AJMC Staff

Major tech companies publicly committed at a Trump administration event to improve provider–patient communications and data exchanges in health information technology in an effort to cut costs and improve outcomes; public health advocates and the FDA are at odds over how to regulate the exploding electronic cigarette industry, even as both sides agree teens and college students are using the devices at an alarming rate; billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who last week said Cigna was overpaying for Express Scripts, is no longer intending to solicit proxies to vote against the $52 billion deal.

A proposed rule from CMS would end the practice of home health aides paid directly by Medicaid having their union dues automatically deducted from their paychecks; the Trump administration says it has found a way around a federal judge’s June ruling stopping a Kentucky plan from introducing work requirements on those receiving Medicaid and will continue to allow states to put the restrictions in place; a California jury found Monsanto liable in a lawsuit filed by a school groundskeeper who said the company’s weedkillers, including Roundup, caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

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Health insurance and drug companies have joined together to form the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future to wage a campaign against the growing idea of single-payer healthcare; surgery centers operate under an uneven mix of rules so that deaths and serious injuries can result in no warning to government officials, much less to potential patients; depending on which side you’re on, a ballot initiative called Proposition 8 in California to limit the profit of dialysis clinics is either an effort to improve patient care or it could jeopardize it by threatening the financial viability of clinics.

Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, has claimed his Medicare-for-all plan will cut healthcare spending by $2 trillion, but fact checking shows that's unlikely; CVS' CEO defends its pharmacy benefit manager against claims rebates are driving up drug prices; researchers have found that immigrants have healthcare costs that are half to two-thirds of the costs of people born in the United States.

Researchers from the CDC have found that 1 in 7 children born to women who had the Zika virus while pregnant, including children who initially seemed healthy at birth, now have serious health issues; more jails and prisons are offering inmates addiction medications; Carl Icahn recommends Cigna's shareholders vote against Express Scripts purchase, in part because of the "highly flawed" rebate system that pharmacy benefit managers utilize.

General Motors (GM) announced its partnership with the Henry Ford Health System to ensure wellness services and healthcare management for salaried employees; Democratic and Republican representatives in the House and the Senate have sent separate letters to HHS Secretary Alex Azar on eliminating direct and indirect remuneration fees; despite using infected kidneys in transplant patients, outcomes improved.

One of the reasons why hospital readmissions for the elderly are remaining high may be posthospital syndrome; priority review vouchers, which can be awarded by the FDA to 1 company and sold for a hefty price to another, are commanding a lower price than in past years; almost 8 months after Amazon, JP Morgan Chase, and Berkshire Hathaway announced their joint healthcare venture, there is little public information about it.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain documents showing the FDA did little to intervene in the wider prescribing of fast-acting fentanyl drugs approved for patients with cancer who have high opioid tolerance; HHS said 96 organizations will get funding under Title X, the federal family planning program; drug companies may have reduced some prices in response to President Trump taking to Twitter to complain about costs, but the moves are largely symbolic and won’t have any real effect, analysts said.

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Major insurers are now seeking smaller, single-digit premium increases for Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans; drug makers and distributors of painkillers being sued for their alleged role in the opioid crisis are trying to build goodwill by giving grants and donations to hard-hit counties, cities, and states that are filing the lawsuits; hundreds of people have sued Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka, alleging that the drug Abilify caused compulsive behavior.

For the second year in a row, the average basic premium for a Medicare Part D plan will decline; a series of charts in The Wall Street Journal highlights what is driving US healthcare spending; taking a break from exercising can have metabolic consequences that linger for some people even after they return to their normal levels of exercise.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CMS Administrator Seema Verma seem to be on the losing end of a debate with White House economic and finance officials about allowing a partial Medicaid expansion to stamp out growing calls to allow a full expansion; more than 60 House Democrats launched a Medicare for All caucus this month, a sign of the popularity surrounding the concept of a government-run health system; Juul Labs, maker of the tiny, USB-flash-drive-sized electronic cigarette, has been hit with 3 lawsuits so far that allege it is marketing its product to children and teenagers.

