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A federal watchdog will take on Medicare scams; Belviq, a weight loss drug, has been pulled from market; issues at Veterans Affairs have resulted in healthcare roadblocks.

This week, top managed care stories included CareMore Health successfully managing complex patients; HHS standing by its rules on interoperability; healthcare costs rising faster than wages.

Interstitial lung disease requires a multidisciplinary clinical approach, though little is known about effective therapeutic treatments.

Workers with health insurance through their jobs saw out-of-pocket costs rise 14.5%, or $114, between 2014 and 2018, and also increased the use of psychiatry services and substance use facilities.

Researchers describe results of carfilizomib and bendamustine in a phase 1/2 study.

Competing trials are under way that may show that the benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors in heart failure are a class effect.

A British study shows nonmedical costs make up a significant portion of the annual expense generated by multiple sclerosis (MS). Most of those nonmedical costs are not covered by insurance.

A testosterone-related genetic variant (HSD3B2[1245C]) is linked to poor outcomes in advanced prostate cancer, according to a recent study published in JAMA Oncology.

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/on-demand/a-managed-care-review-of-unmet-medical-needs-new-treatments-and-health-economics-associated-with-schizophrenia

In new guidelines issued today by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), researchers provide sleep intervention recommendations to families, neurologists, and other healthcare providers in making decisions on the best treatments available for children and teens with autism.

Using whole genome sequencing, researchers were able to determine genetic heterogeneity in patients with optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH), according to a study published in PLoS One.

Those who suffer from migraines have a hyperexcitable visual cortex, according to a study published in Neuroimage: Clinical. This is the first reported evidence establishing a link between migraine experiences and abnormalities in the visual cortex.

Dose reduction of biologics adalimumab, etanercept, and ustekinumab was not shown to be as effective as providing the usual doses for treatment of psoriasis, according to study findings published today.

Cancer drug trials often do not report on cardiovascular outcomes; CVS is investing in affordable housing to reduce overall healthcare costs; a drug for obsessive compulsive disorder that was developed through artificial intelligence will soon be tested in humans.

Based on positive data from the phase 3 CANDOR study presented at the 2019 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, Janssen announced yesterday the submission of a supplemental biologics license application to the FDA seeking approval of daratumumab in combination with carfilzomib and dexamethasone for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

While many Americans may associate firearm-related suicides with access to handguns, a report released this month documents the high prevalence of long gun (rifle and shotgun) use in youth and rural suicide rates.

Data collected between 1995 and 2014 show prevalence and incidence of diabetes are substantially higher in First Nations people in Canada compared to other people in Ontario, according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The 2021 budget request from the Trump administration involves budget cuts for agencies such as HHS, CDC, and the Environmental Protection Agency; an investigational treatment for Alzheimer disease failed to slow or stop cognitive decline in patients involved in an international clinical trial; CDC confirmed a new case of coronavirus in San Diego, California.

Compared with standard care, patients with Parkinson disease and related disorders who received palliative care exhibited improved quality of life and better symptom burden at 6 months after intervention, according to study findings.

Among the general population of the United States, 14.5% of HIV-positive individuals do not know their disease status. This rate increases to 51.5% of 13- to 24-year-olds, among whom men who have sex with men account for 80% of new HIV infections.

Patients younger than 50 years who have multiple sclerosis (MS) who receive a gastrostomy tube to enable home enteral feeding live longer than those older than 50 years, according to a study published in Multiple Sclerosis Journal- Experimental, Translational, Clinical.

There are more than 36 million smokers in the United States today, and most (70%) admit they want to quit. Individuals who decide to quit see a smaller risk of heart disease within 1 to 2 years, along with reduced risks of stroke and peripheral vascular disease. However, annual deaths from smoking still exceed 480,000 in the United States, where over 16 million live with smoking-related diseases that include infertility, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Biomedical engineers at Duke University constructed an advanced disease model for blood vessels prompting insights into Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, according to a study published in Stem Cell Reports.

In-home noninvasive positive pressure ventilation via bilevel positive airway pressure devices exhibited lower risk of mortality, fewer patients with all-cause hospital admission, and less need for intubation, but had no significant difference in quality-of-life for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hypercapnia, according to study findings.

Avalere Health released an analysis outlining estimated savings that states electing to opt into the Health Adult Opportunity program need to generate in order to remain below capped funding levels mandated in the Trump administration’s new Medicaid initiative.

The reported death toll of the coronavirus in China has exceeded that of the SARS crisis from 17 years ago; the Trump administration delayed a signature healthcare initiative aiming to increase dialysis at home and transplants for US kidney patients; nearly 170 organs could not be transplanted due to transportation issues on commercial flights.

Enrollment in AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs)–funded Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) is associated with viral suppression (VS) across states and demographic groups. People living with HIV who engage in care and have QHPs have a higher VS rate than those who received medications from direct ADAPs.