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For the third year in a row, Medicare Part B monthly premiums and deductibles will remain unchanged at $104.90 and $147, respectively, according to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell.

There are 10 emerging healthcare trends that will impact managed care pharmacy organizations over the next 5 years as the United States healthcare system places more emphasis on affordability, population health, and patient satisfaction and quality of care, according to a new report from the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy.

The identification of specific RNA molecules in the urine of individuals with prostate cancer raises hope for a non-invasive test for the disease.

Financial results from the first 2 years of the Pioneer ACO Model reveals the gains and losses of the 32 organizations that started the program, and illuminates why just 19 remain.

The majority of low-income adults in 3 states favored Medicaid expansion, but knowledge about their states' plans for the program under the Affordable Care Act was low, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund.

Even though roughly 9 million Americans have gained healthcare coverage, other forces related to the "anemic recovery" will keep healthcare spending under control, at least in the short term, writes Charles Roehrig, PhD, in a commentary published online yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A study of Colorado's own health insurance exchange for individuals identified 11 commonly cited barriers that have prevented eligible individuals from not enrolling in coverage.

Having decided to restrict the distribution of 3 of its top-selling oncology medications, Avastin, Rituxan, and Herceptin only through specialty pharmacies, Genentech is witnessing protests in various forms from healthcare centers.

CMS released financial results from the first 2 years of the Pioneer ACO program. The program is down to 19 accountable care organizations from the original 32 that started the program, and the financial results reveal why those that dropped out did so.

The collaboration between med fusion and GenomOncology promises improved outcomes in personalized cancer trials.

Over the last decade, all 5 national coordinators for health information technology have discussed the importance of connecting healthcare data, but the timing is finally right now, according to Karen B. DeSalvo, MD.

Although people seem to assume Big Data will answer all questions and improve quality of care while increasing efficiencies, the healthcare industry needs to focus on what data is actually actionable, according to John Halamka, MD, chief information officer at Beth Israel Deaconess.

Amid yesterday's good news from the CDC that Americans are living longer than ever was a sobering fact. Rates for the top 10 causes of death all fell from 2011 to 2012, save one: suicide. The death rate increased from 12.3 to 12.6 deaths per 100,000 people.

A Taiwan study found a significantly reduced risk of cancer among RA patients on biologics.

Payroll audits to ensure proper staffing and better tracking of the use of antipsychotic medications are just 2 new items that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) will add to its list of quality measures for nursing homes starting in January, the agency that oversees all Medicare spending announced Monday. The changes are due to passage of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act (IMPACT) which President Obama signed Monday. Some of the changes will bring managed care concepts to the home health sector, where regulations have not been updated in 25 years

Results of a large study performed across cancer centers in Germany, published online October 6, 2014 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, show that 32% of people with cancer experienced some form of clinically relevant mental health challenge, such as anxiety, depressive and adjustment disorders.

Including pharmacy benefits as part of an employer's total health insurance benefit package has clear health benefits and cost savings, according to a study from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Prime Therapeutics, LLC.

Nationwide, Pioneer ACOs saved the government $96 million last year, compared with $87.6 million in 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said last month.

Peter B. Bach, MD, MAPP, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, writes in the Journal of the American Medical Association that cancer drugs could be charged different prices by indication, since the value for patients varies. His article appeared days before an appearance on 60 Minutes to discuss the high price of cancer drugs.

Combining nivolumab, an immuno-oncology molecule, with 1 of 3 targeted agents from Novartis is expected to improve patient response in NSCLC.

Chemotherapy drugs, which could be poisons, can result in adverse health outcomes in healthcare workers who administer them to patients without adequate safety measures.

During the third year of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program, CMS will penalize more hospitals than it did during the second and third years of the program; however, the overall readmission rate for Medicare beneficiaries is down.

A new research study from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School showed that niclosamide ethanolamine salt (NEN) can burn the excess fat in the liver cells of mice through a process known as mitochondrial uncoupling. Fat accumulation in the liver is a typical characteristic of diabetic patients.

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals announced the failure of a phase 3 study Monday morning. The company's experimental drug vosaroxin did not extend survival of elderly patients with advanced acute myeloid leukemia compared to a placebo.

A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that lack of awareness resulted in women over 65 and those who had undergone hysterectomy routinely undergoing a Pap test.

ASCO has been working in parallel with various other institutions to generate a patient-centered oncology payment reform model.

The study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, evaluated the influence of NSAIDs and statins on PSA levels in men with a high prostate cancer risk.

The molecule is being evaluated in crizotinib-resistant ALK-positive NSCLC patients. The results from the phase 1/2 trial with AP26113 were presented at the 2014 European Cancer Congress.

The study by Kaiser Permanente found that prescription practices were not much influenced by the decrease in fee-for-service payments for outpatient chemotherapy, due the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003.

The next phase of New Hampshire's plan to bring managed care to the state's Medicaid program will not go into effect on January 1, 2015, as planned, due in part to concerns about the ability to ensure smooth transitions for those with complex medical cases to receive uninterrupted care.