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As specialty drug costs, formulary wars, and reimbursement models grab headlines everyday, we need to take a step back and visualize how all of this might impact innovation and whether the patient stands to lose in the process.

Two PCSK9 inhibitors under development-one by Amgen and the other jointly by Sanofi and Regeneron-could eventually cost the US healthcare system $150 billion per year. William Shrank, the chief scientific officer of CVS thinks these costs would be unsustainable for the healthcare industry that is already rattled by the burgeoning cost of specialty medications.

The combination of Revlimid with dexamethasone, previously approved for treatment in patients with multiple myeloma who received at least 1 prior treatment, has received FDA approval for use in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.

Last night's announcement came in a video release featuring President Obama and HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell. The president cited the Affordable Care Act's reach into previously underserved markets and the increased level of consumer choice in 2015; increased competition as the law goes forward will drive down premiums over time, he said.

The study published in Clinical Cancer Research elucidated an in vitro mechanism that could explain why cabazitaxel is more effective in some prostate cancer patients. The study also identified a biomarker that could provide precision medicine for a subset of patients.

Following his collaboration with other research scientists to protest the cost of cancer drugs, Hagop Kantarjian, MD, from the MD Anderson Cancer Center has now turned to patients.

The survey, conducted by salesforce.com, showed that 71% patients want their doctor to use a mobile application to schedule appointments, share health data, and manage preventive care; 60% patients reported an interest in using telehealth in place of in-person visits.

Cancer patients with less involvement in their treatment decisions are less likely to report excellent quality of care even if they prefer physician-controlled decisions, according to a study in JAMA Oncology.

Changes in open enrollments to come and evolving state and federal policies promise new uncertainties for insurers trying to soundly price their plans and retain membership.

Iowa's timetable calls for receiving bids by May 8, 2015, and signing a contract by August 28, 2015. Officials want the program up and running January 1, 2016, because they seek $51 million in savings in the first 6 months.

Patients and payers have been anxiously awaiting approval of the first "biosimilar" medicines in the United States, hoping the new biologics will lower the cost of these often lifesaving treatments.

The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that having a prior cancer diagnosis did not affect outcomes among the patients with advanced lung cancer, which means these patients should be allowed to take part in clinical trials of new lung cancer treatments.

Due to technical problems with its website HealthCare.gov, CMS and HHS announced a week-long extension for signing up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

State and local government healthcare spending grew at a rate of just 3.2% in 2013, which is a sharp decline from the previous 2 years, according to the latest data from CMS.

New bills in Congress seek to make a number of program improvements to the Children's Health Insurance Program and extend funding through 2019.

Proving that no one is immune to the changes sweeping the healthcare industry, 2 of Chicago's most prestigious teaching hospitals are being dinged by insurance companies trying to control costs.

Amidst changes in healthcare financing and delivery, health plans and providers need to be revising their business models to remain profitable, according to Avalere's healthcare industry outlook for 2015.

Open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act lacked the chaos and drama of 2014, thanks to improvements in HealthCare.gov. But there is still plenty of uncertainty ahead, as the fate of financial supports rests with the US Supreme Court.

A Republican in the Mississippi House has introduced a bill that would create a 13-person commission on the future of Medicaid and healthcare.

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital found that decades after undergoing cranial irradiation for childhood cancer, adult survivors remain at risk for pituitary hormone deficiencies that may diminish their health and quality of life.

Researchers at the University of Leicester and Leicester's Hospitals are evaluating a revolutionary device which detects lung cancer in early stages.

While incremental cost effectiveness ratio is often presented as an absolute means upon which to base the decision of whether changing treatments is "worth it," these calculations are not absolute truths.

After 4 years of concerted effort among California's healthcare facilities serving low-income patients, patient satisfaction has increased in key measures.

The financial consequences of Anthem's massive data breach could reach beyond the $100 million mark, according to reports.

The US mental healthcare system includes a range of federal programs-across multiple agencies-for those with mental illness. Past efforts to develop a list of federal programs supporting individuals with serious mental illness have highlighted the difficulty of identifying such programs.

A one-minute look at managed care news during the week of February 9, 2015, including an announcement of a new Affordable Care Initiative and a potential change to recommended dietary guidelines.

More than 375,000 Kentuckians signed up for the state's expanded Medicaid program in 2014, and doing so has saved Kentucky approximately $100 million, according to a new report.

A new study in JAMA suggests that penalizing hospitals for patient readmissions following surgery may be ineffective, and even counterproductive, for improving the quality of hospital care in America.

Many proposals to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act rely on high-risk health insurance pools to cover people with preexisting conditions.

With the March 4 Supreme Court hearing on King v. Burwell looming, big business is stepping up to defend the healthcare reform law.