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This week GOP presidential candidate hopefuls turned their attention to the 2016 election as the next best chance to repeal Obamacare, and CMS released data revealing $6.5 billion payments to healthcare providers from drug and medical device makers in 2014.

Nearly one-fourth of patients with an opioid prescription for use for chronic pain will end up using the drugs in the long term, according to the result of a new study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

The deal combines Humana's 3.2 million Medicare enrollees with Aetna's 1.26 million Medicare enrollees, giving the new combined company a strong position as the baby boomer population ages.

As co-pays and deductibles in Medicare and commercial health plans become more prevalent, so, too, does the temptation to waive them. But beware.

In addition to increasing insurance coverage, the Affordable Care Act also aims to improve population health and lower healthcare costs. However, not much attention has been paid to the quality of care the newly insured are receiving.

Cardiovascular disease may be the leading cause of death in the United States, but half of those deaths can be prevented, according to researchers from Emory's Rollins School of Public Health.

The UK government has come up with an innovative plan to increase public awareness of the increasing price of prescription drugs and what it costs the healthcare system

With a growing understanding of the risk of cardiotoxicity associated with cancer treatment, cardio-oncology has emerged as an important subspecialty, resulting in the establishment of cardio-oncology programs most often based at or in collaboration with comprehensive cancer centers.

A study published in Health Affairs has found that primary care physicians refer women Medicaid enrollees to fewer preventive services than do their counterparts with private insurance coverage.

Metastatic colorectal cancer patients with higher body mass index (BMI) outlived patients with the lowest BMI by an average of 2-and-a-half months, according to new data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology 17th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer 2015.

Earlier this month, the FDA took steps to prevent the online sale of counterfeit and illegal medicinal products, which can be a significant health risk to the population.

The fact that a small percentage of the population accounts for roughly half of healthcare spending in the United States is not new information. Now a new white paper from the Health Care Transformation Task Force has taken a look at what healthcare systems can do to identify these individuals in order to better manage their care and lower spending.

The health coverage of millions of Americans in 34 states was pending upon the Supreme Court decision on the King v Burwell case. Luckily, common sense prevailed and the Supreme Court based its ruling on the original motivation behind the creation of the exchanges rather than on the plain language used in the provision.

The Attorney General of Massachussetts, Maura Healy, wants healthcare services in the state to pay increased attention to mental health benefits.

CMS has begun to implement risk adjustment and reinsurance programs, 2 premium stabilization programs of the Affordable Care Act. The report highlighted the estimated reinsurance payments issuer in addition to summary level information on the programs, which helps to keep premiums affordable as well as various coverage options available to consumers.

Scientists at the Imperial College London have identified a genetic link to obesity and diabetes in an extremely obese woman and her family members.

Despite concerns that Medicare Advantage payment reductions included in the Affordable Care Act would lead to a decline in enrollment, the number and share of beneficiaries enrolling in Medicare Advantage has only continue to climb since the health reform law was enacted.

In an effort to better examine and understand the implementation and effects of the Affordable Care Act, researchers from the Urban Institute found that nongroup health insurance premiums in insurance marketplaces were lower than expected.

CMS Open Payments data for 2014 is now available and includes information on 11.4 million financial transactions attributed to over 600,000 physicians and more than 1100 teaching hospitals, totaling $6.49 billion.

The Swiss drug giant Novartis is looking at alternate pricing models for its heart failure drug Entresto, which is expected to gain FDA approval in August.

A week after JAMA released a report that found more than two-thirds of Americans age 25 years and older are overweight or obese, the American Academy of Pediatrics presented updated guidelines on preventing childhood obesity and recommendations for parents to help their children maintain a healthy weight.

Midas+ Solutions, a healthcare company specializing in quality management, asked C-level healthcare executives to define population health management.

Police officers in the United States are woefully untrained to approach individuals with behavioral health issues, according to a new analysis from Washington Post. In the first 6 months of 2015, police have shot and killed 123 people in the throes of mental or emotional crisis.

Heterogeneity in Medicaid coverage of the anti-viral agent sofosbuvir is rampant across the United States, with varying reimbursement criteria and lack of conformation to recommendations by professional infectious disease organizations.

A survey of about 18,000 residents training in internal medicine found that nearly three-fourths were unaware of the costs of the treatment that they prescribe for patients or the tests that they order.

Certain exchange benefit plans have recently begun to place all specialty medications for complex diseases on the highest drug formulary cost-sharing tier, according to an analysis from Avalere Health.

Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School have developed a map of the United States highlighting significant variation in stroke care.

Shortly after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government in King v. Burwell, President Barack Obama triumphantly claimed that "Affordable Care Act is here to stay." However, the truth is that GOP presidential hopefuls have no intention of letting the law stand.

Two new changes to CMS' ACO Investment Model will help practices in rural areas gain more access to the benefits of accountable care organizations.

The number of Medicare Advantage plans with $0 premiums has been on the decline since 2011, and dropped from 813 in 2014 to 726 in 2015, according to a recent analysis government data by HealthPocket.