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In a long-awaited national coverage determination decision, CMS said Wednesday that it approved chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies for Medicare beneficiaries nationwide.

An analysis of patients’ and caregivers’ willingness to participate in genetic studies on Parkinson disease found that although overall levels of motivation were similar in Hispanic and non-Hispanic patients, the reasons behind this interest varied between the groups.

The task force called for more research to develop better screening methods and work to decide if certain populations should be screened, such as those with diabetes.

The fiscal year 2020 (FY2020) Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems (IPPS) proposed rule notably includes approximately 1500 complications or comorbidities (CC)/major complications or comorbidities (MCC) designation changes and 324 changes to International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification codes, along with several other updates. The designation changes are an effort to respond to the notion that the CC/MCC assignment are no longer appropriate as conditions and factors have shifted.

Novartis hid manipulated data about its $2 million gene therapy Zolgensma from the FDA; US District Judge Kristine Baker granted a preliminary injunction preventing Arkansas from enforcing 3 abortion restrictions; a federal judge in Ohio expressed support for a plan by attorneys representing cities and counties suing US opioid manufacturers and distributors that would bring every US community into their settlement talks despite objections from most states.

The study of more than 21,000 patients showed that after a median follow-up of 2.1 years, patients with comorbid chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) had significantly worse overall survival and progression-free survival.

From preadolescence to young adulthood, the rate of self-reported nonadherence increased from 31% to half of study participants. Concurrently, the prevalence of a detectable viral load increased from 16% to 40%.

In 2018, just 1 naloxone prescription was dispensed for every 69 high-dose opioid prescriptions.

Home visits can be an important best practice for delivering care to patients with chronic conditions, and a new partnership between Anthem Blue Cross, CareMore Health, and River City Medical Group will launch a new model of care providing comprehensive, home-based services for Medicaid patients in the Sacramento area.

Following the state's approval, the ClonoSEQ Assay will be available in all 50 states.

Federal regulators have caught on to a growing trend of clinical trials asking participants to pay to enroll; Canada's main pharmaceutical lobby group is asking the government to respond to US drug importation plans before Canada experiences drug shortages; with more HIV incidence than any other region, the South is turning to telemedicine to treat people living with the infection.

CMS finalized additional payments for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies and adjusted Medicare payment policies for rural and urban hospitals for fiscal year 2020 by changing the inpatient hospital wage index.

The number of families enrolling their children in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program continues to increase, emphasizing the need for policies to recognize the role of public insurance as costs for private insurance continue to grow, according to a study published in Health Affairs.

Daiichi Sankyo has received approval for its treatment for the rare joint tumor.

Authorized generics, released by brand-pharmaceutical companies as a way to deal with competition, can be as profitable as, if not more profitable than, brand-name drugs; an increasing reliance on fundraising appeals for healthcare needs can widen existing disparities and distort markets, particularly for prescription drugs; the Trump administration is considering releasing a healthcare plan in the fall.

During a recent meeting of the British Association of Dermatologists, a team of researchers from the United Kingdom reported on a systematic review of literature on adults exposed to biologics during conception and/or pregnancy, and they report that they did not find increased risk to the fetus following maternal or paternal biologic exposure.

In a phase 3 study, solriamfetol demonstrated both safety and efficacy in patients with narcolepsy. The selective dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor has a mechanism of action different from other wake-promoting agents.

A single-dose human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination strategy could be effective in less developed countries, where cost is in consideration.

Using bronchodilators early on in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is increasingly understood to be an important therapeutic intervention to improve quality of life, inhibit disease progression, and allow for greater physical activity. One recent paper sought to compare 2 treatment options with respect to their impact on pulmonary function, health-related quality of life, and physical activity: twice-daily inhalation therapy with aclidinium and once-daily inhalation therapy with tiotropium.

Rutgers University study finds that prescriptions for antihistamines rose after prescriptions for opioid-containing medications started to fall after 2008.

According to the study, the perceived stress level of people with a greater number of migraines was higher than those with fewer migraines per month.

Breathe Right Nasal Strips failed to ameliorate sleep quality and congestion issues for patients with chronic nocturnal nasal congestion, based on a study of 2 randomized controlled trials conducted.

Research has uncovered 2 pathways through which lung adenocarcinoma can develop, and that knowledge could help target treatments to patients who will benefit the most, according to a new study published in Cancer Cell.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has published a set of recommendations for the treatment of small bowel adenocarcinoma, representing the first treatment guidelines in the United States for the rare type of cancer.

The brain shrinkage that occurs in patients with multiple sclerosis may be the result of a specific brain cell: When projection neurons are damaged, the brain shrinks.

In the past 3 decades, drug overdoses have killed approximately 870,000 people. Since the first wave of the opioid epidemic began in the 1990s, the epidemic has expanded to include synthetic, illicit drugs, including heroin and fentanyl. As new CDC data and other studies offer updates on the epidemic, here are 5 things to know.

A new study aimed to examine the effectiveness of lasmiditan when used with migraine preventives compared to those who do not use migraine preventives.

A study of patients with polycythemia vera (PV) showed that the severity of individual symptoms was not affected by blood count control, with the exception of pruritus and night sweats.