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Clarity on covid count: Pandemic’s toll on seniors extended well beyond nursing homes

As covid-19 resurges across the country, driven by the highly infectious delta variant, experts are extending our understanding of the pandemic's toll on older adults — the age group hit hardest by the pandemic.

6 Aug 2021

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Delta blues

The U.S. is experiencing another surge of covid-19, particularly in Southern states where vaccination rates are generally lower than in other regions. But partisan fights rage on over what role government should play in trying to tamp down the highly contagious delta variant.

5 Aug 2021

2+2=? Senate uses murky math as it shelves drug pricing rule to fund infrastructure

The Senate’s release of its bipartisan infrastructure plan signals that lawmakers are poised to throw former President Donald Trump’s belated bid to lower Medicare drug prices under the bus — not to mention trains, bridges, tunnels and broadband connections.

5 Aug 2021

Feds to nix work requirements in Montana Medicaid expansion program

Federal health officials will likely reject Montana's request to include work requirements for beneficiaries of its Medicaid expansion program, which insures 100,000 low-income Montana adults, state officials said.

5 Aug 2021

Medical associations join forces to remove regulatory barriers to noninvasive ventilation

On July 30, 2021, the journal CHEST® electronically published the outcomes and recommendations of a technical expert panel on optimal noninvasive ventilation, conducted by the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the American Association for Respiratory Care, and the American Thoracic Society.

4 Aug 2021

Study finds a significant link between statins and survival rates of triple-negative breast cancer patients

A study led by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found a significant association between cholesterol-lowering drugs commonly known as statins and survival rates of triple-negative breast cancer patients. Since statins are low in cost, easy to access and produce minimal side effects, this could have an important impact on outcomes for this aggressive disease.

3 Aug 2021

Study finds racial and ethnic disparities in post-operative breast cancer surgery outcomes

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women and surgery is a primary treatment for these women. Among women receiving surgery, up to 13% will have a post-operative visit to an emergency department, according to recent research.

2 Aug 2021

Research highlights the need to increase mental health, chemical dependency care at U.S. cancer centers

New research in the July 2021 issue of JNCCN-Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network indicates a need to increase substance use and mental health support capabilities at cancer centers across the United States.

2 Aug 2021

Diabetes drug’s new weight loss formula fuels cost-benefit debate

The long list of side effects that follow ads for the newer expensive drugs to treat Type 2 diabetes sometimes include an unusual warning: They might cause weight loss. That side effect is one that many people — especially those with Type 2 diabetes, which is associated with obesity — may desperately want.

30 Jul 2021

Pfizer court fight could legalize Medicare copays and unleash ‘gold rush’ in sales

Three years ago, pharma giant Pfizer paid $24 million to settle federal allegations that it was paying kickbacks and inflating sales by reimbursing Medicare patients for out-of-pocket medication costs.

29 Jul 2021

Olympic dream dashed after bike crash and nightmare medical bill over $200k

It was a race in Pennsylvania that could have sent cyclist Phil Gaimon to the Tokyo Olympics; instead, a serious crash landed the Californian in two hospitals on the East Coast.

29 Jul 2021

Study reveals disparities in heart failure diagnosis within clinical practices

Many heart failure diagnoses may be missed in a primary care setting. Women, Black adults and individuals with lower net worth are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with heart failure in an acute care setting such as the emergency room or during a hospitalization, even if they reported symptoms of heart failure during a routine, outpatient health care appointment during the previous six months, according to new research published today in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal.

27 Jul 2021

How a doctor breaks norms to treat refugees and recent immigrants

Fatumo Osman, a 65-year-old Somali refugee who speaks limited English, was in a bind. She made too much money at a meal prep service job so she no longer qualified for Medicaid.

27 Jul 2021

Facing headwinds on new Alzheimer’s drug, Biogen launches controversial campaign

Do you sometimes lose your train of thought or feel a bit more anxious than is typical for you?

23 Jul 2021

CHEST releases new clinical guidelines for lung cancer screening

The American College of Chest Physicians recently released a new clinical guideline, Screening for Lung Cancer: CHEST Guideline and Expert Panel Report.

21 Jul 2021

Sen. Wyden: $3.5T budget may have to trim but it can set a path to ‘ambitious goals’

Exactly what American health care will look like if Democrats can pass their $3.5 trillion spending plan is unclear, but the senator negotiating its health-related provisions hopes what emerges will be dramatic: the first complete health care system for older Americans and significantly reduced costs for everyone else.

20 Jul 2021

Medicare News and Research

Clarity on covid count: Pandemic’s toll on seniors extended well beyond nursing homes

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Delta blues

2+2=? Senate uses murky math as it shelves drug pricing rule to fund infrastructure

Feds to nix work requirements in Montana Medicaid expansion program

Medical associations join forces to remove regulatory barriers to noninvasive ventilation

Study finds a significant link between statins and survival rates of triple-negative breast cancer patients

Study finds racial and ethnic disparities in post-operative breast cancer surgery outcomes

Research highlights the need to increase mental health, chemical dependency care at U.S. cancer centers

Diabetes drug’s new weight loss formula fuels cost-benefit debate

Pfizer court fight could legalize Medicare copays and unleash ‘gold rush’ in sales

Olympic dream dashed after bike crash and nightmare medical bill over $200k

Study reveals disparities in heart failure diagnosis within clinical practices

How a doctor breaks norms to treat refugees and recent immigrants

Facing headwinds on new Alzheimer’s drug, Biogen launches controversial campaign

CHEST releases new clinical guidelines for lung cancer screening

Sen. Wyden: $3.5T budget may have to trim but it can set a path to ‘ambitious goals’

California makes it easier for low-income residents to get and keep free health coverage

Biden’s July executive order includes drug pricing provisions. But will they do enough?

Taking "z-drugs" with opioids increases risk of death

Hospital ‘trauma centers’ charge enormous fees to treat minor injuries and send people home

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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