News

A Louisiana senator is calling for a closed drug formulary for the state’s Worker’s Compensation program, to help combat the overutilization of opioids and compounded drugs.

Researchers raised concerns about the safety of prescribing combination antihypertensive medications in elderly patients with low blood pressure, in a new JAMA Internal Medicine study.

The pricing of oncology drugs is not necessarily based on their novelty or effectiveness, according to a new JAMA Oncology study. Instead, researchers found, “current pricing models are not rational but simply reflect what the market will bear.”

Patients without insurance could be asked to pay twice as much or more than insurers pay for chemotherapy, according to a study published in he April issue of Health Affairs.

Several weight loss and fitness supplements contain the chemical BMPEA, a stimulant similar to amphetamine, according to a new study.

Data, quality, specialty drug costs and social determinants of health are the pain points that are keeping executives at nonprofit safety net health plans up at night.

The FDA has approved the Gastric Emptying Breath Test (GEBT), manufactured by Advanced Breath Diagnostics, a new, non-invasive test used to help diagnose gastroparesis.

According to Catamaran's 2015 Informed Trends Report, diabetes accounted for a major share of the increase in traditional drug trend. The study also found that specialty medications accounted for 28% of drug costs but only 1% of claims.

Paracetamol is ineffective in reducing pain, disability or improving quality of life for patients who suffer from low back pain or osteoarthritis of the hip or knee, and its use may affect the liver, according to a study published BMJ.

Antibiotic-resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) exposed to cigarette smoke become even more resistant to killing by the immune system, according to a study published in Infection and Immunity.

Initiating antipsychotics may elevate a child’s risk not only for significant weight gain, but also for type 2 diabetes by nearly 50%, according to a study in JAMA Pediatrics. Moreover, among children who are also receiving antidepressants, the risk may double.

Current methods used to measure hospital quality are fraught with problems that have large consequences for how hospitals are reimbursed by Medicare, according to a new study published in the March edition of The American Journal of Accountable Care.

People in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act are far more likely to be newly identified with diabetes than in non-expansion states, according to a study published online in Diabetes Care.

Actavis plc on Friday said it filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval to market Ambrisentan Tablets, a generic version of Gilead Sciences, Inc.'s Letairis®, a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Patients diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and treated with rivaroxaban (Xarelto) were admitted to the hospital less frequently than those treated with the standard treatment of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) and warfarin, according to real-world data presented at the Hospital Medicine 2015 Congress.

FDA actions in brief, priority review, breakthrough therapy designation, fast-track designations, orphan drug designations, first-time generic approvals

Coverage of specialty pharmaceuticals varies widely among health insurers, according to a new report from Atlantic Information Services in Washington, D.C.

The oral arguments in King v. Burwell will determine the viability of a central mechanism of the ACA-tax credit subsidies for economically-eligible citizens.

Health plans and providers are working with tech companies to make sure that the digital experience is as smooth and engaging as online shopping.

As the Medicare program and the healthcare industry at large begins the transition from fee-for-service to value-based reimbursement models, health plans are responding by ramping up collaboration with providers to improve health outcomes, especially for medically-complex Medicare members.

Hospital rankings provide consumers with valuable information, but they're not always in agreement.

Controversy surrounds the 340B Drug Discount Program, and many industry leaders agree that the healthcare law plays a large part.

Independence Blue Cross and other Blue providers have partnered together to purchase a real-time secure communication network for physicians and hospitals to be on the leading edge of big data.

Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said this week that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must stop direct-to-consumer advertisements that market several “dangerous” diabetes medications for weight loss or blood pressure reduction.

Sarepta Therapeutics CEO Chris Garabedian resigned earlier this week, a move that may be linked to a dispute with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the approval process for its new drug, according to The Wall Street Journal.

FDA has granted marketing clearance for Alere I Strep A Rapid Molecular Test (Alere). The Alere I molecular test initially received marketing clearance in June 2014 for the detection and differentiation of influenza A and B virus, and in January 2015, the test became the first-ever molecular test to receive a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) waiver from the FDA.

A significant and growing performance gap exists between dual eligible and non-dual eligible members that cannot be attributed to a health plan's quality of service, a new study by Inovalon has found.

After the first year of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), some healthcare providers and plans on the front lines are confronting operational-as well as political-challenges.

Change has proliferated how health insurance is offered in recent years, and experts predict that private exchanges will now seek to emulate the e-commerce format that public exchanges have embraced.

After several years of uneven progress, the pace of healthcare payment reform shifted into high gear in January when the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced plans to tie 30% of traditional, or fee-for-service, Medicare payments to quality or value alternative payment models by the end of 2016, and 50% by the end of 2018.