Mary Caffrey

Panelists in the Healthcare 2020 series discuss the challenges with the exchanges that will be waiting for the next president, the future of Medicaid expansion, and how the complexity of so many models is burdening ACOs.

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.

The study of teenagers found that the risk of early death from diabetes increased at BMI levels below the cutoff for what is considered "normal" in adults.

The assessment comes after HHS has put months of effort into attracting young, uninsured adults, including those who have previously paid a penalty for not being insured and those who are likely eligible for financial assistance.

The findings in Diabetologia separate the effects of activity from diet and other behaviors across 23 studies covering more than 1 million people.

Seventy Americans and 9 international members were elected to the National Academy of Medicine this week.

The findings of a poll of emergency department physicians were presented at American College of Emergency Physicians' annual Scientific Assembly, which is meeting in Las Vegas.

The initiative comes as consumers move away from soda toward healthier beverages. Pepsi, in particular, has seen declining sales, and voters in several US cities will decide on soda taxes on November 8, 2016.

Rates of liver cancer have steadily climbed alongside rising rates of obesity and diabetes, leading researchers to investigate links among the conditions.

Gaining too much weight during pregnancy can bring serious health consequences.

The pay-for-performance deal comes as Januvia faces increased competition from newer drug classes, especially SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists.

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.

The study found that in diabetic mice, a common sweetener appears to travel straight to the liver, where it causes fat to accumulate.

Coupons seem like a good deal for consumers, but they mask the true costs of drugs and force up premiums for everyone.

The findings are consistent with earlier work that show how soda companies spend heavily to promote their brands and thwart efforts to regulate or tax their products to address diabetes or obesity.

A letter from CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt that was made public said that Mylan had been warned repeatedly that it was not using the right classification for the EpiPen, at taxpayers' expense.

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.

It is well known that the current A1C test could be more accurate. A group of researchers at Harvard believes they have found a way to personalize the test.

The study finds a molecular pathway to explain patterns long observed by those who work with patients being treated for both alcohol abuse and depression.

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.

Despite a name derived from the Greek terms for "self-eating," autophagy is not harmful; rather, it is essential for insulin secretion.

The Jackson Heart Study continues to yield insights about the nature of cardiovascular disease in minority populations.

According to the CDC, the majority of deaths from the flu occur in people over age 65.

In the year since New Jersey regulators approved OMNIA, the state's health insurance market has experienced the same upheaval seen elsewhere: the number of options on the exchanges has shrunk from 5 to 2.

The Abbott system allows physicians to gather up to 14 days' worth of glucose data without the patient having to interact with any device, or even calibrate 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.

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.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield's annual Patient-Centered Summit covered efforts by the state to expand naloxone access, provide peer support for those rescued from an opioid overdose, and the insurer's prevention practices.

The effort to reach young adults will allow them to shop for coverage entirely on mobile digital technology. But an economist interviewed earlier this month says it might not be enough.

The new guideline comes as FDA weighs an advisory panel recommendation for CGM dosing, which many see as a first step toward Medicare coverage.