AJMC Staff

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

The FDA has approved risdiplam, the first at-home, oral treatment for spinal muscular atrophy.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the health care and mainstream press.

Negotiations on a new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) relief package are reportedly on the brink of failure; as more than 100 COVID-19 vaccine candidates continue to be examined in clinical trials, some hints on pricing have emerged; the Trump administration removed its warnings on all international travel to Americans amid COVID-19.

This week, the top managed care news included CMS updates on telehealth and more; COVID-19 vaccine developments and remaining challenges; a study examines the impact of state policies on life expectancy.

clonoSEQ, from Adaptive Biotechnologies, can detect 1 cancer cell among a million healthy cells.

Health care workers of color are nearly 2 times more likely than their white colleagues to test positive for coronavirus disease 2019; Teladoc Health announced an agreement to acquire Livongo, a diabetes coaching company, for $18.5 billion; the CDC has issued a warning against ingesting alcohol-based hand sanitizer in response to reports of poisonings in the United States.

Several issues are affecting the uptake of telehealth services among older adults; phase 1 trials results from Australia demonstrate immune responses from a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine candidate; Purdue Pharma could be on the hook for an $18.1-billion fine from the Justice Department.

A Health Affairs study found 49% of all rural low-income communities have no intensive care unit beds; New York loosened its restrictions granting hospitals and care facilities some legal immunity during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; all students in New Jersey will be required to wear masks in school.

Deborah Birx, MD, warned the United States has entered a new phase in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; the United States will send $2 billion in funding to GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi to ramp up production of a COVID-19 vaccine; the pandemic highlights health illiteracy among Americans.

The study, using mice, also found that the 2-step therapy was more effective the earlier it was given.

A study analyzing data from 2 Philadelphia hospitals shows pregnant black and Hispanic women are nearly 5 times more likely to be exposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); global reports of seasonal influenza are at record lows; economic disparities are highlighted by turnaround times for COVID-19 tests. 

This week, the top managed care news included top pharmaceutical executives refuse to attend a Trump meeting after executive orders on costs; a survey shows concerns about reopening schools, toll of COVID-19 split by party lines, background; a review of 20 years of data concludes vaccines are "remarkably safe."

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the health care and mainstream press.

A study outlines the association between early school closures and reduced coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) incidence and mortality; Baylor University will ship COVID-19 testing kits to all students expected to return to campus in the fall; the National Collaborative on Gun Violence awarded $7.5 million in grants to fund research on the crisis.

Laboratories cannot keep up with the demand for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing results; job losses in Texas have led to many losing their insurance; a new California poll shows that Latinos worry most about finances and getting sick from COVID-19.

A meeting at the White House with top pharmaceutical executives has been cancelled after the Trump administration’s executive orders signed this past Friday on the topic drew criticism from the drug industry; Kodak has won a $765 million US government loan to assist in expediting domestic production of drugs to treat several medical conditions and reduce US reliance on foreign supplies; more than a third of patients with mild illness from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) reported related symptoms that lasted for 2 to 3 weeks after testing positive.

In beginning the first phase 3 clinical trial to examine a vaccine candidate for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Moderna Inc announced that the Trump administration increased funding to expand the trial to 30,000 US participants; employers have considered and some have made it a requirement for employees to sign a waiver to not sue the organization if they are infected by COVID-19 or suffered any injury while working; study finds 1 flu shot can reduce the risk for Alzheimer disease by 17% and 1 pneumonia vaccine before age 75 can reduce the risk by 25%.

New CDC data outline the prevalence of 5 common underlying health conditions that exacerbate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms; the FDA announced information regarding naloxone must be included on labels for opioids and opioid use disorder medications; despite a district judge's ruling nearly a month ago, hundreds of migrant detainees are being held in detention centers in states where COVID-19 cases are surging.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the health care and mainstream press.

A phase 3 study of ruxolitinib (Jakafi) has met its primary end point of superior overall response rate (ORR) compared with the best available therapy in patients with moderate or severe steroid-refractory or steroid dependent chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

While clinical guidelines call for those with diabetes to be tested regularly for kidney disease, less than 50% of these patients are tested once a year, according to the National Kidney Foundation.

Labs nationwide are struggling to meet the processing demands of surging coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) tests, causing long delays; levels of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, were found to drop dramatically across the first 3 months of infection; suspected opioid-related overdoses have more than doubled in Wisconsin amid the pandemic.

Interviews on presentations made during the 2020 Virtual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, featuring Drs Melissa L. Johnson, Constantine S. Tam, Adrian Kilcoyne, Sara L. Douglas, and Jeffrey Skolnick.

The US government partners with biotech giants Pfizer and BioNTech to distribute a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine; the COVID-19 death record continues to be broken; could Medicare be in financial trouble?

The National Institutes of Health's (NIH) “All of Us” research project was spotlighted for its potential to explain racial disparities due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); the FDA has told Cool Clouds Distribution to stop selling its fruite-flavored e-cigarettes (e-cigs); the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) partner to promote minority participation in cancer treatment trials.

The FDA has approved a new pooled method of testing individuals for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); early data show a drug developed by Synairgen yielded positive results in patients with COVID-19; some hospitals report shortages of young doctors, due in part to new visa restrictions enacted by the Trump administration.

The company said FDA has set a date of January 20, 2021, for action under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act.

US cancer researchers benefit from the exchange of information with the World Health Organization (WHO), which helps domestic patients as well as international ones.