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This week, the top managed care news included COVID-19 vaccine eligibility opens to all adults nationwide; a spotlight on payment models and value-based care; barriers to mental health care for children and teenagers.

Mitigating the burden of HIV in the United States means taking a more comprehensive approach to diagnosis, testing, and treatment of the disease, said a speaker at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians Virtual Spring Managed Care Forum.

Washout periods are necessary to flush out any lingering effects of drugs that patients are taking before a study, explained Jonathan Silverberg, MD, PhD, MPH, associate professor of dermatology, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

According to the report, direct medical costs represented less than half ($418 billion, or 43%) of overall annual costs.

Despite concerns that patients with Fabry disease might be at heightened risk of severe symptoms from SARS-CoV-2, early data find that most patients experience mild or moderate symptoms.

The findings come from the group’s review of over 30 years’ worth of research of the presence of autoimmune cytopenias and autoimmune diseases in lymphoid and myeloid neoplasms.

Metastatic breast cancer has a poor prognosis, but emerging targeted therapies are providing some progress in the treatment of the disease, explained Filipa Lynce, MD, medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.

At a session at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians Virtual Spring Managed Care Forum, an Aetna executive discussed how one employer used the payer's data to see how its workforce was affected by social determinants of health (SDOH).

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, independent community practices were integral in helping patients access chemotherapy and other critical treatments, participate in clinical trials, and screen for serious diseases. However, the pandemic also presented significant challenges to them, their operations, and their patients.

A new approach to identifying and defining heart failure among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) involves combining information gleaned from reviewing their electronic medical records and examination charts.

For Alberta and Green Shield Canada, savings are beginning to add up from switching initiatives for multiple reference biologics.

Microsoft's acquisition of Nuance reflects health care trends of an economy emerging from COVID-19, according to a speaker at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians Virtual Spring Managed Care Forum.

With unprecedented pauses in air pollution emissions in spring 2020 and ongoing virus mitigation behaviors around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity to better understand the impact of poor air quality on human health.

Research presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting indicates some air pollutants may be associated with increased rates of migraine prevalence and severity.

An analysis of an ongoing study on children genetically at risk of type 1 diabetes examines the monitoring behaviors of parents.

How well, and how in-depth, all parties execute each step can determine how long it will take to reach a finalized agreement, what the relationship will be like after the transaction, and whether the parties will be in legal compliance, speakers noted.

In comparing the efficacy of deep brain stimulation of the subthalmic nucleus and globus pallidus, both approaches were similarly effective in improving motor function in people with Parkinson disease, with benefits maintained after 10 years.

Quality of life is similar between patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing hemodialysis and those having continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) in the hospital.

Black patients, female patients, and those of lower socioeconomic status are less likely to be prescribed sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors for type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Bruce House in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, has been serving individuals living with HIV and AIDS for 33 years. Here we speak with Patrick Morley, office and communications coordinator.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) will again administer its COVID-19 vaccine in the European Union; more women than men are being vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2; counterfeit Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines have been found in 2 countries.

In an abstract presented at this year’s American Academy of Neurology annual meeting, patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) taking ocrelizumab had less of an immune reaction to infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

While bosentan and sildenafil is a common combination therapy in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), patients may need to transition to alternative therapy because of the potential for drug-drug interactions with this combination.

These national and regional barriers, which range from cost of screening to patient education, have hindered the widespread use of screening, say the researchers.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) appears to be less stressful to preterm infants than ocular indirect ophthalmoscopy (BIO) in assessing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Music therapy among older adults was associated with significant improvements in sleep quality, with sedative music cited as more effective than rhythm-centered music.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the chief strategy officer for Well Being Trust, one of the authors of a recent report about how well health insurers and state Medicaid programs are covering mental health care for children and compliance with federal law. We discuss the unique challenges that youth face, the health disparities, racism, and community trauma that has been experienced in the past year, and some creative ways that organizations and communities can consider increase access to mental health supports.