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Access to, and levels of spending on, prescription drugs has become an important public policy issue. The development and implementation of patient-centered solutions that allow access to medications at an affordable cost are of critical importance.

The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases/Infectious Diseases Society of America Guidance Panel is recommending that before patients begin antiviral therapies for the treatment of hepatitis C, that they be screened for hepatitis B, as well.

What we're reading, September 26, 2016: the obesity rate in America has been rising steadily, but the health system is ill equipped to treat these patients; the pros and cons of mail-order medications; and barring recipients of federal funding from preventing money from going to Planned Parenthood.

AbbVie’s blockbuster arthritis medication, adalimumab (Humira), now has an FDA-approved competitor: Amgen’s adalimumab-atto, also called Amjevita.

Older fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries with dementia who have lower levels of continuity of care have higher rates of hospitalization, emergency department visits, testing, and healthcare spending.

Under the Affordable Care Act, health centers received federal funding to provide comprehensive primary care to patients in underserved communities. An analysis of Medicaid claims data in 13 states has found that these health centers reduced spending by 24% per Medicaid patient.

This week, the top managed care stories included another boost to the Cancer Moonshot initiative, results from an accountable care organization in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, and coverage of new and emerging therapies in Evidence-Based Diabetes Management.

An ongoing clinical trial has shown that the use of a recently approved hepatitis C virus (HCV) medication could make it possible to transplant HCV-infected kidneys into non-infected patients.

Readmission rates for both safety net hospitals and other hospitals have decreased since Medicare’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program went into effect in 2013. However, disparate rates of improvement could show that these hospitals in low-income areas are still at a disadvantage.

Reports from the RAND Corporation, paid for by The Commonwealth Fund, portray starkly different results from the healthcare plans offered by the candidates for president.

Fitbits and other trackers are everywhere, but the study by JAMA finds that they may not help users with sustained weight loss, which has long eluded researchers.

UnitedHealth has posted a presentation on its website that provides an update to its pharmacy benefits and prescription drug lists for 2017.

About half of people involved with the justice system are newly eligible for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. While coverage is rising, one-third still lack insurance.

Our peer-reviewed research in the healthcare and mainstream press.

The FDA has announced a public competition to develop a mobile application that allows users to find the nearest location of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone. Here are 5 things to know about the 2016 Naloxone App Competition.

What we're reading, September 23, 2016: California's insurance commissioner wants to try a public option; Valeant avoids double-digit price hikes with 9.9% increases; maker of Suboxone being sued by 35 states and the District of Columbia for keeping generics off the market.

A report finds that access to buprenorphine in Medicaid varies widely depending on where patients live. It's the latest example of the lack of mental health parity that former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy confronts in his long quest for equity in care.

Research published in the journal JAMA Oncology argues that major lifestyle changes can significantly delay the onset of cancer.

Compared with a decade ago, the vast majority of long-term care claimants are satisfied with their coverage and interactions with the insurance company, according to a survey sponsored by America's Health Insurance Plans.

Research conducted at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has found that white women performed better than black women on physical and functional health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) scores, but not spiritual HRQOL.

What we're reading, September 22, 2016: a new bill would cap out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries; world leaders agreed to a global effort to curb the spread of superbugs; and Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, MD, will donate $3 billion over 10 years to cure disease.

While declining smoking rates have caused cardiovascular disease to decline overall, some risk factors are rising, such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.

The study in BMJ found that people with the FTO gene were just as likely to lose weight through interventions, such as diet, exercise, or therapy.

A new study published in the journal PLoS Medicine has found strong evidence that a significant portion of information on adverse events, gathered from clinical trials, remains unpublished.

Most efforts to reduce low-value care have so far been focused on areas where there is general agreement, and more discussions are needed to reach a consensus on additional aspects of care that are considered low value.

What we're reading, September 21, 2016: Missouri law to charge Medicaid patients for missed doctor's appointments is in limbo; generic drugs' potential to bring down costs; fitness trackers cause people to lose less weight.

Colombia has decided to slash the price of imatinib mesylate (Gleevec), manufactured by Novartis, by nearly half.

People who visit the emergency department (ED) for mental health care are transferred to another facility at a rate 6 times higher than people who visit EDs for non-psychiatric conditions, and they wait hours longer, as well

The National Cancer Institute's Cancer Moonshot initiative received yet another boost following Vice President Joe Biden’s announcement of several activities to accelerate the pace of oncology clinical research.