The system was the first to allow people with diabetes to monitor blood glucose without fingersticks.

Medicare has lowered its star ratings for staffing levels in 1 out of 11 nursing homes; the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has donated to a lobbying group running a "dark money" campaign in favor of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act; a libertarian policy center funded by the conservative Koch brothers found that Senator Bernie Sanders's Medicare for All plan would cost $32.6 trillion over 10 years.

The FDA is cracking down on a loophold drug companies use to avoid the requirement that they study products in children; a new study finds nearly 6 in 10 Hispanic adults cite a language or cultural barrier that makes it difficult for them to communicate with healthcare providers; a judge has ordered Wisconsin to pay for gender reassignment surgery for 2 Medicaid recipients.

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The House voted to delay an Affordable Care Act health insurance tax until 2021 and expand Health Savings Accounts; in a large clinical trial, an Alzheimer drug reduced plaques in the brains of patients and slowed the progression of dementia; after leaving high-profile positions in government and at healthcare organizations, more big names in healthcare are ending up at Google's companies instead of universities.

The Trump administration said it will restart the risk adjustment payment program just weeks after suspending the payments; the first pill in a decade has been approved to treat pain caused by endometriosis; Eli Lilly executives said during the second quarter earnings call that the idea of importing drugs from abroad was “the wrong road to go down.”

Data-broker companies are mining your credit card purchases, social media habits, online surveys, store loyalty programs, and other bits of information to create your profile and sell to companies interested in making inferences about your health status; 2 months after President Trump released a plan to lower drug prices, most Americans haven’t even heard about it; the United States Senate approved the president's latest pick to lead the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), confirming Robert Wilkie as the next secretary 86 to 9.

The Trump administration is proposing to pay doctors who take Medicare basically the same amount for office visits regardless of reason; the pending sale of Mission Health to HCA Healthcare reflects a national trend as hospitals consolidate at an accelerating pace and the cost of healthcare continues to rise; a closer look at 5 ideas in President Trump's plan to lower drug prices.

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Senate Democrats are urging Republicans to agree to a resolution that would allow the Senate to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Affordable Care Act; the after effects of Hurricane Maria are helping to fuel an exodus of physicians from Puerto Rico; a new congressional report suggests Anthem has effectively reversed a policy denying emergency department claims after the fact.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, announced the release of the agency’s Biosimilar Action Plan; Philadelphia’s tax on soda and other sweetened beverages has been upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court; a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by 19 states against the Trump administration over the decision to end cost-sharing subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

The Swiss drug maker is the second pharmaceutical company to announce a halt to price hikes, coming after Pfizer's decision last week to reverse planned increases.

The American Hospital Association will refile its 340B lawsuit against HHS after an appeals court ruled the lawsuit was premature; therapies approved by the FDA with breakthrough designation often lack strong medical evidence; a study has suggested that frequent use of digital media may increase the odds of adolescents developing symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Residents of the 20 Republican-led states that are challenging the Affordable Care Act (ACA)'s protections for people with preexisting medical conditions have the most to lose; House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, is in talks with HHS about ways to restart ACA payments; Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh ruled in a case that paved the way for hospitals to seek more money from Medicare.

Kaiser Permanente and Geisenger Health Systems are leading the way towards using health records for medical studies and data mining that could help improve individual care; more than 7000 people on Arkansas' Medicaid expansion didn't meet a requirement that they report at least 80 hours of work in June; Novartis' relationship with Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s longtime lawyer, was “longer and more detailed” than the company has said, according to a Senate report.

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The FDA is planning a task force to find ways to combat drug shortages; a new Gallup poll finds nearly two-thirds of Americans support Roe v Wade 64% to 28%; the agency overseeing Oregon's legal medical marijuana industry conceded in a report it has not provided effective oversight of growers and others in the industry.