Trinity Health, Heritage Provider Network Form Population Health Joint Venture
January 14th 2015Livonia, Michigan-based Trinity Health and Marina del Rey, California-based Heritage Provider Network announced an agreement to form a population health joint venture, called Trinity Health Partners.
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Joslin Diabetes Center Earns NCQA's Highest Level of National Recognition for Quality Care
January 14th 2015The NCQA rating was awarded for Joslin's responsiveness to patients and medical colleagues, cooperation and integration with other healthcare groups, and dedication to improvement. Joslin and AJMC will present "Patient-Centered Diabetes Care 2015" in Boston April 16-17, 2015.
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Cancer Treatments the Next Big Area for Cost Saving Opportunities
January 14th 2015Involving the pharmacy benefits manager earlier in the decision-making process could lead to cost savings on cancer treatments, Express Scripts Chief Executive Officer George Paz said at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, California.
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Are Cigarette Taxes a Way to Help Alabama Ease the Transition to Medicaid Managed Care?
January 14th 2015Hospitals have endorsed the movement toward Regional Care Organizations (RCOs), which would guide the transition away from fee-for-service. But a looming budget gap is an immediate concern, while Alabama's Medicaid costs keep climbing.
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Express Scripts Wants Early Discussions to Help Lower Treatment Costs
January 14th 2015After their decision to include Abbvie's triple combination for hepatitis C on their formulary, over Gilead's more expensive regimens, Express Scripts indicated at the J. P. Morgan Healthcare Conference that they'll continue the stance of choosing treatments that are equally effective but save costs, especially in cancer.
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"Choose Wisely" in Rectal Cancer a Retrospective Study Indicates
January 13th 2015The retrospective analysis of 145 patients with stage 2-3 rectal cancer found that the "wait and watch" approach, instead of surgery, in patients treated with chemotherapy might work just as well when measuring survival as an outcome.
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Retail Clinics Addressing Physician Shortages, Cost Concerns Among Consumers
January 13th 2015The increasing popularity of retail clinics to provide basic care is bring driven by many factors, including consumer interest in transparency, cost, and convenience. Malls are beneficiaries of the shift.
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Pharma Giants to Collaborate on Immuno-oncology Regimens
January 13th 2015Merck and Eli Lilly have entered an agreement to collaborate on clinical trials to evaluate the former's recently approved PD-1 inhibitor, Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in combination with Lilly's oncology agents in several clinical trials targeting multiple tumor types.
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Supreme Court Rejects New Challenge to Obamacare Law
January 13th 2015The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up another broad challenge to President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, this time from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and the Alliance for Natural Health USA.
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Study Highlights Need to Reduce Global Teen Exposure to Second-hand Smoke
January 13th 2015The study evaluated data collected through a global collaboration between research institutes in the United States, India, and Africa. Study results pointed to a high rate of exposure of non-smoking teenagers to second-hand smoke, both at home and outside.
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Right of States to Limit Medicaid Reimbursements Heads to Supreme Court
January 12th 2015Advocacy groups have gone to federal court to force states to make higher payments to Medicaid providers to improve access. But a spokesman for state Medicaid officials said the courts are an inappropriate place for such disputes.
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A New Geriatric Care Model Limits Hospitalization Among Nursing Facility Residents
January 12th 2015A new study reports on the first year of the implementation of OPTIMISTIC, an innovative program they developed and implemented to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations of nursing facility residents.
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Nivolumab Phase 3 Trial in NSCLC Stopped Early; Superior OS
January 12th 2015Mid-trial evaluation by an independent Data Monitoring Committee found overall survival with Opdivo (nivolumab) in the Checkmate-017 trial was significantly better than the control arm. BMS now plans to submit results to the FDA for approval of the PD-1 inhibitor in lung cancer.
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Eliminating Federal Marketplace Subsidies Will Increase Costs Up to 47%
January 10th 2015Studies from RAND and the Urban Institute estimate that eliminating subsidies for the federally facilitated Marketplaces would increase premiums between 35% and 47% and cause at least 8.2 million people to drop coverage.
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Anthem Selects Gilead as Primary Supplier of Hepatitis C Drugs
January 10th 2015Health insurer Anthem Inc has reached a deal under which Gilead Sciences Inc's hepatitis C drug Harvoni will be the primary treatment for patients infected with the most common strain of the liver-destroying virus.
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Medical Clinics Take Over Malls' Empty Spaces
January 10th 2015As retailers struggle to keep up with changing shopping trends, mall operators across the US are looking to fill spaces left empty by the likes of Sears and RadioShack. There is one promising new group of tenants: walk-in medical clinics.
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