Mary K. Caffrey

A study finds that a commonly prescribed therapy reduces activity in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Hospitals that face penalties from CMS for failing to reduce readmission rates have looked to telehealth as a potential tool to keep track of patients after discharge. A study presented by a UCLA researcher did not meet its end point but offered some insights for future work.

Eating out has consequences beyond your wallet, according to research from Harvard.

Findings being presented in San Francisco show which patients may be able to stop anti-TNF therapy, and which ones will do well with conventional drugs as second-line treatment.

An obscure notice on CMS' website outlines a proposed revised formula that would take effect in 2017.

ADA's theme for American Diabetes Month encourages healthier eating to promote better disease management and prevention.

A list that seeks both the causes and effects of obesity.

The deal is part of Sanofi's effort to recover ground in the diabetes market.

Departing Governor Steve Beshear's full embrace of the Affordable Care Act brought health coverage to 500,000 people in Kentucky, including many who had never had insurance. Preventive services increased by more than 100%.

The study found that drugs to treat high cholesterol and diabetes were among those experiencing increased use between 1999-2000 and 2011-2012.

This year's Nobel Prize winner in economics and his wife uncover sad statistics on how substance abuse and suicide are taking their toll on white Americans at midlife. Princeton's Angus Deaton speculates that the trends reflect the broader picture of inequality.

As has been the case in other states, Virginia seeks a solution to rising costs for medically fragile patients. Lawmakers have been unwilling to expand Medicaid and likely will not until a cost-containment plan is found.

Advocacy groups say it's long past time for Medicare to cover continuous glucose monitoring, which is standard of care and funded by most commercial payers.

Highlights from this week's news about the big transaction between 2 retail pharmacy giants.

More states cover all recommended evidence-based treatments, although many require copayments or put annual limits on care.

The study found subtypes aligned by likelihood to be obese, to have cancer or heart disease, or to have mental illness.

A forum presented by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and The Atlantic casts the debate over a state-level population health plan against national healthcare cost trends.

Experiments with rats showed that specially engineered polymer patches attached to the intestine and delivered insulin.

The ADA's Safe at School campaign seeks to highlight the need for personnel other than nurses to learn to help students with type 1 diabetes with insulin and glucagon. The population of students with type 1 is increasing.

A study shows too much conflicting dietary advice causes some people to tune it all out. Nuances in the report from WHO are lost on most consumers.

Women who had risk factors for weight gain but were not overweight when they got pregnant were most likely to retain weight if they gained too much during pregnancy.

Some consumer-friendly features are still in final testing.

GAO made recommendations for safeguards to prevent enrollees from having Medicaid and exchange coverage at the same time.

The prospective cohort study adds to the findings that connect lack of sleep to metabolic syndrome and the development of disease.

Presenting results of a meta-analysis comparing low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets is never uneventful when the nation is weeks away from adopting the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Soda consumption dropped in Mexico in the year after its soda tax took effect, but the beverage industry is fighting back. Calls continue both here and abroad for taxes to combat obesity.

The drug fills a void for patients with chronic kidney disease, including those with diabetes, who have high potassium levels.

Wound care specialists, who treat burn victims and diabetics with foot ulcers, say the move to end coverage if a dressing is made of more than 50% honey by weight is arbitrary and makes no sense from a medical standpoint. A final LCD is pending.

Throughout Governor Terry Branstad's effort to bring Medicaid managed care to Iowa, critics have questioned whether it will limit access for beneficiaries. Contracts have been signed, and now savings are being questioned.

Horizon and New Jersey insurance officials have slightly different reasons why it was OK for the insurer to roll out its high-profile population health and cost-saving effort 5 days before the network plan was approved. A critic of the plan says it should be stopped.