Laura Joszt, MA

Today the FDA approved the first biosimilar product in the United States. Zarxio (filgrastim-sndz), from Sandoz, Inc, is biosimilar to Amgen Inc's Neupogen (filgrastim), which was first licensed in 1991.

Twitter can be used as a real-time measurement of public sentiment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the positivity and negativity of tweets could be used to determine state-level marketplace enrollment, according to researchers.

New proposals from Congress would decrease Medicare payments to hospital outpatient departments, which traditionally serve patients who are more likely to be minority, poorer, and have more severe chronic conditions compared with patients treated in physician offices.

While some progress has been made to disseminate comparative effectiveness research as mandated by the Affordable Care Act, the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality has not taken actions to fully address requirements, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.

While the majority of primary care physicians are aware of and use state prescription drug monitoring programs to reduce drug abuse and diversion, many do not access these programs routinely, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Awareness of chronic kidney disease remains low in the United States, yet the prevalence of the disease will rise over the next 15 years, according to a model developed by RTI.

Despite large claims that integrated delivery networks (IDNs) delivery higher quality care more efficiently and cost-effectively, a study of the nation's 15 largest IDNs provided scant evidence to back them up, according to a new report.

Proposed payment cuts to Medicare Advantage (MA) could cause many beneficiaries to lose access to MA plans and cause great disruption to the market, according to a new report by Oliver Wyman for America's Health Insurance Plans.

Despite concerns that increasing healthcare coverage for Americans through the Affordable Care Act would lead to substantial strain on the US healthcare delivery system, The Commonwealth Fund found that increases will only modestly increase the demand for healthcare services.

While California has made great strides to improve mental health prevention and early intervention, the state's Department of Managed Health Care found causes for concern regarding Kaiser Permanente's behavioral health services.

With the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, definitely being implemented on October 1, 2015, CMS just completed the first week of end-to-end testing of the new coding.

Eligible healthcare professionals participating in the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program 2014 reporting year will have additional time to attest to meaningful use, according to an announcement from CMS.

The difference in uninsured rates in states that have embraced the Affordable Care Act and those that have not became even starker in 2014, according to new results from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

The president of the UCLA Health System, which is still contending with the outbreak of a superbug that infected 7 patients and killed 2, is stepping down from his position for a new appointment as president and chief executive officer of Geisinger Health System.

With the availability of government incentives, electronic health record use among hospital emergency departments and outpatient departments increased sharply from 2006 to 2011, according to a new analysis from the National Center on Health Statistics.

While physicians recognize medication adherence is an extremely important factor in clinical outcomes for patients with chronic conditions, respondents in a new survey seemed to overestimate the medication adherence and persistence of their own patients.

Hospital super utilizers in Pennsylvania account for $761 million of the state's Medicare and Medicaid expenditures for inpatient stays, according to a new report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council.

An analysis of health plans offered through Covered California found some consumers with chronic diseases or those who rely on specialty drugs may have faced access and affordability challenges in 2014.

More than 100 patients may have been infected by a "superbug" bacteria during procedures at the UCLA Health System and 2 have died.

UnitedHealthcare announced that it will nearly double the amount of accountable care organizations it is contracted with in 2015 as it expects to add another 250 ACOs.

The combination of Revlimid with dexamethasone, previously approved for treatment in patients with multiple myeloma who received at least 1 prior treatment, has received FDA approval for use in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.

Cancer patients with less involvement in their treatment decisions are less likely to report excellent quality of care even if they prefer physician-controlled decisions, according to a study in JAMA Oncology.

State and local government healthcare spending grew at a rate of just 3.2% in 2013, which is a sharp decline from the previous 2 years, according to the latest data from CMS.

Amidst changes in healthcare financing and delivery, health plans and providers need to be revising their business models to remain profitable, according to Avalere's healthcare industry outlook for 2015.

More than 375,000 Kentuckians signed up for the state's expanded Medicaid program in 2014, and doing so has saved Kentucky approximately $100 million, according to a new report.

A new study debunks the common assumption that high medical costs are a result of patients demanding more tests and treatments. Researchers analyzed more than 5000 patient-clinician visits and found that cancer patients rarely push for medical interventions.

A new Affordable Care Act initiative from HHS will better coordinate cancer care with the intention of improving the quality of care provided and reducing the money spent on healthcare, according to an announcement from HHS.

A new approach to caring for patients undergoing colorectal surgery has shown faster recovery times, fewer complications, improved patient satisfaction, and reduced medical costs, according to a team of researchers.

Although this year's enrollment period has gone far smoother compared to the first year, there is much room for improvement particularly when it comes to helping consumers make informed decisions, according to a report commissioned by the National Partnership for Women & Families.