Mary Caffrey

The American Medical Association declared obesity a disease in 2013, but insurers have been slow to cover drugs to treat the disease.

A Senate working group is already crafting an entirely new version of a replacement for the Affordable Care Act. House Speaker Paul Ryan waited on a new CBO score to make sure the American Health Care Act met necessary savings targets to use the budget reconciliation process to undo Obamacare.

The proposed cuts would come just as CMS is gearing up to launch the Diabetes Prevention Program in Medicare starting in January 2018. Diabetes accounts for $1 of every $3 spent in Medicare, and CMS has been looking for ways to slow the number of beneficiaries who develop the disease.

The researchers' hypothesis: improvements in continuous glucose monitoring technology would bring greater quality of life improvements for those with type 1 diabetes, even if they were not using insulin pumps.

The budget bans the use of federal funds for abortion. The White House budget director said it was the first spending plan in some time written "through the eyes of the people who are paying the taxes."

A panel at the Pharmacy Quality Alliance talks about how to take patient input and turn it into meaningful measurement.

The findings come after other data recently showed an overall increase in diabetes incidence among youth, especially minorities.

The proposed budget reportedly includes the $880 billion cut to Medicaid over 10 years that is part of the American Health Care Act. Elsewhere today, the Trump administration is expected to file for a 90-day delay in a lawsuit that could ultimately end subsidies for those buying insurance on the exchanges.

Most contracts now have penalties for not reaching targets, and adherence remains a challenge.

In a wide-ranging discussion, panelists at the 12th annual meeting of the Pharmacy Quality Alliance discuss the role of pharmacy benefit managers, the prospects of changes to Medicaid, and how the cloud of uncertainty affects planning decisions.

The former House healthcare expert said that changes are sure to come to the AHCA when the Senate takes up the bill, especially in the Medicaid provisions.

On the opening day of the 12th annual meeting of the Pharmacy Quality Alliance, speaker Richard Shannon, MD, of the University of Virginia, shared how the dedication to quality must be intense and shared throughout the healthcare system.

The sharp decline in cardiovascular deaths is the good news. The connection between clusters of high death rates and high rates of poverty, limited education, poor diets, and lack of access to care remains the bad news.

The study authors say that communities can invest in mass transit systems as a prevention tool to avoid rising rates of obesity.

Full results of the CANVAS trial are expected to be released in June at the American Diabetes Association.

The effort to address healthcare disparities in a wealthy state comes as Medicaid is at a crossroads. A recent report found the $15.5 billion program falls short in key areas, and the governor is trying to extract money from Horizon's Medicaid reserves, set aside to pay claims, for an addiction program.

Pressure is mounting for Congress or President Trump to do something about rising drug costs, as polls show there is broad support for government intervention on this issue.

The study found that the more classes the participants took, the more weight they lost. The DPP is set to begin in Medicare in January 2018.

The attackers appear to have used a vulnerability developed by the National Security Agency, which was stolen and posted online.

The meta-analysis covers 92 studies from 16 countries, and includes 3.2 million patients.

The integrated health plan has a strategy to combat the effects of isolation and its effects, which increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease, obesity, and hospital readmissions.

The creator of the compromise that pushed the Obamacare replacement past its first hurdle withstood hours of jeers from angry constituents, as he tried to present the nuances of a plan to shore up the individual health insurance market.

A new study using “next generation” materials could offer solutions to the problems that have delayed smart lenses for blood glucose testing in diabetes care.

Those who live with obesity often encounter stigma, including from health professionals, and difficulty gaining access to the treatment they need.

The celebrated rule change did not translate into an easy transition with Medicare Administrative Contractors or suppliers of durable medical equipment.

The study of electronic medical records showed that patients on the SGLT2 inhibitor stayed on the medication longer, although both groups took the same amount of time to get their A1C below 8%.

While the trial found benefits of yoga increased over time, the intervention of 1 class per week was less than what is typical for people with a regular practice.

As they take on risk, health systems have to address factors that contribute to rising rates of obesity, diabetes, or dementia-and they are doing so in novel ways.

Darius Lakdawalla, PhD, explains that moving to value-based pricing system can be thorny when not everyone has the same definition of value.