patterns; a Senate investigation found Gilead Sciences knew its Sovaldi price was high; and World AIDS Day observes the progress made.

A student-led study shows why patients remain uninsured despite the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

The warnings will address 2 issues: the risk of too much acid in the blood and severe urinary tract infections.

Study looks at how cost-effective 2 drugs that prevent stroke are from a patient's viewpoint.

The deal is the latest in a wave of mega-mergers that are reshaping managed care in the wake of the Affordable Care Act.

The estimate is based on the larger number of Americans now eligible to be treated for high LDL cholesterol, based on guidelines adopted in 2013.

Results come the same week that CDC announced a drop in new cases of diabetes that was confined to white, well-educated Americans.

As the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology kicks off on Saturday, December 5, 2015, a lot of new clinical data will be presented, practice-changing treatments will be introduced, and new healthcare policies will be discussed.

What we're reading, December 4, 2015: restaurant group sues New York City over salt warnings rule; Turing CEO remains unapologetic over Daraprim price hike; and women face a higher risk of needing costly, long-term care.

Efforts to improve patient safety have reduced hospital-acquired conditions by 17% from 2010 to 2014 and saved 87,000 lives and nearly $20 billion

A measure to delay the unpopular "Cadillac tax," part of President Obama's health reform law, overwhelmingly passed the Senate by a 90-10 vote on Thursday.

In a study published in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, the authors present a rating system that includes downstream costs following treatment to estimate the real-world financial impact of the drug.

Results first presented at the American Diabetes Association in June are published. The new drug application has since been filed at FDA.

Electronic health record adoption in US hospitals has progressed well, but small and rural hospitals remain behind and face financial penalties.

Another hearing on Horizon BCBS of New Jersey's OMNIA plan reveals how the Christie Administration's failure to keep pace with a changing healthcare market left regulators ill-equipped to address a far-reaching plan that has upset urban mayors, legislators, and safety net hospitals.

What we're reading, December 3, 2015: health spending in the US topped $3 trillion in 2014; experts debate the true impact of proposed health insurer mega-mergers; and a survey finds ICD-10 transition has been mostly without trouble.

An exhaustive study published by Kaiser Permanente in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute has confirmed that antidepressants do not cause recurrence in breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen.

This year's measures include 60 that will be part of the new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System or MIPS, which was created under legislation that eliminated the Sustainable Growth Rate.

Critics of the Global Energy Balance Network had compared its work to the tactics of big tobacco, which decades ago had sponsored studies to dissuade Americans that cigarettes were dangerous.

Targets for savings needed to cover retirees' healthcare expenses are rising.

Hospitals are facing hundreds of millions in penalties for readmissions, and they are trying coding gimmicks to avoid these. Instead, it's time send a nurse home with every discharge.

A study published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment cognitive-behavioral stress management introduced early in care management can improve breast cancer outcomes.

What we're reading, December 2, 2015: Gilead priced Sovaldi knowing the high cost would be a challenge for patients and payers; Senate Republicans will vote Thursday on Obamacare repeal and expect to get the needed votes; and a report calls for a better focus on women's health.

Compared with patients who had clinical encounters involving low computer use, those who experienced high computer use by their physicians were less likely to rate their care as excellent, a study reports.

Entering into the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces was a bad decision, according to the CEO of UnitedHealth Group Inc, which is considering pulling back from participation in 2017.

Financial and communication barriers are major impediments to quality end-of-life care for ethnic minorities.

Despite the good news, experts warn against being complacent, because new cases are still high among minorities and those with little education.

A new study suggests that a poor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy-frequently administered to black, Hispanic, and Asian women-could dictate survival rates in breast cancer.

Anthony S. Fauci, MD, of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, co-authors an article that calls for broader use of ART to bring about the end of AIDS, more than 30 years after the dawn of the pandemic.

What we're reading, December 1, 2015: $1 alternative to Daraprim being made available; over-the-counter medications are convenient and affordable but have their own dangers; and an analysis looks at the reasons why prescription drugs are so much more expensive in the US.