Laura Joszt, MA

A new blood test could negate the need for bone biopsies to diagnose a variety of cancers, including multiple myeloma. The test uses a small, low-cost plastic chip that delivers the same diagnostic information of a biopsy through a simple blood draw.

Ray Page, DO, PhD, president and director of research at The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and chair-elect of the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) Clinical Practice Committee discusses the first results of the Oncology Care Model (OCM) and ASCO’s top legislative priorities.

Humana has launched a new maternity bundled payment model with 5 practices in Indiana, Kansas, Ohio, and Texas to improve quality, outcomes, and cost across the entire perinatal episode of care for women with low- to moderate-risk pregnancies.

With chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy being so new, there is going to be a learning curve as providers become more educated about the treatments, the manufacturing process, and the toxicities, Houston Holmes, MD, MBA, FACP, a medical oncologist with Texas Oncology, explained at the Community Oncology Alliance’s (COA) 2018 Community Oncology Conference.

Divorce and socioeconomic status (SES)—measured by disposable income and education—predict patients who survived a heart attack who are at higher risk of a second event.

A novel drug that targets MDMX and MDM2, which inhibit a protein that suppresses tumors when they are overexpressed, has tripled the median survival rate in an animal model of human acute myeloid leukemia, according to new research.

Current policies being employed to limit spending can have serious consequences for patients, but a different benefit design approach could present an alternative strategy.

An analysis of a hypothetical bundled payment that included drug costs would unfairly penalize practices based on patient mix and could destabilize the cancer care delivery environment, according to research published in the Journal of Oncology Practice.

The identification of 40 genes involved with the development of multiple myeloma could lead to the development of more personalized treatments.

While increased risk of neurocognitive issues, such as long-term problems with attention, is common in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the risk may actually begin before treatment, according to a study published in JAMA Oncology.

A panel of providers discussed key advocacy issues that affect patients and practices and could improve access to care and costs during the 2018 Community Oncology Conference, hosted by the Community Oncology Alliance, April 12-13 in National Harbor, Maryland.

The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) is a big program designed to be applied to all clinicians, which makes it complex to figure out how to do right, explained Richard Kane, senior director at Avalere.

Typically, cancer pain management is carved out of policies that try to restrict opioid prescribing in an effort to combat the opioid epidemic, but with more and more patients surviving their cancer, there is some uncertainty regarding who is affected by these policies, explained Bob Twillman, PhD, executive director for the Academy of Integrative Pain Management.

Papers from The Lancet's Taskforce of Non-Communicable Diseases analyzed the potential health and economic impact of implementing taxes on soda, alcohol, and tobacco to combat the rising rates of the chronic diseases worldwide.

The third annual population health survey from Numerof & Associates found that healthcare organizations have not made as much progress to transition to risk-based agreements as they predicted they would 2 years ago.

Once a decade, legislators try to fix healthcare in the United States. Panelists at PULSE: The Atlantic Summit on Health Care, discuss challenges to fixing healthcare and what solutions they see.

Neeraj Sood, PhD, discusses his research into the financial burdens associated with healthcare utilization for patients in consumer-directed health plans.

Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams, MD, issues a call for more people to carry naloxone to counteract opioid overdoses amid the ongoing national public health emergency; however, it is unclear if increased access to naloxone will combat the opioid epidemic or exacerbate overdoses.

Researchers have been trying to find a way to screen populations at high risk of developing a precursor condition to multiple myeloma in order to intervene early and reduce disease prevalence and mortality.

National Public Health Week kicked off on Monday with an event that focused on the importance of building strong relationships within communities in order to address health inequities, as well as the declining life expectancy in the United States.

In general, respondents using 2 TRICARE health plans who participated in surveys from 2012 to 2015 reported improved satisfaction and access to care compared with respondents to surveys from 2008 to 2011.

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.

With most accountable care organizations (ACOs) continuing to participate in the upside-only track, the Medicare Shared Savings Program has not netted the savings that the Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2010. But some findings indicate the program will see greater savings as more ACOs transition to the downside-risk tracks and gain more years of experience.

As the country searches a new way to address cost of care, value-based insurance design (VBID), is gaining traction as one way of encouraging the use of high-value services and discouraging the use of low-value services.

There are racial and socioeconomic disparities evident in whether or not patients with kidney failure complete the transplant process, but the use of a navigator can help increase access for these patients in the long term, according to a study.

In a commentary for New England Journal of Medicine, Karen E. Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH, of Washington University School of Medicine, outlines key principles for designing alternative payment models (APMs) to avoid harming vulnerable populations and penalizing the providers who care for them.

Despite price tags well over $350,000 for treatment, tisagenlecleucel, approved for children with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and axicabtagene ciloleucel, approved for adults with certain B-cell subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, are considered cost effective, according to a report from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review.

On March 14, advocates for community cancer centers took to Capitol Hill to speak with legislators and advocate for the issues important to them and their patients.

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.

Americans still believe prescription drug prices are a problem that need to be addressed, but a minority have confidence in the president and Congress to pass legislation addressing these costs, according to the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll.