AJMC Staff

California is looking to launch a generic drug label; workplace suicides are on the rise; multisensory stimulation therapy could help those with OCD.

A new coronavirus may be to blame for a pneumonia outbreak in China; costs to give birth increase, even with employer coverage; HHS declares a public health emergency in Puerto Rico after a devasting earthquake.

Most residents of Kansas face surprise out-of-network medical bills; drugstore chains fight back in the ongoing opioid epidemic; young adults face a greater stroke risk if they use both e-cigarettes and cigarettes.

California lawmakers propose vaping ban targeting all flavored tobacco products; abstinence from alcohol shown to benefit patients with atrial fibrillation through reduced episode recurrence; Novo Nordisk launches authorized generic insulins with plans to improve affordability of the drug.

The current US flu season is shaping up to be among the worst in decades; a single dose of the HPV vaccine shows efficacy in an analysis; generic manufacturers plan to appeal a California ruling on pay-to-delay deals.

Thrombotic events are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality for patients with polycythemia vera (PV), and previous reports have shown a significant correlation between elevated white blood cell (WBC) count and thrombotic events. A recently published study among patients treated in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has now substantiated those findings, suggesting that controlling WBC count should be an important facet of managing PV.

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

Drug prices rose by 5.8% to start 2020, a slight decrease compared with last year's average increase; lower patient satisfaction shown after hospital mergers/acquisitions; study findings link exposure to secondhand smoke to risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Five issues in healthcare were spotlighted as key developments to watch; FDA to ban all e-cig vape flavors except for menthol and tobacco; Google AI system shown to improve detection of breast cancer through mammograms.

We polled our readers to find out which of 5 stories they thought was the most important healthcare story of the year. Here are the results.

The use of antiretroviral therapy has allowed patients with HIV to have a life expectancy that approaches the lifespan of those without HIV. Despite this progress, however, HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders remain prevalent, and range from mild problems with memory, language, and reasoning to more severe HIV-associated dementia.

In 2019, The American Journal of Managed Care® team interviewed key opinion leaders nationwide. Here are the top 5 most-watched interviews from this year.

Hospital and advocacy group opposition to state public options could foretell trouble for national single-payer efforts; electronic health records (EHRs) present new opportunities for fraud; the FDA has approved the first generic versions of apixaban (Eliquis).

The FDA approved [fam-] trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki, which will be marketed as Enhertu; preliminary CMS numbers show that 8.3 million people enrolled in coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from November 1 to December 17, about 2% fewer than last year; Sutter Health agreed to pay $575 million to settle claims of anticompetitive behavior brought by the California state attorney general as well as unions and employers.

The drug, HU-308, is aimed at treating levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID). The animal study showed that it was as effective as amantadine, the only available treatment for dyskinesias; combining HU-308 with amantadine was also more effective than either drug used alone.

Novartis hopes to distribute Zolgensma, its pricey spinal muscular atrophy drug, via lottery; Merck receives FDA approval for its Ebola vaccine, Ervebo; a new law in California hopes to resurrect compassionate use cannabis programs.

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

The federal goverment proposed to allow states to import drugs from Canada, but many obstacles lie before its passing; FDA targeting e-cigs that have been linked to teen addiction with no attributable benefit among smoking cessation; inclusions and exclusions in the federal spending package set to be passed by Congress this week

Annual results from a national survey about drug and alcohol use show more teens are vaping marijuana; HHS is trying to increase rates of organ donation; CVS is accused of fraudulent billing practices.

The investigational therapy, an interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-17F inhibitor, is the third phase 3 study of bimekizumab to report positive results since October, following BE VIVID and BE READY, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of the drug.

Open enrollment for ACA health plans is extended after glitches on Healthcare.gov; EPA watchdog found that the agency's health monitoring during Hurricane Harvey was lacking; Purdue Pharma splits ties with the lobbying organization PhRMA.

BMS and Gilead continue their fight over Yescarta patent infringement; Canadian researchers develop multidrug-resistant, bacteria-repelling plastic coating; Healthcare.gov floods with last-minute sign-ups on final day of enrollment for 2020 plans.

A study presented at the 61st American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Orlando, Florida, discussed the first report of next-generation sequencing (NGS) to test for minimal disease response (MRD) after the combination of ibrutinib plus fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (iFCR) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

More treatments are needed for the 100 million individuals worldwide affected by psoriasis. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute have discovered a possible source of the skin thickening that may be triggered by dysregulated stem cells.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s, D-California, drug bill passes in the House; the FDA approves Vyondys 53, from Sarepta Therapeutics, to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy; San Francisco tackles homelessness, mental illness, and substance abuse.

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

The HHS’ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report that says Medicare Advantage (MA) plans received an estimated $6.7 billion in 2017 after adding diagnoses to patients' files that were not supported by their medical records; more Americans are dying at home rather than in hospitals or nursing homes; the FDA warned Alkermes, maker of Vivitrol, a long-acting antiaddiction medication, that its printed advertisement does not include the risk of an increased chance of a “potentially fatal” opioid overdose as the effects wear off.

Sanofi is ending research efforts in diabetes and cardiovascular diseases; the White House endorsed an emerging bipartisan agreement on legislation aimed at curbing rising healthcare costs by targeting surprise medical billing; the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case involving whether the federal government owes insurers $12 billion in a dispute about risk corridor payments.

A proposed ban on surprise medical bills has growing bipartisan support; Republicans are set to propose a drug pricing bill to compete with Democrats; vaping-related illnesses are on the decline.

There are significant sex differences in links between psoriasis and metabolic disorders, according to a study published this week.