Mary Caffrey

Despite rhetoric clearly at odds with how insurance companies operate, Governor Chris Christie is tapping into long-term frustration among some Democratic lawmakers with the growth and shift in mission of the state's largest health insurer.

Governor Chris Christie shut state government down shortly after midnight Saturday and has ordered lawmakers into a special session at 11 a.m. He and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto are at odds over a plan to alter governance for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state's largest insurer.

Speaker Vincent Prieto would not post a bill overhauling Horizon's governance, saying it should not be rammed through in 4 days with little debate. As a result, 35 Assembly members withheld their votes on the budget. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has demanded that the Horizon bill be part of a budget deal, and state government will shut down at midnight without a new spending plan.

The crossover among device makers, digital health, and big data continues, as consolidation that some have predicted in the diabetes space is apparent.

The scientific statement seeks research on the mechanisms that make it so challenging for people to keep weight off once it is lost.

Tort reform has been on doctors' wish lists for decades. Supporters of reform say it would reduce frivolous claims and stop doctors from practicing defensive medicine, while some consumer groups say doctors should not be insulated from liability for egregious errors.

The study found that teenagers at the upper end of the "normal" BMI range later experienced higher death rates from lesser-known cardiovascular diseases.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) faces the challenge of bridging the gap between conservatives who want a full Obamacare repeal and Republican members facing protests at home over losing Medicaid expansion.

Researchers who study diabetes camps have increasingly turned to the psychosocial benefits for children who gain opportunities to be around others like themselves.

The agreement will record data for patient experience, clinical improvement, and cost of care for patients switching from multiple daily injections to insulin pump therapy.

Legislation would give New Jersey's top insurance regulator new powers over Horizon's surplus, which the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association said would cause it to terminate Horizon's license. The bill also restores "insurer of last resort" status, which was abandoned in 1992.

The gap in disease incidence among ethnic groups demands a policy response, say experts who weighed in on the SEARCH data.

A different way to measure population aging takes into account changing life expectancy, with implications for healthcare.

The review of 8 studies on gastrointestinal injury related to exercise found that distress set in after the 2-hour mark, which is significant because no one has ever completed the 26.2-mile marathon in that time.

The study highlights the importance of Medicare's plan to launch the Diabetes Prevention Program in early 2018.

The move to quality ratings will put more pressure on hospitals to find ways to improve the standard of care while cutting costs.

Liraglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist sold as Victoza, becomes the second diabetes therapy to receive the cardiovascular indication.

The Duke Center for Health Data Science was in the planning stages before Robert Califf, MD, departed for a stint as FDA commissioner.

The new law includes requirements that drugmakers reveal discounts for pharmacy benefit managers and prevents gag rules on pharmacists who want to suggest cheaper alternatives.

Experts hoped that Medicaid expansion would direct the previously uninsured into primary care and reduce reliance on the emergency department. What happened is more complicated.

Staff at mental health hospitals have long believed that tobacco helped calm patients, when in fact the nicotine only covered symptoms of withdrawal.

Cardiovascular outcomes trials and a photography ban that dominated social media were big news at the 77th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

The researchers' approach to finding the compound could be used to find cures in other diseases.

State-level decisions on whether to expand Medicaid had ripple effects across the rest of the healthcare insurance market, according to a report by the Office of the CMS Actuary in Health Affairs.

The collaboration between a digital behavioral health provider and an insurer comes as CMS admits challenges setting up the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program.

Studies presented at the 77th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association show that the combination therapy helps patients with the highest glycated hemoglobin levels gain control quickly.

The study's lead author said that complications from cardiovascular disease remain an unmet clinical challenge in type 2 diabetes.

A light-hearted format for the discussion at the 77th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association still brought out the seriousness of the issue: too many with type 2 diabetes have poor glycemic control, and another medication may not be the answer.

The long-awaited results from CANVAS show a reduced risk of cardiovascular events. The study's lead author said clinicians should balance the significant benefits of the drug against the potential harms for a small number of patients with known risks.