Diabetes

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) released a set of policy recommendations designed to spotlight the increasing difficulties patients with diabetes have affording insulin or gaining access to the life-saving medication. The recommendations follow the findings of a working group about the issue, the findings of which were presented to the Special Senate Committee on Aging earlier this month.

Clinical trial data has shown that the drug helped 28.6% of patients achieve glycated hemoglobin of 7.0% of less by week 24 without severe hypoglycemia or diabetic ketoacidosis and also helped participants lose weight.

The health hazards of workplace wellness programs fall within 6 categories.

The study comes as FDA is moving to bring more order to the area of mobile health. It is in the midst of a pilot for a precertifcation process that involves well-known companies such as Apple, Verily, and diabetes-specific companies like Tidepool.

Approximately 20% of patients with epilepsy have a co-occurring autoimmune disorder, and autoantibodies directed against the smaller isoform of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD65Ab) have been found in patients with epilepsy, as well as in patients with stiff person syndrome and type 1 diabetes.

Organizers of the project said it aims to build a better set of data on hypoglycemia that will help researchers and clinicians understand the condition, predict it, and gauge its cost.

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In testimony before a Senate committee, the chief scientific and medical officer said no single stakeholder is at fault, but the entire system of insulin delivery must be examined to make things better for consumers.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, has embraced the calorie counts at restaurants a year after his agency put them hold on the eve of his arrival. A Nutrition Facts label update is delayed but not scuttled, in contrast with the reversal of school lunch changes from the Obama administration.

Formulary restrictions on brand name noninsulin antihyperglycemic drugs have little impact on treatment intensification patterns among low-income patients with diabetes in Medicare Part D.

Authors report theirs is the first real-world study comparing the 2 SGLT2 inhibitors.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma called on qualified providers of the National Diabetes Prevention Program to become Medicare suppliers. But in last year's rulemaking process, commenters warned that the program CMS had designed was too bureaucatic and did not pay enough upfront to attract small, community-based providers.

Guidance for primary care physicians prescribing type 2 diabetes therapies comes at an opportune time. A major rift over guidelines for glycemic control has opened between the American College of Physicians, a professional association of internists, and diabetes specialists, including endocrinologists and diabetes educators.

The analysis comes a few weeks after FDA approved a label change that reflects a study showing insulin degludec was associated with a 40% drop in hypoglycemia.

Researchers found that cost-effectiveness calculations shifted dramatically when they assumed people with diabetes used continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors for 10 days instead of 7 days. This is significant because Dexcom just received approval for a next-generation CGM system with a factory-calibrated 10-day sensor.

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.

This week, the top managed care stories included President Donald Trump signing an executive order requiring the poor to get jobs or lose food and healthcare benefits; a CMS report found ethnic, racial, and gender disparities in Medicare Advantage plans; CDC highlighted the impact of HIV on America's youth.

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.

Which state you reside in in the United States is a factor in your risk of suffering from disease, disability, and cause of death, according to the latest annual study that looks at 195 locations around the world. And while health has improved across much of the nation, some states saw stark rises in “diseases of despair,” with large increases in drug and alcohol use disorders, obesity, high body mass index, poor diet, and diabetes.

President and CEO Kevin Sayer said the company will file for Medicare coverage of the G6, while it continues to work out an issue that prevents beneficiaries from using a feature that lets data be displayed or shared on cell phones.

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.

This week, the top managed care news included final numbers for 2018 enrollment in Affordable Care Act plans; an increase in Medicare Advantage payments; National Public Health Week highlighted the importance of community relationships in improving health.

Sanofi, 1 of 3 drug manufacturers embroiled in a lawsuit involving insulin prices, said Thursday it is offering a discount program for some patient with diabetes who are uninsured or who have high-deductible insurance plans.

Rapid progression of diabetes complications was associated with higher risk of severe hypoglycemia.

The insurer's chief medical officer reports that the CDC metric is proving useful over time.