AJMC Staff

Major insurers are now seeking smaller, single-digit premium increases for Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans; drug makers and distributors of painkillers being sued for their alleged role in the opioid crisis are trying to build goodwill by giving grants and donations to hard-hit counties, cities, and states that are filing the lawsuits; hundreds of people have sued Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka, alleging that the drug Abilify caused compulsive behavior.

For the second year in a row, the average basic premium for a Medicare Part D plan will decline; a series of charts in The Wall Street Journal highlights what is driving US healthcare spending; taking a break from exercising can have metabolic consequences that linger for some people even after they return to their normal levels of exercise.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CMS Administrator Seema Verma seem to be on the losing end of a debate with White House economic and finance officials about allowing a partial Medicaid expansion to stamp out growing calls to allow a full expansion; more than 60 House Democrats launched a Medicare for All caucus this month, a sign of the popularity surrounding the concept of a government-run health system; Juul Labs, maker of the tiny, USB-flash-drive-sized electronic cigarette, has been hit with 3 lawsuits so far that allege it is marketing its product to children and teenagers.

The system was the first to allow people with diabetes to monitor blood glucose without fingersticks.

Medicare has lowered its star ratings for staffing levels in 1 out of 11 nursing homes; the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has donated to a lobbying group running a "dark money" campaign in favor of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act; a libertarian policy center funded by the conservative Koch brothers found that Senator Bernie Sanders's Medicare for All plan would cost $32.6 trillion over 10 years.

The FDA is cracking down on a loophold drug companies use to avoid the requirement that they study products in children; a new study finds nearly 6 in 10 Hispanic adults cite a language or cultural barrier that makes it difficult for them to communicate with healthcare providers; a judge has ordered Wisconsin to pay for gender reassignment surgery for 2 Medicaid recipients.

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The House voted to delay an Affordable Care Act health insurance tax until 2021 and expand Health Savings Accounts; in a large clinical trial, an Alzheimer drug reduced plaques in the brains of patients and slowed the progression of dementia; after leaving high-profile positions in government and at healthcare organizations, more big names in healthcare are ending up at Google's companies instead of universities.

The Trump administration said it will restart the risk adjustment payment program just weeks after suspending the payments; the first pill in a decade has been approved to treat pain caused by endometriosis; Eli Lilly executives said during the second quarter earnings call that the idea of importing drugs from abroad was “the wrong road to go down.”

Data-broker companies are mining your credit card purchases, social media habits, online surveys, store loyalty programs, and other bits of information to create your profile and sell to companies interested in making inferences about your health status; 2 months after President Trump released a plan to lower drug prices, most Americans haven’t even heard about it; the United States Senate approved the president's latest pick to lead the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), confirming Robert Wilkie as the next secretary 86 to 9.

The Trump administration is proposing to pay doctors who take Medicare basically the same amount for office visits regardless of reason; the pending sale of Mission Health to HCA Healthcare reflects a national trend as hospitals consolidate at an accelerating pace and the cost of healthcare continues to rise; a closer look at 5 ideas in President Trump's plan to lower drug prices.

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Senate Democrats are urging Republicans to agree to a resolution that would allow the Senate to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Affordable Care Act; the after effects of Hurricane Maria are helping to fuel an exodus of physicians from Puerto Rico; a new congressional report suggests Anthem has effectively reversed a policy denying emergency department claims after the fact.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, announced the release of the agency’s Biosimilar Action Plan; Philadelphia’s tax on soda and other sweetened beverages has been upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court; a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by 19 states against the Trump administration over the decision to end cost-sharing subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

The Swiss drug maker is the second pharmaceutical company to announce a halt to price hikes, coming after Pfizer's decision last week to reverse planned increases.

The American Hospital Association will refile its 340B lawsuit against HHS after an appeals court ruled the lawsuit was premature; therapies approved by the FDA with breakthrough designation often lack strong medical evidence; a study has suggested that frequent use of digital media may increase the odds of adolescents developing symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Residents of the 20 Republican-led states that are challenging the Affordable Care Act (ACA)'s protections for people with preexisting medical conditions have the most to lose; House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, is in talks with HHS about ways to restart ACA payments; Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh ruled in a case that paved the way for hospitals to seek more money from Medicare.

Kaiser Permanente and Geisenger Health Systems are leading the way towards using health records for medical studies and data mining that could help improve individual care; more than 7000 people on Arkansas' Medicaid expansion didn't meet a requirement that they report at least 80 hours of work in June; Novartis' relationship with Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s longtime lawyer, was “longer and more detailed” than the company has said, according to a Senate report.

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The FDA is planning a task force to find ways to combat drug shortages; a new Gallup poll finds nearly two-thirds of Americans support Roe v Wade 64% to 28%; the agency overseeing Oregon's legal medical marijuana industry conceded in a report it has not provided effective oversight of growers and others in the industry.

A new federal report found that Medicaid insurers have not done a good job in catching fraud or reporting it to states; Blink Health and former officials at Express Scripts have teamed up to create a venture that replaces the “complicated and opaque” pharmacy payment system; CDC is warning that people overdosing on synthetic opioids may need multiple doses of naloxone.

After facing criticism from President Donald Trump, Pfizer is reversing course on recent drug price increases; HHS Secretary Alex Azar has become the point person for the migrant crisis, splitting his attention between reuniting families and healthcare issues like drug costs and the opioid epidemic; a Senate panel has voted to back Robert Wilkie to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

CMS quietly ended a pay-for-performance plan for Novartis' Kymriah—a half-million-dollar cancer treatment; President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court sets up an intense partisan fight over health care; lawmakers in Maine's state House failed to override Republican Governor Paul LePage's veto of a bill that would fund the first year of Medicaid expansion.

Atul Gawande, MD, starts his new job today leading the healthcare venture started by Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, and Berkshire Hathaway; what should have been an easy resolution at the United Nations–affiliated World Health Assembly this spring became ensnared in a US-led battle against breast milk; the majority of prison inmates with hepatitis C are not getting potentially curable drug treatment.

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The FDA is trying to ensure that patients with chronic pain have access to the medication they need; Pfizer just raised list prices for more than 40 of its drugs, some with increases as much as 9.4%; hospitals are becoming better at identifying the symptoms of sepsis sooner, but an update in technology to test for sepsis is needed.

Collected emergency department (ED) bills show that trauma fees are costly and swing widely; the head of the CDC has changed his mind about opposing the use of condoms and needle programs as ways to stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases; EDs around the country are struggling with shortages of painkillers and cardiac drugs.

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The California state legislature approved a last-minute deal to halt soda taxes for 12 years; the Department of Justice charged 601 people for taking part in a variety of frauds and schemes that resulted in more than $2 billion in healthcare losses; Amazon buying PillPack, an online pharmacy, is exactly what the pharmacy business has been fearing.

The White House is proposing cutting the Public Health Service Commissioner Corps, which is deployed during disasters and disease outbreaks, by nearly 40%; payments made by opioid manufacturers to physicians have decreased as public attention to the opioid epidemic grows; mistrust of drugs and doctors may partly explain why black patients are less likely than white patients to take recommended statins.