AJMC Staff

A new lawsuit aims to block a $13 billion health insurance acquisition; the CDC is expected to release updated mask guidelines; the European Medicines Agency supports boosters among teenagers for COVID-19.

Texas' governor orders investigations over providing gender-affirming health care to transgender children; pregnancy-related deaths increased during the pandemic, especially for Black people; data from South Africa confirm that the new Omicron subvariant is more transmissible but not more severe.

Emergency department (ED) visits among teenage girls doubled for eating disorders and tripled for tic disorders; World Health Organization official expresses concern for lack of COVID-19 testing; history of sexual violence among women may worsen their cardiovascular (CVD) health.

The FDA is considering a second COVID-19 booster dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines; use of the unproven COVID-19 therapies hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin has been significantly greater in the highest vs lowest Republican vote share counties; infertility treatments associated with vascular and pregnancy-related complications.

Jacob Sands, MD, who leads the small cell lung cancer research program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, speaks with The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC®) about the need for more patients who meet the criteria for lung screening to catch cancer before it reaches an advanced stage.

Biden administration officials request additional funding from Congress to manage the global COVID-19 pandemic; New York delays its COVID-19 booster vaccine mandate for health care workers amid staffing shortages; study finds racism affected treatment decisions and led to care disparities among Black patients.

Vitamin D is thought to have neuroprotective effects and it is usually lacking in patients with Parkinson disease (PD).

A proposed probe of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) by the Federal Trade Commission did not win enough votes to go forward; California exits the crisis phase of the pandemic; Abbott infant formula has been recalled after 1 death.

Pfizer and BioNTech’s Omicron vaccine development has been delayed; a US judge said HHS violated procedural rules in a dispute with AstraZeneca over the 340B drug discount program; Texas filed suit against the CDC’s mask mandate for airline passengers.

A woman is now the third person in the world to be cured of HIV; CDC data suggest vaccinating women against COVID-19 during pregnancy may protect infants after birth; provider groups push to keep Direct Contracting payment model.

President Joe Biden's FDA nominee reaches final confirmation vote; Georgia bill that extends Medicaid coverage for low-income moms advances to House of Representatives; New Mexico bill aims to legalize test strips to detect the presence of fentanyl.

The FDA delays its decision on Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine in young children; the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will vote on whether to investigate pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs); nearly half of high-volume antibiotic prescribers are located in Southern states.

Neil M. Iyengar, MD, is a medical oncologist and clinical investigator at Memorial Sloan Kettering, Weill Cornell Medical College and Rockefeller University, who work investigates the links between metabolic health and breast cancer. A key component of his research is the development of clinical trials that examine the role of medication alongside diet and exercise, to prevent obesity-related cancers and improve outcomes.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the health care and mainstream press.

CDC releases a draft of updated opioid prescribing rules; abortions in Texas drop 60% in first month of new law as patients travel out of state; COVID-19 infections can kill an unvaccinated mother's placenta.

The CDC laid out a plan for mass rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 years old, pending FDA authorization; President Biden pivots focus onto drug pricing to revive his social spending agenda; Teva opioid settlements could total $3.6 billion when all’s said and done.

Worldwide COVID-19 cases drop by 17%, with deaths decreasing by 7%; Johnson & Johnson temporarily stopped COVID-19 vaccine production in the Netherlands; Amazon begins nationwide rollout of its telehealth service, Amazon Care.

A bipartisan congressional report estimates overdose deaths cost the United States $1 trillion yearly; 4 states announce plans to lift their statewide mask mandates for schools; study finds greater risk of pregnancy complications in expectant mothers with moderate COVID-19 symptoms.

The drug will be marketed by Sanofi under the name Enjaymo; it is the first treatment approved for cold agglutinin disease.

The CDC's wastewater monitoring program will soon begin evaluating more water samples for COVID-19; vaccine guidance changes for individuals who are immunocompromised may be forthcoming; exposure to air pollution levels vastly greater than that advised by World Health Organization guidelines.

Researchers think they know more about why levodopa, the first-line therapy for treating the motor symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD), loses efficacy and causes dyskinesia, or off periods, the longer a patient stays on it.

A recent study examined asthma control and quality of life in pregnant women with asthma.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the health care and mainstream press.

New CDC data highlight urban-rural health differences; mental health providers object to some parts of the No Surprises Act; COVID-19–associated stroke most likely within 3 days of diagnosis.

Americans who are boosted are 95 times less likely than unvaccinated people to die of COVID-19, the FDA approved the first generic drug for Restasis to treat dry eye syndrome, and CMS is putting a greater focus on health equity for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans.

President Biden announced he would bring back the Cancer Moonshot initiative that launched in the Obama administration; the World Health Organization said the Omicron subvariant, BA.2, appears to have the same severity as the original Omicron variant; cases of suicide by drug overdose increased in young people, older adults, and non-Hispanic Black women.

Pfizer/BioNTech expected to file for emergency use designation of its COVID-19 vaccine in young children aged 6 months to 5 years; Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets limits on power plant emissions of mercury and other hazardous pollutants; Black women at disproportionately greater risk of late-stage cervical cancer diagnosis and death.

Joshua Richter, MD, assistant professor of medicine in The Tisch Cancer Institute, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, explains how the concept of cancer stage does not mean the same thing in multiple myeloma as it does in other cancers, why cytogenetics matter, and new data from trials involving quadruplet therapy.

A novel Omicron subvariant, BA.2, was found to be 1.5 times more transmissible than the original Omicron strain; analysis finds drugmakers increased list prices by 6.6% at the beginning of the year; alcohol consumption linked with the development of several cancer types.