Health Care Delivery

This week, the top managed care stories included the end of 2 insurance megamergers, a proposed rule to tighten restrictions for the Affordable Care Act, and new legislation in New Jersey provides the nation's strictest mandates for treating addiction.

As Republicans debate how to move forward with repealing and replacing or reforming the Affordable Care Act, the Trump administration released a proposed rule to help stabilize the market in 2018. The rule includes a shorter open enrollment period.

The Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing today to discuss mental health treatments and services, as witnesses discussed the progress they had seen and further steps needed to solve the crisis.

An update on immunotherapies and the potential impact of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells on oncology care.

Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act may have helped reduce the rates of an unromantic phenomenon: medical divorce.

Patient navigation is immensely helpful in relieving some of the burden placed on cancer patients, and there are some particularly unique aspects of navigation as it pertains to immuno-oncology.

Aetna's CEO said it made no sense to proceed in the "current environment." Federal judges have blocked both the Aetna-Humana merger and a separate deal involving Anthem and Cigna.

Lawmakers from both parties have expressed their dislike for an entity that could take away their spending authority. But a leading Democrat also raised the fact that the new HHS Secretary, Tom Price, MD, would be harsh on the most vulnerable.

MD Anderson Cancer Center, which first established its oncology-focused ECHO program in 2014 has now adopted a much bigger role, of a “superhub.”

Early in the morning on Friday, the Senate voted along party lines (52-47) to confirm US Rep. Tom Price, R-Georgia, as secretary of HHS. President Donald Trump nominated Price with the expectation that he will lead the charge to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

This week, the top managed care stories included final enrollment numbers for the Affordable Care Act for 2017, a report that revealed low rates of lung cancer screening, and a study found that a population-based weight management strategies can prevent diabetes.

In Hennepin County, Minnesota, the local government has gotten into the business of healthcare and linked a variety of services into an accountable care organization (ACO) model that not only addresses beneficiaries' health needs, but also their social determinants of health, explained Ross Owen, health strategy director of Hennepin County..

Lung cancer screening rates in the United States remained low and unchanged in 2015 despite recommendations that high-risk current and former smokers be screened.

The National Health Policy Conference hosted by AcademyHealth, January 30-31, 2017, in Washington DC, delivered on its promise of insightful discussions on the current and future trends within healthcare.

At the AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference in Washington DC, Senator Bill Cassidy spoke about the potential replacement of the Affordable Care Act and the options that the Republican administration is considering for the replacement.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that he would nominate federal judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat, which could have important implications for healthcare-related cases.