Laura is the vice president of content for The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) and all its brands, including Population Health, Equity & Outcomes; Evidence-Based Oncology™; and The Center for Biosimilars®. She has been working on AJMC since 2014 and has been with AJMC’s parent company, MJH Life Sciences®, since 2011.
She has an MA in business and economic reporting from New York University. You can connect with Laura on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Premiums Could Increase $3300 With King v. Burwell Ruling for the Plaintiffs
June 17th 2015If the Supreme Court rules that individuals in states on the federal marketplace are ineligible for subsidies, the annual consumer premium contribution could increase $3300 in 2015, according to an analysis from Avalere Health.
High Deductibles, Narrow Networks Will Help Hold Down Medical Cost Trend in 2016
June 16th 2015Although the introduction of new specialty drugs and increased investments into personal health data security, moderating forces will keep healthcare spending growth in check in 2016, according to a report from PwC's Health Research Institute.
3 States Receive Approval for State-Based Exchanges Ahead of King v. Burwell Decision
June 16th 2015Arkansas, Delaware, and Pennsylvania have all received tentative approval from HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell to set up their own state-based insurance exchanges and move their residents off the federally facilitated marketplace.
Dr Mostashari's Aledade Raises $30 Million to Advance Value-Based Care
June 15th 2015Aledade, founded by Farzard Mostashari, MD, announced on Monday that it had raised $30 million to support its mission of partnering with independent primary care physicians to create accountable care organizations and further fuel the company's growth.
A Third of the World's Population Has More Than 5 Health Problems
June 14th 2015With a growing world population and a growing proportion of elderly, more people are living in suboptimal health around the world. A third of the world's population experienced more than 5 ailments in 2013, according to a study published in The Lancet.
Physician Characteristic Strongest Predictor of Hospice Use Among Patients
June 11th 2015There was a strong connection between the proportion of patients a physician already had enrolled in hospice care and whether or not other patients would enroll in hospice, according to a study published in Health Affairs.
Defining Value in Cancer Care Treatment
June 3rd 2015Participants on the second day of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 20th Annual Conference in Hollywood, Florida, March 12-14, 2015, spent a long time defining value in cancer care and how it can be incorporated into healthcare decision making.
Augmenting the Immune System to Achieve Great Outcomes in Cancer Care
June 3rd 2015During the session "Principles of Immunotherapy" at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 20th Annual Conference in Hollywood, Florida, Anthony J. Olszanski, RPh, MD, from the Fox Chase Cancer Center, described the complex interplay between the immune system and cancer.
Removing Additional Tissue During Mastectomy Could Reduce Chance of Second Surgery
May 30th 2015More than half of women diagnosed with breast cancer undergo breast-conserving surgery with a partial mastectomy. A new study from the Yale Cancer Center found that removing more tissue during this procedure could spare thousands of these patients from a second surgery.
Task Force Offers Recommendations for EHR Challenges
May 29th 2015Despite fast adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) over the past 5 years, many clinicians have voiced concerns about the unintended clinical consequences of EHR use, such as reduced time for patient-clinician interactions, burdensome data entry tasks for front-line clinicians, and interoperability troubles.
New Payment Model Aims to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk
May 28th 2015A new payment model through the Affordable Care Act seeks to decrease cardiovascular disease for tens of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries by assessing patient risks for heart attack and stroke and then helping them to reduce those risks.
Characteristics, Medication Use of Early Marketplace Enrollees
May 28th 2015Individuals who enrolled in health insurance on the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces had lower average drug spending and were less likely to use most medication classes than patients with employer-sponsored coverage, according to a study published in Health Affairs.
Benefit Design for Newly Eligible Adults in Medicaid Expansion States
May 27th 2015A review of the benefit design choices made by states that expanded Medicaid (as of the end of 2014), revealed that states are offering more generous coverage that what is required under federal law, according to researchers with The Commonwealth Fund.
Creating Sustainable Business Models for Innovative Care Delivery
May 26th 2015Innovative care delivery programs intended to improve quality and reduce costs need sustainable business models in order to last beyond the end of grants or other methods of time-limited funding. RAND researchers take a look at methods Massachusetts health plans and accountable care organizations are using.
Bill Would Establish V-BID Demonstration in Medicare Advantage
May 23rd 2015A bipartisan effort reintroduced legislation that would establish a demonstration in Medicare Advantage to evaluate the use of value-based insurance design's ability to reduce copayments and coinsurance for some Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, reported the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design.
CareFirst Reports Cyberattack Affecting 1.1 Million
May 20th 2015Another 1.1 million individuals could potentially be affected by another cyberattack. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield announced that it had been the target of a sophisticated cyberattack. The hackers gained access to a single database in June 2014, according to the company.
High-Value Screening Recommendations for 5 Common Cancers
May 20th 2015With studies showing that patients overestimate the benefits of cancer screening and are misinformed about the potential harms, the American College of Physicians has issues advice for screening adults with average risk and no symptoms for 5 common cancers: breast, colorectal, ovarian, prostate, and cervical.