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A new government analysis revealed that despite a previous warning, CMS failed to take steps to ensure that Medicare Part D does not also pay for drugs that should be covered under the Part A hospice benefit; with studies of antidepressants’ safety and efficacy only following patients for a few years and with more people taking antidepressants for longer periods of time, health professionals are concerned that some people taking the drugs for extended periods shouldn’t be and are thus subjecting themselves to side effects and potential health risks; Medicaid advocates in Nebraska have filed a lawsuit to try and force the state to implement Medicaid expansion no later than November 17, 2019.

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

The authors said their finding that preventive medications for migraine might be underutilized surprised them, given that guidelines for migraine prevention exist in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Coverage from the July 11, 2019, meeting of the Institute for Value-Based Medicine®, an initiative of The American Journal of Managed Care®. The meeting took place in Arlington, Virginia.

Researchers identified a new gene mutation that impacts an individual’s sleep necessity and wakefulness.

Purdue Pharma is offering up to $12 billion to settle lawsuits over its role in the opioid epidemic; the US Preventive Services Task Force is aiming to expand its hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening recommendations to include all adults aged 18 to 79 years; the majority of Democratic voters would be more likely to support a candidate that backs a single-payer health system like Medicare for All.

Dapagliflozin’s fast track designation follows findings from last year’s DECLARE-TIMI trial, a cardiovascular outcomes trial that showed the drug’s significant impact on delaying the loss of kidney function and reducing hospitalization risk for heart failure.

New and effective antibiotics are rarely prescribed in carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infections, which are a family of the most drug-resistant bacteria.

Other than surgery and medications, including opioids, there are few options for treating pain symptoms, which affect more than half of all patients with neurofibromatosis type 1.

Even as more competition entered the market, the prices of self-administered disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) rose steadily from 2006 to 2016, and seniors with Medicare Part D coverage saw a 7.2-fold increase in out-of-pocket costs.

A case report of a 35-year-old woman with chronic migraine who had a 2-year history of severe pain that did not improve with medical therapy showed that peripheral nerve field stimulation could safely treat chronic migraine.

Using 2 decades' worth of data, researchers were able to identify disparities in HIV outcomes across more than 25,000 people living with HIV in Tennessee.

Among more than 10,000 women breast cancer survivors aged 65 years or older who started adjuvant endocrine therapy, those who had a mental health comorbidity were 33% more likely to use opioids.

Results of a subgroup analysis within a randomized, controlled trial show that the monoclonal antibody dupilumab (Dupixent) improved clinical and patient-reported outcomes among patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with nasal polyps and comorbid asthma.

The price for Otezla is higher than many analysts expected.

The findings suggest that a commonly used diabetes therapy, metformin, could be used to target specific proteins that trigger DNA repair.

Quitting smoking can reduce a heavy smoker’s risk of heart disease within 5 years.

CDC continues to investigate growing cases of lung illnesses for possible correlations to vape usage; a study suggests steroid inhaler use in patients with mild asthma may be ineffective; Oklahoma judge set to decide opioid lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson today.

A study of pairs of twins revealed that obstructive sleep apnea and measures of the disorder seem to be heritable, but daytime sleepiness is mostly influenced by environmental factors.

As health costs continue to increase, health spending by families with large employer health plans has increased 2 times faster than workers’ wages over the last 10 years.

Cancer treatment raises the risk of heart disease in childhood cancer survivors, as does diabetes and hypertension.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is understood to be linked with both physical and mental distress, and recent research also suggests that, among current and former smokers with COPD, there exists a significant unmet need in terms of patients’ anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Adding measurement of a key protein during metabolic assessment could help identify those at higher risk of heart attacks and strokes even if they have normal body mass index.

An analysis of data from between 2010 and 2017 found that Medicaid expansion promoted HIV testing without increasing HIV risk behavior among nonelderly adults.

Between 2017 and 2018, the percentage of adolescents who were up-to-date on the vaccine series increased from 48.6% to 51.1%, which was attributed to an increase among boys only.

Studies on anticoagulants and SGLT2 inhibitors, and guidelines for dyslipidemia and more are anticipated at the meeting.

Finding a cure for pancreatic cancer, which is among the deadliest cancers, will require both systemic therapy and local therapy, researchers said.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the healthcare and mainstream press.