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This week, the top managed care news included coverage from the 59th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition; recommendations on the use of diabetes drugs with cardiovascular indications; and a new study found that despite changes in insurance plans to give consumers more clout, unnecessary medical spending remains a problem.

Niall Brennan, president of the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) and former CMS data chief, compared examples of national trends in spending, price, and utilization with the same trends in New Jersey to illustrate the power of data in a recent discussion with Garden State policy makers about data and transparency.

New legislation would suspend the Affordable Care Act’s medical device tax for 5 years; teenagers are now more likely to vape or use marijuana than smoke cigarettes; California women can access birth control at a pharmacist without a doctor’s prescription, but are unlikely to do so.

Despite effective pharmacology, many patients with asthma have impaired quality of life, but a new breathing retraining intervention can be used as a nonpharmacological intervention to treat asthma.

Examining insurance claims from millions of doctors' visits with daily rainfall totals from thousands of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather stations showed that there is no relationship between rainy weather and joint pain or an achy back, according to new research from Harvard Medical School.

An analysis of behaviors, community environment, policy, clinical care, and outcomes data has found a disturbing trend in mortality in the United States, with premature deaths, drug deaths, and cardiovascular deaths all increasing.

US healthcare spending is on the rise, and is expected to comprise over 20% of the gross domestic product by 2025. Current expenditures are expected to double by 2060 if the pace of spending in the past decade continues. In this healthcare landscape, in vitro diagnostics (IVD) have increasingly become the subject of scrutiny, as IVDs are perceived as contributing to soaring costs.

The FDA announced a website tool aimed at healthcare providers to help them make more educated prescribing decisions about antibiotics in an effort to prevent the spread of resistant bacteria.

The FDA has announced its launch of the “Every Try Counts” campaign, which will encourage smokers to quit by advertising messages of support underscoring the health benefits of quitting. The campaign will also focus on celebrating each quit attempt as a step towards success.

The FDA wants to enlist consumers to help identify troubling drug ads; DC's only public hospital needs a $17 million bailout; intense exercise can slow the progression of early-stage Parkinson disease.

Though rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often leads to destruction of joints, the bone marrow environment appears to be an important site for the pathological processes of RA. A new study investigating interleukin-17 (IL-17) in bone marrow explored the role that this cytokine plays in inflammation and the process of bone destruction.

Commissioned by the University of Utah Health and conducted by Leavitt Partners, the Value in Health Care Survey identified how 3 key stake holder groups (patients, physicians, and employers) define value and prioritize 3 components of the concept (quality, service, and cost).

As more millennials enter the healthcare workforce, health outcomes of the baby boomer generation increasingly will depend on the quality of communication with a generation that has grown up in a very different time.

A systematic review of biologics used in to treat palmoplantar psoriasis and palmoplantar pustulosis, 2 diseases that affect the palms and the soles of feet, found several available biologics are at least 80% effective in 1 form of the disease, but that there is less data on how well these drugs work on other forms of the disease.

Commonwealth Fund researchers said Medicare Advantage plans will need enhanced incentives to make sure that high-quality care is provided at lower cost, as the number of beneficiaries in these plans is expected to climb by 2027.

Would you rather have $60 today or $75 next month? Using similar questions, researchers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and 23andMe Inc. found a genetic signature for delay discounting that overlaps with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), smoking, and weight.

Welltok, the consumer health enterprise company, compiled data to help employers, health plans, and other population health managers identify consumers with a higher risk of contracting the flu.

FDA is considering a faster approval process for medical devices; the American Clinical Laboratory Association is suing the federal government over a new reimbursement system; there are 2 Obamacare special enrollment periods that a greater-than-usual number of people could be eligible for.

A report from the Urban Institute traces CMS' evolving approach to compensating primary care physicians to treat those with multiple chronic conditions.

Findings from 3 analyses published in CANCER highlight racial disparities in the survival of patients with ovarian, colon, and breast cancer from 2001-2003 and 2004-2009.

The cost of insulin has been a major policy issue in recent years. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, said the approval of a new choice in insulin was a sign of his commitment to giving patients lower-cost options.

Both Don Berwick, MD, MPP, and Jerry Avorn, MD, argue that staying silent in the current climate is a choice, and not a good one for physicians.

A Kaiser Family Foundation web briefing navigated the HIV/AIDS funding landscape, taking a look at trends over time, the latest data, and what we might expect in the future.

Health officials are warning of an unusually harsh flu season; Ascension and Providence St. Joseph Health are in talks about a possible merger; and heavy traffic is expected as the final week of ACA sign-ups begins.

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is seeking public comment on its review of 3 calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors for prevention of migraine, as well as an update to its 2016 report on treatments for plaque psoriasis.

This article focuses on the financial results that may accrue to a participating hospital throughout the remainder of the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement program as a result of the migration from historical baseline to regional target rates, and rebasing of the historical baseline.

The American Diabetes Association update has recommendations that affect liraglutide, canagliflozin, and empagliflozin.

Infantile spasms are hard to diagnose, which can lead to treatment delays, according to the study authors.