Mary Caffrey

The #Coverage2Control campaign begins a year after the announcement that UnitedHealth would shift most adult type 1 diabetes patients toward Medtronic technology, or require them to pay significant out-of-pocket costs. More significantly, JDRF reports payers are saying they will not fund the artificial pancreas.

US Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) asked why Medicaid did not move earlier to force Mylan to pay what it owed in rebates for the epinephrine injector.

Researchers from the United Kingdom combed studies to figure out which of several indicators, such as body mass index or waist circumference, were predictors of future cardiac events or health conditions, like hypertension or prediabetes.

While regulators long ago saw enough cardiovascular safety data to approve insulin degludec, full trial results will be presented June 12 at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions in San Diego.

Physicians' groups said in a letter they fear seniors will lose or forget to bring the new Medicare cards to appointments, and there is no backup plan for doctors to gain access to the new identification number.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest released the letter proactively after the Trump administration has already eased rules for school lunches and delayed implementation of a labeling rule for restaurants.

Few people have adequate savings for long-term care, and most assume they will care for relatives and rely on family for their own care. A survey from the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found support for family leave policies across members of both parties.

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.