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The Institute for Patient Access has issued a response to the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) following its report assessing the clinical effectiveness and economic value of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors for the treatment of chronic or episodic migraines.

This month, mental health professionals from across the country gathered in New York, New York, for a pair of conferences that addressed advances in treating mental health disorders. Below are 5 key takeaways from the meetings on new directions in the field.

Tennessee has become the second state to pass a law allowing pharmaceutical companies to market their products for off-label uses; a House panel advanced legislation that would expand access to private sector care outside of the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system; and nearly half of oncologists recommend medical marijuana to their patients.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the healthcare and mainstream press.

Cancer is a leading cause of death among women of parenting age, and a new study demonstrates that women with metastatic cancer who are the parents of dependent children have higher rates of psychological distress and lower health-related quality of life.

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that men aged 55 to 69 make their own decision on whether or not to be screened periodically for prostate cancer after they have had a conversation with their physician on potential benefits and harms.

During a Kaiser Family Foundation webcast, “Why are Health Prices So High, and What can be Done About Them?” stakeholders from varying sectors of the healthcare industry offered differing opinions on what is driving healthcare costs in the United States.

Since its inception, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) has implemented 37 models testing healthcare delivery and payment reform. A new Goverment Accountability Office assessment found that CMMI has partially met goals for performance targets.

As high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) grow in popularity, the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design is advocating for a clinically nuanced alternative to the traditional HDHP.

Geisinger Health System will begin to integrate DNA sequencing as part of routine preventive care; a review of evidence confirms that HPV vaccinations protect women against cervical cancer; and new research has found that you may be breathing in tobacco residue in spaces that people haven't smoked in for years.

Common polygenic variation significantly contributes to the aggregation of migraine in families, whether they are common or rare subtypes.

A small observational study found that people with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have poor dental hygiene practices and reduced oral health-related quality of life.

Since March 2014, nearly 14,000 genetic tests have entered the market, with about 10 new tests appearing daily. A study published in Health Affairs sought to clarify unanswered questions surrounding genetic testing markets, test usage, and health policy implications.

The FDA Wednesday confirmed that there are “intermittent” shortages of Mylan’s EpiPen, an autoinjector device containing epinephrine to counteract the effects of anaphylaxis, but said it expects the delay to be short, while the manufacturer said the issue has to do with supply of third-party components.

Surveys collected as part of the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index found that the uninsured rate increased significantly in 17 states from 2016 to 2017. At the same time, no states reported statistically significant decreases in the uninsured rate. This is the first time since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act that states have reported increases in the uninsured rate.

A new case study found that an acute myeloid leukemia patient has remained cancer free for 9 months following treatment with the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatment, CYAD-01, and a bone marrow transplant.

In an attempt to distance itself from the controversy it faced over steep drug price increases, Valeant Pharmaceuticals will change its name to Bausch Health Companies; medical bills are dragging down some people's credit scores; Minnesota governor warns Republican state lawmakers against trying to block expansion of MinnesotaCare.

The total cancer burden among people living with HIV will decrease from 8150 cases in 2010 to 6690 cases in 2030, and prostate and lung cancers will emerge as the most common types of cancer facing the patient population.

In testimony before a Senate committee, the chief scientific and medical officer said no single stakeholder is at fault, but the entire system of insulin delivery must be examined to make things better for consumers.

Ivacaftor, the first drug that targeted the underlying defect of cystic fibrosis (CF), which affects about 30,000 people in the United States, improved outcomes and reduced hospitalizations, according to an analysis in the May issue of Health Affairs examining precision medicine.

L.A. Care Health Plan—the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan serving 2 million low-income patients—is training physicians in their network to become better leaders and, in turn, improving quality of care and patient outcomes.

On Tuesday, CMS released its first strategy to address rural healthcare, saying that it wants people who live in rural America to “have access to high quality, affordable healthcare.”

The FDA has approved daratumumab in combination with bortezomib, melphalan, and prednisone to treat patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant.

The Trump administration is proposing to ask Congress for spending cuts that include about $7 billion from the Children's Health Insurance Program; lawmakers are set to question opioid distributors about the role they may have played in the nation’s substance use disorder epidemic; the House is proposing a provision in its farm bill that would allow cheaper but less comprehensive health insurance.

Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are now in place in response to rising levels of overdoses involving opioids and synthetic opioids. But a new study that sought to clarify the relationship between PDMPs and their effectiveness in attacking the nation’s drug problem found limited to no evidence that they actually work. In addition, 3 of the studies reviewed found an increase in heroin overdose deaths after the programs began.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, has embraced the calorie counts at restaurants a year after his agency put them hold on the eve of his arrival. A Nutrition Facts label update is delayed but not scuttled, in contrast with the reversal of school lunch changes from the Obama administration.

The Trump administration announced Monday that it is rejecting Kansas’s request to impose lifetime limits on Medicaid benefits, with CMS chief Seema Verma telling the American Hospital Association that "Medicaid remains the safety net for those that need it most." In addition, CMS approved work requirements for those receiving benefits in New Hampshire.

President Trump is expected to give a speech Tuesday about his plan to lower drug prices, and it has the industry on edge; despite the president telling crowds that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is deceased, many pieces of it are alive and angering business groups; Idaho officials are still hoping to allow insurers to sell plans that don't comply with the ACA and are negotiating with federal officials over risk pools, risk adjustment programs, essential health benefits, and other issues.

Exposure to a short-term increase in pollution-causing airborne particles called fine particulate matter 2.5 is linked to the development of acute lower respiratory infection in young children, as well as additional doctor visits, according to new research.