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This week, the top managed care news included CMS pushing for bundled payments in radiation oncology; reports detailing deficiencies in hospice care; a study finding widening disparities in life expectancy among white Americans.

After nearly a decade of adhering to treatment, cells harboring HIV could still be found in the cerebrospinal fluid of half of the participants.

The July issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) featured research on co-pay accumulator adjustment programs, heroin overdoses among the insured, and potential savings from steering patients to lower-priced services, among other topics. Here are 5 findings from research published in the issue.

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

CVS is lauching a clinical trial for a new device that would allow patients with kidney disease to receive dialysis at home; in response to the Trump administration's family planning rule, Planned Parenthood of Illinois will stop accepting Title X funding so providers can discuss abortion as an option when counseling pregnant women; the Environmental Protection Agency will not ban the use of controversial pesticide chlorpyrifos, which has been linked to health issues in infants anf children.

A study presented at the American Headache Society 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting found that care for patients with migraine has room for improvement, based on the results of a web-based survey of more than 20,000 people.

When it comes to performing high-risk procedures, the majority of hospitals do not perform them often enough to meet safety standards, according to a new report from The Leapfrog Group.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant complication for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who are being treated with immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs), and a new assessment model may help to predict VTE in this population.

Under new guidance released by Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Treasury, high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) with health savings accounts can cover chronic care treatment before a patient meets their deductible.

A phase 2b clinical trial is producing promising results for a personalized cancer vaccine used in patients with stage III and IV resected melanoma.

The House voted to repeal the Cadillac tax, which, after being delayed twice, was expected to go into effect in 2022; provisional data releaased by the CDC indicate that drug overdose rates have dropped for the first time in 3 decades; the Center for Science in the Public Interest filed comments with the FDA urging it to take a more active role in regulating marijuana.

A new study of Medicare Part D spending on generic and brand name drugs from the list of essential medications maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO) documents spending increases and shortages.

The findings support 2017 guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association to more aggressively treat high blood pressure.

An anaysis of nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) diagnostic tests for 15 years, water disinfection treatment, and water sources has found that where a city gets it water can increase the risk of NTM infection more than how the water is treated.

A new study found that a gut infection in mice lacking a gene linked to Parkinson disease led to similar symptoms as the neurological disorder.

Researchers are closing in on a sought after goal of a blood test that can detect posssible signs of Alzheimer disease and other forms of dementia; Planned Parenthood President Leana Wen, MD, has been ousted after 8 months; Abbott Laboratories is ramping up manufacturing capacity for its lower-cost continuing glucose monitor FreeStyle Libre.

If the High-Cost Plan Tax, also known as the Cadillac tax, goes into effect in 2022, 21% of employers who offer coverage would be impacted, and that percentage would increase fairly rapidly by 2030.

African Americans are twice as likely to get multiple myeloma (MM) as whites, but they get the disease at younger ages.

Patients who had end-stage renal disease secondary to amyloidosis had poorer survival rates compared with patients with kidney disease secondary to other causes.

Research findings suggest that sleep disturbances are associated with central parkinsonian pain in patients with Parkinson disease. Both sleep disturbances and pain are common disabling nonmotor symptoms of the disease.

Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have overbilled the government by nearly $30 billion the past 3 years alone, and CMS said it is moving forward with plans to attempt to get back $1 billion; the Biden Cancer Initiative is suspending operations while its founder, former Vice President Joe Biden, runs for president; CMS said Medicare will cover acupuncture for some patients with chronic low back pain.

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/on-demand/a-managed-care-review-approaches-to-mitigate-blindness-associated-with-neovascular-agerelated-macular-degeneration

Patients with obesity not only have a higher risk of pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS), but they also do not respond as well to first-line medications.

The new index would measure more than 60 variables, including the built environment, education and community context, and even the weather and crime.

Researchers from the United Kingdom found that the C-reactive protein (CRP) finger-prick blood test resulted in significantly fewer people using antibiotics for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) flare-ups without negatively affecting patient health.

The HPX3002/HVTN, or Mosaico, trial will determine if the vaccine regimen can induce immune responses against various global HIV strains among 3800 men who have sex with men and transgender people aged between 18 and 60 years.

The combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) demonstrated significant clinical benefit in patients with solid pediatric tumors that progressed in adulthood, a patient population with few treatment options, according to study findings presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois.

In the event that the Affordable Care Act is overturned, Republic senators are working on a plan to preserve protections for people with pre-existing conditions and allow children to stay on their parents’ health plan until age 26; urinary tract infections (UTI) are increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics; a study is highlighting how lifestyle choices can impact dementia risk.