Aetna Sees Promise in New Heart Disease Diagnostic
July 9th 2014With spending on diagnostics alone for cardiovascular disease likely to be a major challenge for insurers amid the baby boom wave, Aetna is turning to an emerging option as part of a strategy to avoid invasive tests and treatments.
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Patient Advocates Voice Concern Over Drug Benefit Plan Design
July 8th 2014The Affordable Care Act (ACA) prohibits insurance companies from rejecting new customers based on their pre-existing health conditions. Yet, a recent report alleged that 4 Florida-based payers may have structured their prescription drug benefit plans in a way which does just that.
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What's in a Name — FDA Urged Not to Give Biosimilars Unique Names
July 7th 2014This week, a coalition of 32 major pharmacies, health insurers, unions and pension plans asked the FDA not to require distinct names for biosimilar medications, arguing that such a move would not compromise patient safety, but could undermine the savings that are expected to be generated as these medicines are introduced into the US health care system.
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Autophagy inhibition may improve cancer therapy, but it is unclear which tumors will benefit. BRAF mutations cause brain tumor cells to depend on autophagy and display selective chemosensitization with autophagy inhibition. We present a pediatric case in which deliberate autophagy inhibition halted tumor growth and overcame acquired BRAF-inhibition resistance.
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Patient Advocates Voice Concern Over Proposed "Copper" Plan
July 2nd 2014Consumers thinking about becoming enrolled in health insurance exchange plans may gain access to a new low-premium, high-deductible option: the copper plan. However, these plans have many patient advocate groups and policy experts concerned about their "bare-bone" offerings.
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