Mary Caffrey is the Executive Editor for The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®). She joined AJMC® in 2013 and is the primary staff editor for Evidence-Based Oncology, the multistakeholder publication that reaches 22,000+ oncology providers, policy makers and formulary decision makers. She is also part of the team that oversees speaker recruitment and panel preparations for AJMC®'s premier annual oncology meeting, Patient-Centered Oncology Care®. For more than a decade, Mary has covered ASCO, ASH, ACC and other leading scientific meetings for AJMC readers.
Mary has a BA in communications and philosophy from Loyola University New Orleans. You can connect with Mary on LinkedIn.
Omnipod Feasibility Study Seeks to Perfect Formulas That Will Make Artificial Pancreas Run
Current work seeks to perfect the algorithm that would someday let the insulin pump automatically make the multitude of delivery decisions that would have been made by a healthy pancreas. Advances are happening alongside a shifting landscape in payer coverage, with advocates worried that they might lack choice amid so much innovation.
Children, Teens With Autism More Likely to Be Obese
A study from Tufts University School of Medicine found that at age 10, obesity rates among children on the autism spectrum are not that much higher than children outside the spectrum, but rates diverge sharply as children get older.
Georgia Lawmakers Look at "Premium Assistance" as Medicaid Expansion Tool
States that have not expanded Medicaid are finding that rural hospitals struggle because they must still treat uninsured patients who show up for care, but they get less help from the federal government than in the past.
Bill Clinton Calls ACA "Craziest Thing" During Speech in Michigan
The former president said that Obama's signature law works well for those who are enrolled in Medicaid or who qualify for subsidies, but others have seen premium increases with lower benefits. The White House noted that Hillary Clinton supports improvements to the law.
Every Group Saw Drops in the Uninsured Rate Under the ACA, but Poll Finds Few Know It
Data show that the biggest factor affecting distribution of uninsured rates was whether a state expanded Medicaid. Even with that limitation, uninsured rates have reached historic lows. The trouble is, only about one-fourth of Americans know this, and more have moved on to issues that affect them personally, such as the cost of premiums or high deductibles.
FDA Approves Medtronic's MiniMed 670G, 1st Hybrid Closed Loop System
The company's announcement notably does not use the term "artificial pancreas," although the technology is a considerably more significant advance from the 530G threshold suspend device of 2013. When the description "artificial pancreas" was attached to that product, the term was met with howls of protest from the type 1 diabetes community.