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Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law more than 4 years ago, many aspects of it are fairly new, which makes it difficult to analyze the impact the law has had on the United States healthcare system.

After Steven Miller, CMO at Express Scripts, announced last week that his company would like to influence the oncology market, Pharma seems to have paid heed.

Targeted biopsy using new fusion technology that combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with ultrasound is more effective than standard biopsy in detecting high-risk prostate cancer, according to a large-scale study.

Although there have been some accusations of "cookbook medicine" with regards to measurement guidelines, panelists Dennis Scanlon, PhD, Jess DeMartino, PhD, Phyllis Torda, and Laura Long, MD, do see progress to remedy the situation and make guidelines more effective.

Although the healthcare industry values what it tends to measure, what is measured is not necessarily what should have the most value, according to John Fox, MD, senior medical director and associate vice president of medical affairs at Priority Health.

Education of both patients and providers will be necessary to temper expectations of cancer care treatment outcomes, according to panelists Ted Okon, BS, MBA, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance, Debra Patt, MD, MPH, partner at Texas Oncology, and Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Indiana and HHS have come to an agreement about the state's proposal to expand Medicaid. The program will cover as many as 350,000 individuals.

A new report by the Congressional Budget Office finds that, if left untouched, the Affordable Care Act is poised to become even more so.

An overview of the healthcare systems of Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.

Patient navigators in 3 health systems were able to reduce excessive emergency department visits by 43%, according to a 1-year pilot study by Accenture and the Highmark Foundation.

One of the early findings from various oncology medical homes throughout the country was that they work, claimed Ted Okon, BS, MBA, executive director of the Coalition Oncology Alliance.

The shift to focus on value in healthcare has changed the definition of what it means to be a physician in the United States, and professional societies, such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) are thinking about this issue heavily in order to provide guidance to their members, said Pete P. Yu, MD, FACP, FASCO, president of ASCO.

The drug targets multiple proteins that are overexpressed in head and neck cancer, the study published in Clinical Cancer Research says.

OIG recommends training for inspectors and amending contracts with stand-alone pharmacies to ensure improved quality and safety.

Hospital leaders express the same concerns heard in Florida, Alabama, and elsewhere since the midterms: refusing to expand Medicaid to the working poor leaves thousands without coverage, and they still come to emergency rooms for routine care. The problem is, the Affordable Care Act assumed that expansion would be universal, and funds to care for the uninsured have dried up.

As a blizzard predicted to break snowfall records bears down upon the Northeast, area hospitals and physicians are shifting into disaster-planning mode.

HHS has announced goals and a timeline to move Medicare toward a quality-based payment system and away from the current fee-for-service payments.

Drug and device companies are adapting changing consumer and insurer focus and report being more willing to have their products be judged on both clinical and economic value.

While Sovaldi will be available for patients at $300 a bottle, about one-tenth the price in the United States, later this year, the generic version, still in trials, is expected to be available soon after.

The findings, published in the journal Cancer found that women diagnosed with breast cancer were not very aware of the disease characteristics such as tumor grade or stage. The researchers also found a bias based on the patient's race.

As the personalized medicine initiative takes shape, word comes that CMS will pay for key genetic tests in lung cancer. This policy shift is a sea change after a long period of frustration for test makers in seeking reimbursement.

Wile several big and small pharmaceutical companies have invested research efforts in developing these complex, and expensive, treatment regimens, early results from trials indicate safety issues.

High-priced treatments continue to crush state budgets. With more drugs carrying 6-figure price tags, a problematic situation is playing out across the country.

Although some price variation is to be expected between large cities and rural areas, "extreme" price differences sometimes existed within the same market.

Daniel F. Hayes, MD, FASCO, has been elected president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The launch of HealthCare.gov will likely always be remember for the numerous glitches and flaws that bogged down enrollment and the question of who is really to blame for the poor rollout remains.

More than one-third of silver plans offered on the federal health insurance Marketplace may be listing inaccurate or incomplete prescription drug cost-sharing information.

While the Health IT Policy Committee's Consumer Work Group praised efforts to update the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, the group's members say the framework does not go far enough when it comes to consumers.

The Share system has been classified as a novel but low-to-moderate risk device, exempt from the requirement for premarket submissions.

Catalyst Health Network and UnitedHealthcare have launched an accountable care organization to improve care coordination, enhance health services, and reduce the cost of healthcare.