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Wait times for neurological specialty care vary across conditions

Older people wait an average of just over a month to see a neurologist for specialty care after being referred by their primary care physician or another physician, according to a study published in the January 8, 2025, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

8 Jan 2025

New research reframes the debate on drug development costs

The typical cost of developing new medications may not be as high as generally believed, with a few ultra-costly medications skewing public discussions about the cost of pharmaceutical research and development, according to a new RAND study.

8 Jan 2025

Are individuals with advanced breast cancer more likely to have cardiovascular disease?

Research shows that patients with advanced breast cancer have higher odds of cardiovascular disease, emphasizing the importance of personalized screening.

7 Jan 2025

Fracture Liaison Services crucial for addressing global osteoporosis challenges

A new Perspective article published in the New England Journal of Medicine emphasizes the critical role of Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) in addressing the growing global burden of osteoporosis-related fractures, particularly hip fractures.

6 Jan 2025

Health insurers limit coverage of prosthetic limbs, questioning their medical necessity

When Michael Adams was researching health insurance options in 2023, he had one very specific requirement: coverage for prosthetic limbs.

6 Jan 2025

Exploring avoidable nursing home-to-hospital transfers for dementia patients

For many nursing home residents, a trip to the hospital can be a jarring experience - one that leaves them confused and stressed.

3 Jan 2025

Addressing barriers to healthcare delivery for people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Kosali Simon, PhD, M.A., a professor with the Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and a Regenstrief Institute research scientist; and Katherine Baicker, PhD, University of Chicago provost, will co-lead an expected nearly $16 million National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute on Aging (NIA) program to explore critical aspects of healthcare delivery for individuals living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD).

3 Jan 2025

Metastatic breast cancer associated with higher risk of pre-existing cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer are the two leading causes of death in the U.S. According to researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, patients diagnosed with late-stage or metastatic breast cancer have a statistically significant increased risk of pre-diagnosis CVD compared to those with early-stage cancer at diagnosis.

2 Jan 2025

Research highlights inadequate dental benefits in Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage - the privatized form of Medicare that offers benefits beyond traditional Medicare, such as dental insurance - is gaining in popularity, but a new analysis reveals that the quality of dental coverage offered by Medicare Advantage is poor, with only 8.4 percent of plans offering a dental benefit that met the study's quality standards.

26 Dec 2024

Study highlights geographical and hospital type trends in hospital-at-home participation

Hospitals that have adopted the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) "hospital-at-home" program, which serves as an alternative to admission to brick-and-mortar facilities, are concentrated in large, urban, not-for-profit, and academic hospitals, new research suggests.

23 Dec 2024

In settling fraud case, New York Medicare Advantage insurer, CEO will pay up to $100M

A western New York health insurance provider for seniors and the CEO of its medical analytics arm have agreed to pay a total of up to $100 million to settle Justice Department allegations of fraudulent billing for health conditions that were exaggerated or didn't exist.

20 Dec 2024

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': End-of-year chaos on Capitol Hill

After weeks of painstaking negotiations, Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate agreed to a major year-end package of health bills, including new regulations for drug companies and pharmacy benefit managers, and renewals of programs to combat opioid abuse and prepare for the next possible pandemic.

19 Dec 2024

Obamacare sign-ups lag after Trump election, legal challenges

New enrollments under the Affordable Care Act are on pace to trail last year's record numbers by as many as a million as the outgoing Biden administration confronts upheavals in the program.

19 Dec 2024

Rage has long shadowed American health care. It’s rarely produced big change.

Among the biggest-grossing films in America in February 2002 were a war drama about American troops in Somalia ("Black Hawk Down"), an Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie ("Collateral Damage"), and a future Oscar winner about a brilliant mathematician struggling with schizophrenia ("A Beautiful Mind").

18 Dec 2024

How a duty to spend wisely on worker benefits could loosen PBMs’ grip on drug prices

Ann Lewandowski knows all about pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, the companies that shape the U.S. drug market. Her job, as a policy advocate at drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, was to tell patient and physician groups about the PBMs' role in high drug prices.

18 Dec 2024

Breakthrough pig kidney transplant ends dialysis for Alabama woman

An Alabama woman is free from dialysis and in better health after surgeons at NYU Langone Health performed a gene-edited pig kidney transplant last month.

17 Dec 2024

Trump’s picks for top health jobs not just team of rivals but ‘team of opponents’

Many of President-elect Donald Trump's candidates for federal health agencies have promoted policies and goals that put them at odds with one another or with Trump's choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., setting the stage for internal friction over public health initiatives.

17 Dec 2024

Trump threat to immigrant health care tempered by economic hopes

President-elect Donald Trump's promise of mass deportations and tougher immigration restrictions is deepening mistrust of the health care system among California's immigrants and clouding the future for providers serving the state's most impoverished residents.

17 Dec 2024

AASM urges permanent telehealth coverage for improved sleep care

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has issued a new position statement advocating for permanent telehealth coverage, emphasizing its essential role in providing high-quality, patient-centered care for individuals with sleep disorders.

16 Dec 2024

Removing a splinter? Treating a wart? If a doctor does it, it can be billed as surgery

When George Lai of Portland, Oregon, took his toddler son to a pediatrician last summer for a checkup, the doctor noticed a little splinter in the child's palm.

13 Dec 2024

Medicare News and Research

Wait times for neurological specialty care vary across conditions

New research reframes the debate on drug development costs

Are individuals with advanced breast cancer more likely to have cardiovascular disease?

Fracture Liaison Services crucial for addressing global osteoporosis challenges

Health insurers limit coverage of prosthetic limbs, questioning their medical necessity

Exploring avoidable nursing home-to-hospital transfers for dementia patients

Addressing barriers to healthcare delivery for people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Metastatic breast cancer associated with higher risk of pre-existing cardiovascular disease

Research highlights inadequate dental benefits in Medicare Advantage

Study highlights geographical and hospital type trends in hospital-at-home participation

In settling fraud case, New York Medicare Advantage insurer, CEO will pay up to $100M

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': End-of-year chaos on Capitol Hill

Obamacare sign-ups lag after Trump election, legal challenges

Rage has long shadowed American health care. It’s rarely produced big change.

How a duty to spend wisely on worker benefits could loosen PBMs’ grip on drug prices

Breakthrough pig kidney transplant ends dialysis for Alabama woman

Trump’s picks for top health jobs not just team of rivals but ‘team of opponents’

Trump threat to immigrant health care tempered by economic hopes

AASM urges permanent telehealth coverage for improved sleep care

Removing a splinter? Treating a wart? If a doctor does it, it can be billed as surgery

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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