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Prior to the Affordable Care Act, many adults leaving jail or prison were ineligible for Medicaid because coverage was not available to most adults without children. However, by mid 2018, 33 states and the District of Columbia had expanded Medicaid eligibility to include all adults with incomes below 138% of the federal poverty level, which has made Medicaid available to more individuals upon their release.

As many as 2 million people have been exposed to carcinogens in several generic blood pressure drugs; flu activity has worsened over the past week; and real-world data is changing how researchers study drug efficacy and safety.

The study followed more than 2300 men and women for 5 years and found different patterns of depression symptoms between the genders.

Here are 5 interesting findings from the January 2019 issue of AJMC®.

The Senate Committee on Finance convened a hearing with economic and medical experts and the mother of child with insulin-dependent diabetes to discuss the burdens of high prescription drug prices and potential policy solutions that can address the rising costs without harming innovation by drug companies.

Americans with primary care receive significantly more high-value care, slightly more low-value care, and report better healthcare experience.

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/on-demand/an-american-journal-of-managed-care-medical-crossfire-a-payer-and-neurologist-discussion-on-the-shifting-paradigm-of-alzheimers-disease-treatment

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/on-demand/an-american-journal-of-managed-care-payer-and-specialty-pharmacy-forum-clinical-updates-and-outcomes-data-for-pcsk9-inhibitors

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/on-demand/chemotherapy-induced-nausea-and-vomiting-treatment

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/on-demand/american-journal-of-managed-care-payer-and-specialty-pharmacy-forum-von-willebrand-disease-management-including-a-patient-perspective

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/on-demand/mantle-cell-lymphoma-mcl-treatment-landscape-and-access-to-care

Asthma–COPD overlap (ACO) is a term that encompasses patients with characteristics of 2 conditions, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A recent study from Spain sought to validate a proposed algorithm to help clinicians identify ACO among patients with COPD, in an effort to tailor treatment.

Administrator Seema Verma said CMS will focus on “empowering patients, focusing on results, and unleashing innovation” during a speech on the first day of the 2019 CMS Quality Conference, and called states the “laboratories of democracy” when it comes to innovation in Medicaid.

The study appeared as one of its authors testified before Congress on the high cost of prescription drugs, including insulin. Experts told the House Committee on Oversight and Reform that branded drug makers enjoy monopolies and that barriers to competition harm consumers.

UPMC Health Plan and AztraZeneca have announced their value-based agreement for ticagrelor (Brilinta), which will tie reimbursement to patient outcomes.

The man for whom the right-to-try law is named has been unable to get treatment; neuroscientists who were once skeptics are now being persuaded by new studies that have turned up fascinating links between the microbiome and the brain; public health officials are worried it could take months to contain the measles outbreak due to a lower-than-normal vaccination rate in Clark County, Washington, the epicenter of the crisis.

The National Institutes of Health halted the landmark SPRINT study in 2015 after results clearly showed a cardiovascular benefit for patients who had their systolic blood pressure aggressively controlled to 120 mm/Hg.

Genomic sequencing at birth has the potential to shift the healthcare system from reactive to preventive and save countless lives in the process, but healthcare systems aren’t ready for widespread implementation of these tests, according to a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

The ninth annual Trending Now in Cancer Care survey identified current and emerging trends for US cancer programs, such as the ongoing threat of drug costs and popular services progams are planning to add in the next 2 years.

The approval marks the first non-chemotherapy combination regimen for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Oncology medications, disease-modifying agents, and immunomodulatory agents will continue to account for most of the pharmacy spending by health systems, said Vizient, which projects a 4.28% increase for pharmaceutical purchases made by organizations between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020.

A recent study reports that monocytes from patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) have a defective negative regulation of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling that allows for the unrestrained production of tumor necrosis factor alpha after TLR activation. Additionally, the authors write that TLR signaling not only contributes to chronic inflammation in patients with MPN, but also may predispose individuals to acquire MPNs.

Federal contractors lost not only wages during the 5-week government shutdown, some of them also lost health insurance; with advances in gene therapy, scientists are beginning to talk about a cure in sickle cell disease; there’s bipartisan interest in attacking the issue of unexpected medical bills, and the effort has been aided by President Donald Trump, who voiced support last week for protecting patients.

Nonheadache and headache specialists have moderate levels of agreement in classifying common chronic headache disorders after using the telephone classification interview model, according to a study.

A new study examined what factors might prolong time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

A phase 4 study of formoterol fumarate showed similar safety performance as placebo in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a recently published study.

The study counted all kinds of activity, including walking to work, repairs around the house, and, of course, sports.

A study of 3 assessments for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia treated with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab are examined.