AJMC Staff

The uninsured rate in the United States rose to a 4-year high of 13.7% in the fourth quarter of 2018; President Trump has instructed administration officials to tackle surprise medical billing; and a measles outbreak has hit Washington State.

Between 2012 and 2016, insulin costs for patients nearly doubled while utilization remained flat; the pharmaceutical industry's lead lobbying group spent a record amount in 2018; and alcohol-associated liver disease has surpassed hepatitis C as the top cause of liver transplants.

President Trump’s latest healthcare proposal could have the effect of raising out-of-pocket drug costs for some while lowering them for others; FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said it is shocking to him that the rate of young people addicted to using e-cigarettes, or vaping, had reached levels at which FDA-approved methods for quitting e-cigarettes could be necessary; "Medicare for More,” not Medicare for All, is likely to emerge as Democrats jockey for 2020 with a watered-down version of universal health care.

A bill co-sponsored by Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, would allow people to buy prescription drugs from approved pharmacies in Canada; the FDA is planning an advisory meeting on February 12 to share evidence and expert opinion about the safety and effectiveness of transvaginal mesh; economist Austin Frakt recaps the public health effects of sitting in traffic, including contributing to climate change, lost time, and damage to psychological well-being.

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Amid drug shortages and recalls, at least 3 sellers of a widely used blood-pressure medication, valsartan, have raised prices since a series of safety-related recalls of the drug by other manufacturers; the FDA is attempting to conserve dwindling resources during the government shutdown by prioritizing drug applications; researchers are looking into a possible link between prescription opioids and a birth defect called gastroschisis.

Patient advocacy and medical groups launch an ad campaign in opposition to proposed changes to Medicare; patients often turn to GoFundMe to help pay for medical costs; and new diet guidelines are aiming to save more lives and the planet.

Hundreds of furloughed FDA employees are resuming work on some food and drug inspections during the shutdown; Walmart is leaving CVS Caremark's pharmacy benefit management (PBM) networks over a pricing dispute; and this year's flu season is shaping up to be more mild than last year's.

The pharmaceutical industry is looking for answers as the government shutdown, if it lasts longer, could threaten decisions on highly anticipated new drugs; a federal judge in Philadelphia issued a nationwide injunction that prevents the Trump administration from blocking women’s access to free birth control guaranteed under the Affordable Care Act; providers are trying to strike a balance between informing their patients about the Trump administration’s proposed “public charge” rule while not causing undue concern about their immigration status.

Researchers said they found a previously unreported pathogenic entity that links chronic inflammation and tissue destruction in the lungs of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The Trump administration is looking to bypass Congress to give block grants to states for Medicaid; US District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr temporarily blocked a Trump administration rule on contraception, which would have allowed virtually any employer to refuse to cover workers' birth control by citing religious or moral objections; Democratic governors propose new ways to expand healthcare.

Democratic presidential hopefuls for 2020 are targeting prescription drug prices; a US judge will hear arguments over California's attempt to block new Trump administration rules that would allow more categories of employers, including publicly traded companies, to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women as required under the Affordable Care Act; Senate Democrats and Republicans are fighting over a proposed rule that would change how individuals are billed for abortion coverage, with both sides sending 2 letters to HHS this week.

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While 1 in 5 Americans say they have a food allergy, 1 in 10 actually do; a patient with a rare form of brain cancer is the first patient to be treated under the Right to Try Law; and federal data show significant variation in fertility rates around the country.

New York City is expanding health coverage to 600,000 uninsured residents; a transparency rule requiring hospitals to post prices online is confusing patients; and Eli Lilly has purchased Loxo Oncology in what some are calling a massive bet on cancer genetic.

Mental health advocates are lobbying Congress to help them get schizophrenia classified as a brain disease like Parkinson or Alzheimer disease, instead of as a mental illness; the annual Consumer Electronics Show, which begins this week in Las Vegas, has become an increasingly popular place for health technology firms looking for publicity in the $7 trillion global medical industry; the Trump administration warned scientists doing biomedical research at American universities that Chinese spies may be trying to steal and exploit information.

A review of thousands of FDA inspection records, recalls, warning letters, and lawsuits showed how drugs that are poorly manufactured or contaminated can reach patients; biosimilars have the potential to deliver substantial savings to the healthcare system, but only insofar as they are adopted and used in clinical practice; Maine’s new Democratic Governor, Janet Mills, ordered the state to implement Medicaid expansion with an executive order, calling for state health officials to make the necessary changes and work with the Trump administration.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) announced that it will be acquiring Celgene for $74 billion; Congress has confirmed the Trump administration's nominees for science advisor and drug czar; and drugmakers kicked off 2019 with drug price hikes.

The federal judge who ruled last month that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was invalid issued an order over the weekend that the law will remain in effect pending appeal; pharmacies and businesses with pharmacies in New York City will no longer be allowed to sell cigarettes and other tobacco products; a federal judge has blocked the administration's cut to the 340B program.

This year, The American Journal of Managed Care® asked readers for the first time who they thought was the most influential person in healthcare. We provided some options in the poll, but we also gave readers the opportunity to write in answers, which resulted in answers like Steve Jobs of Apple, who passed away in 2011.

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are stable on an interferon β (INFβ) should remain on that therapy rather than switching to another INFβ, according to a study in ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research.

A new poll has found that most Americans support gene editing that is used to protect babies against diseases; Maine’s incoming governor, a Democrat, may be able to ignore the Medicaid work requirements the federal government just approved for the outgoing Republican governor; the new trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico includes language that could delay cheaper generics from reaching patients.

Of US women between the ages of 15 and 49, 64.9% use some form of contraception, and the use of long-acting reversible contraceptives is increasing; people with prolonged opioid use have an increased risk for cardiovascular problems, but they are also more likely to develop major surgery complications; there are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, and they struggle to receive basic medical care.

Michigan’s plan to require Medicaid beneficiaries to show workforce engagement was approved by the Trump administration, while attorneys continue to challenge Arkansas’ own Medicaid work requirements; a new report from the Government Accountability Office has highlighted serious deficiencies with how the FDA administers the Orphan Drug Act; the FDA has granted tentative approval to a weekly and monthly treatment for moderate-to-severe opioid use disorder (OUD), but cannot grant final approval until another treatment’s exclusivity period ends.

Outgoing Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is urging fellow Republicans to oppose President Donald Trump’s International Pricing Index; after 12 patients became seriously ill from stem cell injections, the FDA issued a warning to the company that made the product and sent a letter to 20 clinics warning them that stem cell products should be regulated by the agency; Cigna has finalized its $54 billion purchase of Express Scripts.

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Nearly 30 drug makers will raise the prices of their medicines in January after a temporary halt to increases; more than 180,000 Virginians without insurance coverage will now have access to Medicaid coverage under the program’s expansion; despite lagging far behind 2017's enrollment numbers for most of open enrollment, the number of people who signed up for Affordable Care Act plans on HealthCare.gov was only down 4% after a surge of sign-ups last week.

In a deal that will allow both companies to focus more on their prescription drug business, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline plan to combine their over-the-counter (OTC) consumer healthcare units; 2 antiabortion groups want National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Director Francis Collins, MD, to resign after he defended the agency’s funding of fetal tissue research; despite the fact that 20 veterans die a day from suicide, suicide prevention efforts at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have slumped.

States who support the Affordable Care Act are seeking clarity after a judge ruled the health law invalid; Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, is expected to release a bill that would get the federal government into drug manufacturing; since Arkansas introduced work requirements into its Medicaid program, nearly 17,000 people have lost their coverage.