GOP Tweaks Health Bill for Holdouts
A revised version of the Graham-Cassidy health bill would send more money to Alaska and Maine, the homes of 2 Republican senators who have resisted supporting the health bill. According to The Washington Post, Alaska would get 3% more funding and Maine would get 43% more funding between 2020 and 2026 compared with the current law. Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine have still not decided how they will vote, but if even one of them choses to vote against the bill, assuming Senators John McCain of Arizona and Rand Paul of Kentucky continue to oppose it, Republicans will not have enough votes to pass it.
Hurricane Maria Disrupts Puerto Rico’s Drug Manufacturing
After being hit by Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico’s pharmaceutical industry has come to a grinding halt. There are 50 companies on the island who are unable to continue working with no power on the island, reported USA Today. Even for companies that have backup generators, there are not enough employees around to help restart manufacturing. Pharmaceuticals are 72% of the island’s exports, and those from Puerto Rico make up 25% of total US pharmaceutical exports.
HHS Plans HealthCare.gov Shutdowns During Open Enrollment
HHS has announced plans to take the HealthCare.gov website offline for maintenance for 12 hours during all but 1 Sunday of the open enrollment period, PBS Newshour reports. The timeframe to sign up for 2018 plans on the site had already been halved from the previous year, so it will only last from November 1 to December 15. The site will now be shut down every Sunday from midnight to noon except on December 10. An HHS spokesperson told PBS the schedule was created "to accommodate requests from certified application assisters."
Real-World Study Reveals Key Insights into DLBCL Treatment Patterns, Outcomes
April 18th 2024A recent study offers valuable insights into the characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in patients across different lines of therapy, providing a look into the landscape of DLBCL management.
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Overcoming Employment Barriers for Lasting Social Impact: Freedom House 2.0 and Pathways to Work
April 16th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our second episode, in which we learn all about Freedom House 2.0 and the Pathways to Work program.
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Gene, Light Therapy Combo Shows Promise Against Prostate Cancer Cells in Proof-of-Concept Study
April 18th 2024In their preclinical model, the researchers found efficacy both in vitro and in vivo by using CRISPR-Cas9 to mimic porphyria and combining the technology with light therapy.
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Making Giant Strides in Maternity Health Through Baby Steps
April 9th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are kicking off a special month-long podcast series with our strategic alliance partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our first episode, which is all about the Baby Steps Maternity Program and its mission to support women throughout every step of their pregnancy journey.
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Collecting SDOH Data Can Assess Risk of Medical Nonadherence, Improve HEI and Star Ratings
April 18th 2024At the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 2024 annual meeting, a panel of presenters explored changes coming to Medicare that incorporate social determinants of health (SDOH) data to improve patient and health system outcomes.
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