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Improved and standardized reporting across healthcare organizations is needed to better understand the impact of health information technology (IT) on adverse events, according to a report from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

Several states hit backlogs enrolling the flood of new Medicaid recipients under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but New Jersey's experience appears to be in a category of its own: an effort to upgrade antiquated computer systems and fold in the ACA at the same time failed miserably, leaving an estimated 11,000 residents without coverage as 2014 ends.

The plaintiff, John Doe, alleges that not having access to a community pharmacist will limit his ability to gain counseling on potential drug interactions. United Healthcare settled a similar action earlier in 2014. Consumer groups have also alleged discrimination against HIV patients by insurers over drug access in Florida.

The FDA has provided Emergency Use Authorization, a pre-approval for use in bad outbreaks, for Roche's new Ebola test, the LightMix Ebola Zaire rRT-PCR Test.

Consumers remain very confused about their health insurance coverage, but the federal government is looking to provide a better understanding of benefits for consumers shopping for coverage.

Blackberry announced the product of their collaboration with NantHealth: a healthcare app for doctors and nurses who use their smartphones.

The quality-measurement enterprise in US healthcare is troubled. Measure developers are creating ever more measures, and payers are requiring their use in more settings and tying larger financial rewards or penalties to performance.

A year ago, some Maine residents would have described the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as "hellish." Since then, a lot has changed. And a lot has stayed the same.

Using a provision of the Affordable Care Act, many state Medicaid agencies are trying to diminish use of medical services by super-utilizers by better managing their care. The goal is to not only reduce costs, but to achieve better health outcomes for these patients.

With this approval, the vaccine can effectively protect against 5 additional types of HPV than the parent Gardasil vaccine, thereby preventing the development of cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers, based on a randomized clinical trial.

Marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb as Opdivo, this PD-1 inhibitor was previously granted breakthrough status.

To provide a smooth transition in the first year of the auto-enrollment and renewal process, health plans are voluntarily providing flexibility with payment deadlines for consumers purchasing coverage through the federal Marketplace.

The Nature letter published results showing that the monoclonal antibody targeting PD-1 had antitumor activity, but more importantly, the response was greater in patients overexpressing the PD-L1 receptor, thereby opening the doors for targeted therapy.

HHS is collaborating with the nation's largest pharmacies to encourage enrollment through the Health Insurance Marketplace at thousands of locations across the country.

Gilead Sciences' hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni are the poster children for out-of-control drug costs, but competition from AbbVie's drug may place downward pressure on these prices.

Single-payer health insurance-the only coverage option less popular among conservatives than Obamacare-suffered a setback last week, and it could be fatal.

Republican Governor Bobby Jindal moved quickly to privatize 6 public hospitals with advanced lease payments, and he set up a prescription reimbursement schedule without prior approval from CMS. The agency signed off on privatization but rejected both financial pieces this week, which could leave Louisiana's next governor with a budget shortfall.

San Diego County is doing much better than the national average at reducing readmissions to hospitals, yet nearly all their eligible hospitals are being penalized by Medicare's hospital readmissions penalty program.

Researchers at Stanford University found that when CMS stopped paying for 2 preventable, hospital-acquired conditions in particular, the incidence of the conditions dropped 35% in the Medicare population.

Consumers, administrators, primary care physicians and specialists all agree: they do not think that the healthcare system is on the right track, according to a study from Booz Allen Hamilton and Ipsos Public Affairs.

Marketplace health insurance premiums across the nation did not increase from 2014 to 2015. However, while the overall costs were flat, some states did see substantial average premium increases, which were offset by declines in other states.

The FDA will recommend in 2015 to lift the lifetime ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men. However, the agency will keep in place a one-year ban after homosexual activity.

The Obama administration's top Medicaid official, who negotiated tough terms with states seeking to expand the program under the health law, is stepping down.

Anthem, Inc, increased its managed care footprint in the state of Florida. On Monday, the company has entered into an agreement to acquire Simply Healthcare Holdings, Inc.

Nearly half of the patients who had access to electronic medical records withheld clinically sensitive information from some or all of their healthcare providers, according to a new study.

Comprehensive care compared with usual care for high-risk children with chronic illness reduced total hospital and clinic costs as well as illnesses, according to a new study in JAMA.

The Ebola outbreak exposed some serious gaps in the nation's ability to manage severe infectious disease threats with half of the country scoring low on key indicators related to preventing, detecting, diagnosing, and responding to outbreaks.

CMS' Sean Cavanaugh announces in a blog post that 89 newcomers will participate in 2015. But ACOs remain a work in progress, with rule changes on the way and some discussion about whether these entities are assuming enough risk or dampening competition in certain markets.

The most important case since the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act will determine the law's ability to function in states without their own exchanges.

Florida's Republican Governor, Rick Scott, tried and failed to expand Medicaid in 2013. Now, a coalition of hospital, business, and community leaders are advocating for private option-style expansion. CMS will have to decide how far it is willing to bend before President Obama leaves office.