All News

A letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine questions the FDA's acceptance of surrogate endpoints for what the authors describe as "costly, toxic drugs that do not improve overall survival."

Wound care specialists, who treat burn victims and diabetics with foot ulcers, say the move to end coverage if a dressing is made of more than 50% honey by weight is arbitrary and makes no sense from a medical standpoint. A final LCD is pending.

When the Affordable Care Act was proposed more than 6 years ago, the discussion about end-of-life care was limited by political fighting and inertia. Today, there is a greater openness to engaging in this important discussion.

Patients face many obstacles to effective treatment for pelvic floor disorders.

What we're reading, October 21, 2015: influential Republican's on health committees oppose the Affordable Care Act's reinsurance program for insurers; shareholder's of Aetna say yes to the company's merger with Humana; and the genetic testing company will once again start sharing health information with consumers.

A decade after the introduction of the Medicare Part D program and the program has seen great success-but that may be coming to an end. Panelists debated just that and discussed rising drug costs during a session at America's Health Insurance Plans' National Conference on Medicare.

Throughout Governor Terry Branstad's effort to bring Medicaid managed care to Iowa, critics have questioned whether it will limit access for beneficiaries. Contracts have been signed, and now savings are being questioned.

As part of an effort to give patients meaningful and transparent price information to make better-informed decisions about their healthcare, St. Luke's University Health Network launched a price transparency program for patients with high-deductible health plans.

A new evidence-based guidance update provided by the American Cancer Society, published yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine, recommends a delay in initiating screening mammograms in women with an average risk of developing the disease.

While there are reports of high patient satisfaction and well-managed costs in the Medicare program, the next 50 years will be full of new challenges, said Andrew Slavitt, acting CMS administrator, during the opening session at America's Health Insurance Plans' National Conference on Medicare.

What we're reading, October 20, 2015: Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, will lead Duke's Center for Health Policy; the eligible uninsured will face higher fines in 2016; and Canadian researchers use digital media to improve quality and care outcomes.

Standard treatment for type 2 diabetes has been to use oral therapy until the disease progresses, but researchers are rethinking that approach.

Horizon and New Jersey insurance officials have slightly different reasons why it was OK for the insurer to roll out its high-profile population health and cost-saving effort 5 days before the network plan was approved. A critic of the plan says it should be stopped.

A new study in JAMA Internal Medicine has found that financial integration between physicians and hospitals has led to higher spending in outpatient care.

A recent study finds that newly diagnosed cancer patients with incomes below $50,000 are less likely to participate in clinical trials than patients with higher incomes, providing more evidence that income disparities in trial participation remains a serious problem.

A panel discussion at the PMC/BIO Solutions Summit in Washington, DC, saw an exchange on widespread and appropriate education of personalized medicine among payers, providers, patients, and families.

Two Harvard Medical School professors debate the merits of the annual physical in editorials published in New England Journal of Medicine.

What we're reading October 19, 2015: Clinton campaign leads rivals in pharma donations, lawmakers in North Carolina open to provider-led organizations and managed care, big surge in Medicare spending on hepatitis C drugs.

States can use their prescription drug monitoring programs to detect abuse and misuse of controlled substances, according to a report in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Surveillance Summary.

Better support for healthcare providers to reduce stress and prevent burnout was a key point of conversation during the opening keynote at US News & World Report's third annual Hospital of Tomorrow forum in Washington, DC.

By the end of 2016, 10 million people are expected to have insurance coverage through the health insurance marketplaces and be paying their premiums, which is a small increase from the current 9.1 million individuals.

Arkansas was recently found to have an obesity rate of 35.9%, but the new plan does not call for any mandates, only incentives for schools and businesses.

Top managed care stories this week include comparing US healthcare spending and outcomes to other wealthy nations, identifying how many Americans are affected by Medicaid expansion coverage gaps, and a look at adolescents and young patients with cancer.

As the country moves from volume to value, accountable care organizations (ACOs) can play a key role during the transition from fee-for-service. How well do you know ACOs?

NCCN Evidence Blocks add affordability to Guidelines recommendations on safety, efficacy, quality, and consistency of regimens.

The 15th annual survey finds the march of managed care continues in expansion and non-expansion states alike. Enrollment went up in states that did not expand under the Affordable Care Act, though less rapidly.

The results of a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases necessitate a wake-up call for stakeholders to develop a new approach that can overcome the rapidly-growing threat of antibiotic resistance.

Not just providers of care, but payers as well have been having a hard time embracing the rapidly-evolving and dynamic field of personalized medicine, according to panel members at the recently held PMC/BIO Solutions Summit.

What we're reading, October 16, 2015: judge rules orphan drugs do not need to be sold at discount under 340B, hospitals can use resources at their disposal to overcome the "weekend effect," and AstraZeneca's diabetes combination drug fails to win FDA approval.

The analysis by Anthem Inc, has identified a need for more widespread implementation of these interventions aimed at reducing healthcare utilization.