Policy

The Senate passed a bipartisan gun law, the first major gun legislation in nearly 30 years, which now goes to the House; HIV cases dropped during the pandemic, perhaps due to lack of testing; researchers say COVID-19 vaccines have saved nearly 20 million lives but could be even more effective.

Reversing a landmark precedent, the Supreme Court voted Friday to overturn 1973’s Roe v Wade decision that guaranteed American women the constitutional right to an abortion, and at least 1 justice suggested that other precedents, such as the right to birth control, be reversed as well.

Patients who received a diagnosis of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) between 2010 and 2016 had a nearly 2% increase in overall survival vs those who received their diagnosis between 2004 and 2010.

Most patients taking a biologic stayed on the therapy, and most saw decreases in exacerbations, a new study has found.

The findings of this study, which used insurance claims data for patients 2 years and older to determine rates of meningococcal A, C, W, Y vaccine uptake, points to the need for more education, the authors said.

The FDA plans to set a maximum nicotine level in cigarettes and tobacco products to reduce addictiveness; a bipartisan bill would place a $35 monthly cap on insulin for patients with private insurance or Medicare; the Supreme Court ruled that an Ohio hospital’s employee health plan did not violate federal law by limiting coverage for outpatient dialysis.

A new report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of HHS suggests the accuracy of Medicare’s race and ethnicity data will only diminish over time, unless changes are implemented.

Data from menstrual tracking apps may be used against people in certain states if Roe v Wade is overturned; 100 million Americans, including 41% of adults, have health care debt; Express Scripts reported results of its program to lower diabetes-related costs.

The authors modeled a version of the Patient and Caregiver Support for Serious Illness alternative reimbursement structure for palliative care using data from the Statin Trial.

Imposing a surcharge on unvaccinated employees will require employers to think through legal and policy implications.

Influenza vaccine uptake improved among Medicare Advantage enrollees when influenza vaccination was introduced as a performance metric in Medicare star ratings and accompanying bonus payments.

The FDA determined that the 3-dose Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine worked in children aged 6 months through 4 years; the bipartisan Senate gun deal will focuses on mental health; the pandemic has other viruses acting mysteriously, with children diagnosed with respiratory viruses in May and June.

The results, say the study researchers, offer new insights into patient experiences during spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) clinical trials

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) aims to have its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine reviewed later this year; Northwell Health and Kaiser Permanente among CEOs supporting gun legislation; Infants whose mothers had COVID-19 during their pregnancy had double the risk of delayed speech or motor skills.

The Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (ACO REACH) Model provides the next great opportunity in moving a health care payment system toward paying for value and rewarding preventive care and keeping patients healthy.

Medicaid managed care network adequacy standards exhibit significant heterogeneity across regions and specialties, potentially creating large variations in health care access and quality.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the lead author of a paper that discovered that counties that voted majority Republican in the 2020 presidential election had 73 excess deaths per 100,000 people compared with counties that had Democratic majorities.

A study found that patients in the Comprehensive End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Care Model saw a decrease in hospitalizations and readmissions compared with the accountable care organization (ACO) model.

David R. Penberthy, MD, MBA, is medical director, Radiation Oncology, Bon Secours-Southside Medical Center in Petersburg, Virginia, and president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers for the 2022-2023 term.

Kashyap Patel, MD, CEO of Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates, current president of the Community Oncology Alliance, and associate editor of Evidence-Based Oncology™, discusses his partnership with Sema4 and LabCorp and their joint goal to advance whole-exome sequencing (WES) for targeted oncology treatment.

The year that full benefits will stop for Medicare and Social Security is now a year later than previously estimated; diagnostic companies are racing to develop tests for monkeypox as cases surge; the rate of firearm suicides increased by 15% in youth aged between ages 10 and 24.

Randall A. Oyer, MD, medical director, oncology, and medical director, Cancer Risk Evaluation Program, Lancaster General Health, and clinical professor of cancer biology at Penn Medicine, discusses the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology/Association of Community Cancer Centers recommendations for improving diversity in clinical trials.

Kashyap Patel, MD, CEO of Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates, current president of the Community Oncology Alliance, and associate editor of Evidence-Based Oncology™, talks with us ahead of the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

Will Nutland, DrPH, is cofounder of PrEPster, honorary assistant professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and an activist.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Hui Zheng, PhD, discusses his recent research on the association between childhood income inequality and declining adult health.

The organizations that can take on 2-sided risk are usually bigger and that’s not always better for health care, said Jayson Slotnik, partner, Health Policy Strategies, Inc.

The governor of Oklahoma signs the nation's most restrictive abortion ban; vaccination against COVID-19 may not prevent long COVID-19; West Virginia reaches tentative settlement with opioid manufacturers.

Thanks to flexibilities provided by the American Rescue Plan, 4 states announced Wednesday they will expand Medicaid coverage to 12 months postpartum, joining others who have already adopted similar measures.

Miruna Sasu, PhD, MBA, president and CEO of COTA Healthcare, discusses 3 ways in which the FDA can provide, and has provided, assistance on the capture of real-word data (RWD) in electronic medical records.

Thirst outcomes were investigated among patients with stable heart failure (HF), due to the limited data available on this relationship and how it, along with fluid and sodium intake, influences clinical outcomes in this population.