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Financial incentives from pharma companies can influence how vision care practitioners prescribe branded eyedrops

In a lookback study of prescribing patterns among thousands of American ophthalmologists and optometrists, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers concluded that eye doctors who receive even small financial incentives from pharmaceutical companies, such as free food, sponsored travel to attend meetings or consulting fees, are up to twice as likely to prescribe the companies' brand name eyedrops for glaucoma instead of cheaper generic versions.

15 Aug 2022

ACR appreciates the passage of key drug pricing reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act

The American College of Rheumatology today applauded the passage of key drug pricing reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act that will improve rheumatology patients' access to needed drug therapies and treatments.

15 Aug 2022

Costly Chemicals; The Health and Economic Impact of 'Forever Chemicals'

With PFAS being commonly found in households worldwide, what are the health and economic impacts of these forever chemicals? In this interview, we speak to Dr. Linda Kahn to find out more!

15 Aug 2022

Community health centers’ big profits raise questions about federal oversight

Just off the deserted town square, with its many boarded-up businesses, people lined up at the walk-up pharmacy window at Genesis Health Care, a federally funded clinic.

15 Aug 2022

Democrats didn’t achieve all their goals, but inflation reduction act makes historic Medicare changes

The giant health care, climate, and tax bill expected to pass the House on Friday and be sent to the president for his signature won’t be as sweeping as the Democrats who wrote it had hoped, but it would help millions of Americans better afford their prescription drugs and health insurance.

12 Aug 2022

Big pharma went all in to kill drug pricing negotiations

For decades, the drug industry has yelled bloody murder each time Congress considered a regulatory measure that threatened its profits.

12 Aug 2022

Health inequalities amongst ethnic minorities with diabetes have worsened during the pandemic, study shows

Existing health disparities amongst ethnic minorities with diabetes have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study published in the journal Diabetes Care has reported.

11 Aug 2022

No, the Senate-passed reconciliation bill won’t strip $300 billion from Medicare

As Senate Democrats raced to pass what could be their final piece of major legislation before the midterm elections, critics went to the airwaves to blast the proposal as hurting older Americans who rely on Medicare.

11 Aug 2022

Pressure ulcers' number and severity found to be underreported by U.S. nursing homes

Researchers at the University of Chicago have found that the number and severity of pressure ulcers suffered by Medicare residents in U.S. nursing homes is substantially underreported, leading to unreliable data that many consumers use to determine where to receive long- or short-term care.

10 Aug 2022

New CDC Vital Signs report: Few people diagnosed with hepatitis C receive timely treatment

A new CDC Vital Signs report finds that too few people diagnosed with hepatitis C are being treated, despite availability of medications capable of curing this viral infection.

10 Aug 2022

Formulary restrictions may increase the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major risk factor for stroke, and for decades the anticoagulant warfarin was the standard treatment for lowering that hazard. However, numerous drug and food interactions make warfarin burdensome for patients.

10 Aug 2022

Rapper Fat Joe says no one is making sure hospitals post their prices

Rapper Fat Joe takes on hospital industry executives in an advertisement, contending that many hospitals are disobeying a law that requires them to publicly post the prices they charge cash-paying patients and insurance companies for every service they offer.

10 Aug 2022

Patients and doctors trapped in a gray zone when abortion laws and emergency care mandate conflict

Each week, Dr. Kim Puterbaugh sees several pregnant patients at a Cleveland hospital who are experiencing complications involving bleeding or infection.

8 Aug 2022

Cognitive rehab may help older adults clear covid-related brain fog

Eight months after falling ill with covid-19, the 73-year-old woman couldn't remember what her husband had told her a few hours before. She would forget to remove laundry from the dryer at the end of the cycle. She would turn on the tap at a sink and walk away.

5 Aug 2022

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Kansas makes a statement

Voters in Kansas told the rest of the country this week that they don't want their state to ban abortion. In a nearly 60%-40% split, voters turned back an effort by anti-abortion activists to amend the state constitution to remove its right to abortion, which would have allowed the legislature to ban the procedure.

4 Aug 2022

Providers charge more in the Medicare Advantage market by being in network, study finds

Large dialysis chains charge Medicare Advantage plans 27% more for dialysis services compared with what they charge the traditional, fee-for-service Medicare program, according to a new USC analysis.

3 Aug 2022

Lyme disease remains a growing public health concern in the United States, says FAIR Health study

Lyme disease has experienced notable growth in the United States over the past 15 years and, as a result, has become an illness of increasing national concern. From 2007 to 2021, private insurance claim lines with Lyme disease diagnoses rose 357 percent in rural areas and 65 percent in urban areas. These and other findings on this tick-borne, bacterial illness were captured in an infographic just released by FAIR Health. The national, independent organization used its database of over 36 billion privately billed healthcare claims to conduct its 15-year analysis of Lyme disease; this analysis builds upon a previous FAIR Health infographic that studied 10 years of Lyme disease data.

2 Aug 2022

Black patients with severe heart failure have a lower chance of getting LVAD care

Black people and women with severe heart failure who might be good candidates for surgery to implant a heart-assisting device have a lower chance of actually getting that operation than white patients, or male patients, a new study finds.

1 Aug 2022

ALZ-NET: First data collection and sharing network for new FDA-approved Alzheimer's treatments

ALZ-NET is the first network developed specifically for new FDA-approved Alzheimer's treatments, collecting real-world evidence on drug effectiveness and side effects over a long period of time.

1 Aug 2022

Persistent loss of smell due to COVID-19 may better predict long-term cognitive, functional impairment

New insights into factors that may predict, increase or protect against the impact of COVID-19 and the pandemic on memory and thinking skills were revealed by multiple studies reported today at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2022 in San Diego and virtually.

31 Jul 2022

Medicare News and Research

Financial incentives from pharma companies can influence how vision care practitioners prescribe branded eyedrops

ACR appreciates the passage of key drug pricing reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act

Costly Chemicals; The Health and Economic Impact of 'Forever Chemicals'

Community health centers’ big profits raise questions about federal oversight

Democrats didn’t achieve all their goals, but inflation reduction act makes historic Medicare changes

Big pharma went all in to kill drug pricing negotiations

Health inequalities amongst ethnic minorities with diabetes have worsened during the pandemic, study shows

No, the Senate-passed reconciliation bill won’t strip $300 billion from Medicare

Pressure ulcers' number and severity found to be underreported by U.S. nursing homes

New CDC Vital Signs report: Few people diagnosed with hepatitis C receive timely treatment

Formulary restrictions may increase the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation

Rapper Fat Joe says no one is making sure hospitals post their prices

Patients and doctors trapped in a gray zone when abortion laws and emergency care mandate conflict

Cognitive rehab may help older adults clear covid-related brain fog

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Kansas makes a statement

Providers charge more in the Medicare Advantage market by being in network, study finds

Lyme disease remains a growing public health concern in the United States, says FAIR Health study

Black patients with severe heart failure have a lower chance of getting LVAD care

ALZ-NET: First data collection and sharing network for new FDA-approved Alzheimer's treatments

Persistent loss of smell due to COVID-19 may better predict long-term cognitive, functional impairment

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