What We're Reading: Democrats Suggest Bipartisan Effort to Overhaul ACA, Instead of Repeal
What we're reading, January 6, 2017: some Democrats are appealing to the GOP to consider bipartisan efforts to overhaul Obamacare instead of repealing it; enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans is up 2.3% over last year; and Democrats demand an ethics probe into Tom Price's stock trades.
What We're Reading: Biden's Post-White House Plans Include Nonprofit Cancer Initiative
What we’re reading, January 5, 2017: Vice President Joe Biden will create a nonprofit organization to focus on cancer research and drug prices; school telemedicine could help kids stay in the classroom and out of the doctor’s office; bundled payments for joint replacements saved $5577 in spending per episode.
First Patient Treated With Jakafi in Phase 2 Graft-Versus-Host Disease Study
The first patient has been treated with ruxolitinib (Jakafi), by Incyte Corporation, for steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease, as part of the REACH-1 phase 2 trial. The trial is evaluating ruxolitinib in combination with corticosteroids.
What We're Reading: Colorado's ACA Exchange Misused $9.7 Million
What we're reading, January 3, 2017: Colorado's Affordable Care Act exchange misused more than $9 million in federal funds; an over-the-counter birth control may be coming to the United States; and returning health data to patients could reduce health record breaches.
What We're Reading: Privatizing VA Medical Care
What we're reading, December 29, 2016: President-elect Donald J. Trump considers privatizing veterans' medical care; a new task force to improve sharing of pregnancy status data; and medical marijuana legalization reduced traffic fatalities.
What We're Reading: W.Va. Sues Drug Distributors for Fueling the Opioid Epidemic
What we're reading, December 28, 2016: a county in West Virginia is suing 3 national drug distributors for allegedly fueling the opioid epidemic; CDC awards new funding as another Zika case is reported in Texas; and first drug to treat spinal muscular atrophy approved.
What We're Reading: Americans Consider Nursing Most Ethical Profession
What we’re reading, December 27, 2016: nurses are viewed as most ethical and honest profession in America, followed by pharmacists and physicians; over half of Brazilian women reported avoiding pregnancy due to the Zika virus; cooking interventions may help low-income parents feel more positive about preparing and eating vegetables.
What We're Reading: Medicare Cracks Down on Antibiotic-Resistant Infections in Hospitals
What we're reading, December 26, 2016: Medicare starts looking into drug-resistant infections in hospitals; Republicans may not repeal all of Obamacare's taxes when they repeal the law; and a program that partners drug addicts with police officers to get help.
What We're Reading: Tom Price's Health Stock Trading Scrutinized
What we’re reading, December 23, 2016: HHS secretary nominee Rep. Tom Price traded $300,000 in healthcare stocks while sponsoring health-related legislature; an economist and a physician suggest creation of digital health biographies; CMS hopes to incentivize cardiac rehabilitation program participation.
What We're Reading: Americans Rush to Sign Up for Obamacare Despite Uncertain Future
What we're reading, December 22, 2016: Americans continue to sign up for Obamacare coverage despite Republicans' promise to repeal the law; California is implementing a $3 billion effort to help the state’s neediest individuals; and Zika vaccine shows success.
What We're Reading: The Race to Save Obamacare Data
What we're reading, December 21, 2016: researchers are racing to download Obamacare data before Donald Trump takes office; tens of millions of Americans import prescriptions illegally; and 4 more criminal charges in Flint water crisis.
What We're Reading: OxyContin Manufacturers Plan Overseas Expansion
What we’re reading, December 20, 2016: Purdue Pharma, which makes OxyContin, plans to expand its sales of the drug in foreign markets; family members blame hospital for not warning them about low-quality nursing home; a project to place blast sensors on soldiers to learn more about concussions has been discontinued.
What We're Reading: How Hospitals Are Battling Rising Drug Costs
What we're reading, December 19, 2016: how hospitals are altering routines to address rising drug costs; in Colorado, proponents of the aid-in-dying law are searching for more affordable options for the drug to induce death in terminally ill patients; and the 3000 areas in the United States with higher blood lead levels than Flint, Michigan.
What We're Reading: HHS Extends Deadline for HealthCare.gov 2017 Enrollment
What we’re reading, December 16, 2016: consumers now have until December 19 to enroll in a marketplace plan for coverage starting on January 1; 20 states file lawsuit against 6 pharmaceutical companies alleging generic price fixing; women who were tested for the BRCA mutation gene after Angelina Jolie’s announcement may not have been at high risk to begin with.
What We're Reading: Some Democrats Indicate They May Play Ball on ACA Replacement
What we're reading, December 15, 2016: Democrats won't help repeal the Affordable Care Act, but some may help pass a replacement; drug makers push new opioids despite lack of evidence they reduce overdoses; CDC issues Zika virus travel advisory for Texas town.
What We're Reading: Obamacare Enrollees Voted for Trump to Fix, Not Repeal, ACA
What we're reading, December 14, 2016: many Obamacare enrollees voted for Donald Trump expecting him to fix, not repeal, the law; President Barack Obama signs 21st Century Cures Act into law; Ohio Governor John Kasich vetoes one abortion bill, signs another.
What We're Reading: Psychiatric Drug Use Among Adults
What we're reading, December 13, 2016: 1 in 6 American adults are prescribed psychiatric drugs; veterans groups want Donald Trump to keep the current Veterans Affairs secretary; and the number of drug-affected newborns is rising more in rural areas.
What We're Reading: Risk of Unsafe Prescribing for Dual Users of VA and Medicare
What we’re reading, December 12, 2016: veterans with dementia who used both the Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system and Medicare were more likely to be prescribed potentially unsafe medications; HHS will begin to conduct on-site privacy compliance audits in 2017; study finds that women with strong social connections have better breast cancer outcomes.