July 3rd 2025
Black men who were identified as sexual minorities were more receptive to long-acting injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) vs on-demand PrEP.
What We're Reading: Drug Imports; Insurers See ACA Profits; Alzheimer's Forecast
December 8th 2017How counties, cities, and schools are saving money by importing drugs for employees; insurers are finally turning a profit on their Obamacare plans; new report projects the number of Americans with Alzheimer's disease will more than double by 2060.
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What We're Reading: Entitlement Reform; Medicaid Surplus in La.; Pace of ACA Sign-Ups
December 7th 2017House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, is eyeing spending cuts to Medicare and Medicaid; Louisiana's Medicaid program reported lower-than-expected spending and a potential surplus; ACA enrollment continues to climb, but expected to fall short of 2017 due to shorter enrollment period.
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The rate of healthcare spending in the United States slowed down last year to levels previously seen between 2008-2015, driven by much slower growth in spending for retail prescription drugs, as well as hospital care and physician and clinical services. Private payers, Medicaid, and Medicare­ also saw lower rates of spending growth.
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What We're Reading: ACA Funding and Stabilization; Recycling Drugs; Medications for Pregnant Women
December 5th 2017Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, makes her tax bill vote contingent on more Obamacare funding; some states are setting up programs to recycle leftover drugs; and pregnant women deal with medication uncertainty.
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Congressional GOP Gets to Work Reconciling Tax Bill With Healthcare Implications
December 4th 2017Republican leaders begin work Monday reconciling the differences in the Senate and House tax legislation, hoping to send a final bill to President Trump before Christmas. Senate Republicans passed the bill by 51-49 just before 2 am on Saturday.
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What We're Reading: Flu Season; Offsetting Sedentary Lifestyle; Short-Term Health Plans
December 1st 2017Flu season in North America is off to an early start; exercising regularly might not offset a generally sedentary lifestyle; short-term health plans are being packaged to circumvent Obamacare restrictions.
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What We're Reading: CHIP's Crunch; Healthcare Odd Couples; ACA Sign-Ups Slow
November 27th 2017Some states prepare to end the Children's Health Insurance Program with no new funding; shifting healthcare landscape reveals odd partnerships; Affordable Care Act sign-ups slow in third week of open enrollment.
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National Health Interview Survey Provides Early Insight Into Rates of Uninsured Americans
November 23rd 2017The National Center for Health Statistics has issued its early estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, conducted between January and June 2017. The report presents selected estimates, based on data for 39,480 people in the first 6 months of the year, on health insurance coverage for the US population.
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What We're Reading: Gene Therapy Guidelines; Opioid Overdose Costs; Unaware of Open Enrollment
November 17th 2017The FDA issued new guidelines to speed up the review process for gene therapies; a new report calculates the potential societal benefits of eliminating the opioid epidemic; and one-third of Americans are unaware that the ACA's open enrollment season has begun.
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What We're Reading: Comparing Opioid Treatments; Obamacare Mandate Repeal; Teen Depression
November 15th 2017Study finds 2 competing opioid treatments have similar outcomes; GOP tax bill includes repeal of the ACA's individual mandate; and a study finds a correlation between screen time and depression in teenage girls.
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Impact of Health Reform on Young Adult Prescription Medication Utilization
November 15th 2017The dependent coverage provision was associated with an increase in total and private expenditures and a decrease in out-of-pocket medication expenditures paid, especially among higher-income groups.
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Dr Amy Abernethy on Improving Patient Access to Oncology Clinical Trials
November 14th 2017As oncology moves toward more deep diagnostic testing and as standard of care continues to quickly evolve, technology advancements are necessary to continue to improve patient access to clinical trials, explained Amy Abernethy, MD, PhD, the chief medical officer, chief scientific officer, and senior vice president of oncology at Flatiron Health.
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What We're Reading: 340B Face-Off; Uber Pushes ACA Sign-Up; DEA Cracks Down on Opioid Trafficking
November 10th 2017A battle between hospitals and pharmaceutical companies is brewing over the 340B program; Uber and other companies relying on independent contractors lead the push to get people to enroll in Obamacare plans; the government intends to crack down harder on fentanyl-related substances.
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What We're Reading: ACA Enrollment Spikes; CVS Rx Drug Delivery; Ohio's Drug-Pricing Measure
November 7th 2017First day Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment surpassed numbers from last year; CVS will offer next-day and same-day prescription delivery in 2018; and voter confusion surrounds Ohio's drug-pricing ballot measure.
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Incidence Rates of Early-Stage Breast and Colorectal Cancer Increased Following Enactment of ACA
November 7th 2017With the ACA putting emphasis on preventive care, there has been an immediate increase in breast and coloreactal cancer screenings. A recent study found that incidence rates of early-stage breast and colorectal cancer increased in 2014, but did not vary for late-stage breast and colorectal cancer.
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What We're Reading: Questions About Stents; CHIP Vote; Free Obamacare for Some People
November 3rd 2017A new study questions the use of stents in certain patients; the House is expected to pass CHIP funding, but how to pay for it continues to be debated; and nearly all older, poorer people will have access to cheaper ACA plans in 2018.
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Battered but Still on the Books, the ACA Starts a New Round of Open Enrollment
November 1st 2017Whether consumers use HealthCare.gov or a state exchange, this year’s enrollment cycle—the first year of Obamacare without Barack Obama—promises to be different. Some consumers will see premiums soar, while others will pay next to nothing,
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ACA Marketplace Premiums Will Rise While Many Pay Less for Coverage in 2018
October 31st 2017Premiums for silver plans will rise substantially more than bronze and gold plans due to many states’ insurers loading the cost from the eradication of the cost-sharing reduction payments in the tier, according to an analysis by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
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