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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp released a Medicaid plan with a work requirement of 80 hours a month; a new Alzheimer drug derived from seaweed was given conditional approval in China; a study says California's vaccination law will have modest effect on childhood vaccination rates.

Researchers uncovered that patients with Parkinson disease could benefit from immune modulation as an alternative treatment, due to the condition’s influence on immune imbalance, according to study findings.

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham first isolated the kinase HIPK2 from among hundreds of potential targets by using bioinformatics to hone in on the protein kinase as a target for study.

The Trump administration's requirement for immigrants to prove their ability to afford or obtain health insurance for visas has been blocked; 6 tips in choosing a health plan; FDA advises heartburn medication manufacturers to recall pills.

Oral semgalutide’s price, along with its potential for adverse events, caused ICER to give empagliflozin the edge in cost effectiveness as physicians and health plans evaluate which type 2 diabetes therapy should be given after metformin.

There has been much speculation among the 175 practices still taking part in the OCM what will happen when the 5-year model expires in 2021. The RFI document states that the Oncology Care First model would start in January 2021, “when no new episodes would be initiating in OCM.”

A blood test showcased potential efficacy for screening and detection of breast cancer, according to an abstract to be presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference.

A review evaluating the methodological approaches of identifying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) found that when more criteria is combined, the more accurate the detection of COPD in terms of sensitivity and specificity.

Gut microbiome composition, sleep physiology, the immune system, and cognition were found to be interlinked, indicating possible therapies of gut microbiome manipulation to improve sleep quality, according to study findings.

Authors led by Justin Carrico of RTI Health Solutions compared 9 different biologics and the oral drug apremilast in treatment of psoriasis; their anaylsis, “from a US health plan’s perspective,” involved both base cost and cost-effectiveness models that included adverse events.

Intranasal lidocaine may be a useful option for patients with an acute migraine, according to a study which showed the drug had a high success rate, low pain intensity, infrequent need for rescue medicine, and tolerable adverse events.

The Personal KinetiGraph (PKG) Movement Recording System may be effective for routine clinical care of patients with Parkinson disease (PD), according to a recent study.

The cost and care implications of osteoporosis are expected to grow substantially as the baby boomers age. A study published this year found the total annual cost of providing care for osteoporotic fractures among Medicare beneficiaries, including direct medical costs as well as indirect societal costs related to productivity losses and informal caregiving, would rise from $57 billion in 2018 to $95 billion in 2040 unless strategies are implemented to prevent fractures.

Greater non-motor symptom burden may be associated with thalamic atrophy in Parkinson disease (PD), suggesting that the thalamus has a significant role in processing sensory information including visceral afferent from the gastrointestinal tract and regulating states of sleep.

Highmark announced this week that its outcomes-based contract with AstraZeneca for the respiratory combination medication of budesonide/formoterol (Symbicort) revealed positive results in improving outcomes for those with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The Trump administration is supporting Stephen Hahn, MD, FASTRO, the chief medical officer of MD Anderson Cancer Center, as the next FDA commissioner, and the current acting commissioner, Ned Sharpless, MD, is returning to his old job as head of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

This week, the top managed care stories included a report from the FDA considering how to avoid drug shortages; a white paper finds rising comfort with telehealth even as use of digital health tools stagnates; data show a spike in the number of uninsured children.

Broad population-based genomic screening has the potential to improve patient care by detecting genetic causes of disease before they occur; however, the economics behind this approach have not fully been validated, according to a session on the clinical and economic utility of whole-genome sequencing at the AMCP Nexus 2019 meeting.

An analysis of a carrier-based mandatory obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) program on truckers’ non–OSA-program medical insurance claim costs revealed substantial healthcare cost savings, according to study findings.

Rising rates of obesity and diabetes have raised concerns that more people could be headed for end-stage renal disease (ESRD); thus, Medicare has been seeking ways to reduce the cost of care and to improve the quality of life for people on dialysis. Scientists are focusing on whether more patients with early-stage type 2 diabetes should take sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors, which have been shown to slow renal decline.

Two studies report that children who get measles are more susceptible to other illnesses later; Indiana decides not to pursuue Medicaid work requirements; a Trump administration rule taking effect mandating health insurance for new immigrants is causing confusion.

Panelists YuQian Liu, PharmD, and Carly Rodriguez, PharmD, FAMCP, discussed migraine treatment advances, available real-world evidence, and migraine management strategies with moderator Charles Collins, MS, MBA, at AMCP Nexus 2019 in National Harbor, Maryland.

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

Here are the top 5 articles for the month of October.

Although eculizumab is only approved by the FDA to treat 3 rare indications, the high and increasing net sales for the drug have raised concerns about off-label use, according to a research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine.

A new review published in The Lancet describes the future landscape of therapeutics in development for what the authors call the next generation of HIV prevention, or PrEP 2.0.

As the number of disease-modifying therapies available for multiple sclerosis increases, patients and physicians can struggle to identify the right one for the right patient, highlighting the need for a patient decision aid.

The 19 signers of the letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CMS Administrator Seema Verma include Senate Finance Committee members and lawmakers from states with high rates of diabetes and obesity.