All News

This week, the top managed care stories included news that Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, will be leaving the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a report that obesity rate in the military are also on the rise, and CMS denied Ohio's proposal to charge fees for Medicaid.

Massachusetts achieved near-universal insurance coverage after enacting its own healthcare reform 10 years ago, but gains in improved access to and affordability of care faded over time.

Results for Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide were reported today at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. A filing for FDA approval is expected before the end of the year.

The American Journal of Managed Care reached out to Daniel F. Hayes, MD, FASCO, 2016-2017 president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), to understand his perception of how the recommendations of the Cancer Moonshot initiative's Blue Ribbon Panel would impact cancer care in the United States.

The report showed a strong connection between states with high rates of inactivity and those with the highest rates of obesity.

Highlights of our peer-reviewed research in the healthcare and mainstream press.

The current issue of Evidence-Based Diabetes Management explores studies and patient access issues surrounding this closely watched inhaled insulin.

Patients with a history of cancer were more likely to suffer from obesity than the general population. This incidence was even greater in patients who were survivors of colorectal and breast cancers.

What we're reading, September 16, 2016: Donald Trump mentions using Medicaid to expand coverage and making birth control available without a prescription; medical marijuana could curb the opioid epidemic; and how rare diseases are becoming more common.

There has been a steady decline in death rates among children and adolescent patients diagnosed with cancer (ages 1 to 19 years), minus gender or racial disparity, between 1999 and 2014, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics.

Understanding patients’ capability for self-management is a key part of understanding the risk of health declines and avoidable utilization, researchers determine.

The suit doesn't address whether soda taxes have any effect on obesity or public health, but instead hinges on finer points of Pennsylvania tax law and its constitution.

Pfizer and Merck plan to file new drug applications with FDA for the SGLT2 inhibitor by the end of the year. One combination would pair ertugliflozin with Januvia, the blockbuster DPP-4 inhibitor.

Health record banks offer a promising future for health records and secure information exchange.

Following an FDA advisory on ovarian cancer screening tests, London-based Abcodia has announced that it will temporarily stop sales of its Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm test in the United States.

What we're reading, September 15, 2016: A United Nations panel challenges the market-based approach to drug research and development; an FDA panel recommends removing a serious health warning from Chantix's label; and older patients may want to wait to get their flu shot.

A cost-effectiveness analysis has found that Oncotype DX may not be economical to make clinical decisions on adjuvant radiation treatment in patients with DCIS.

An effort by the University of Utah health system created an "opportunity index" to identify areas of cost variability that would show physicians where they could find savings and improve quality.

A study published in JAMA Oncology has found that interventions to improve patient-centered communication was successful in patients with advanced cancer, but it failed to improve quality of life (QOL), patient-physician relation, or healthcare utilization toward the end of life.

The authors said this is the first study to examine antihypertension nonadherence down to the county level. Recommendations include greater use of combination therapy to reduce pill counts for patients with multiple chronic conditions, and synchronizing pharmacy visits to avoid multiple trips.

What we're reading, September 14, 2016: CMS denies Ohio's proposal to charge Medicaid fees; steep costs of healthcare continue to push Americans into poverty; and Canada approves prescription heroin to treat severe addiction.

Gaps in the treatment of depression exist with many people who screen positive for depression not receiving treatment, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, is stepping down as president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) after 14 years in charge. As of yet, no successor has been named.

Between individuals coming in and out of the market in a given year and those who switch plans, the majority of people in exchanges are enrolled in their plans for one year or less.

Although daratumumab reduced the risk of disease progression and death for patients with multiple myeloma, the drug was associated with a higher rate of neutropenia.

Insurance companies are making it mandatory for individuals to speak with qualified genetic counselors prior to testing for some hereditary cancers.

While the report found that the obesity rate among service members had gone up steadily since 2001, it was still only a fraction of the rate among the US population overall.

What we're reading, September 13, 2016: GOP bill would exempt people who live in areas with 1 Obamacare plan or none from penalties for not having coverage; hepatitis C drugs threaten to bust prison budgets; and school challenges for children with mental illness.

Two new reports suggest that Medicaid block grants could lock in disparities in federal funding between states that spend a lot on the poor and those that do not.

FDA staff are not convinced that the smoking-cessation drugs varenicline (Chantix), developed by Pfizer, and bupropion (Zyban), developed by GSK, do not increase suicidal tendencies among users.