Managed Care Cast

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 more insurers rolling back participation in Affordable Care Act exchanges, while governors testify ways to stabilize the market; the FDA put 3 combination trials of nivolumab on hold; and a study finds very few visits to the emergency department are truly avoidable.

In New Jersey, the call went out to find volunteer nurses willing to travel down to Texas to help with relief efforts and assist those nurses who were tired and overworked in the flood zone, and 50 nurses answered the call within a few days.

This week, the top stories in managed care include a disaster relief efforts in Houston after Hurricane Harvey; the approval of the first gene therapy in the United States; and a new cardiovascular indication for a popular drug to treat type 2 diabetes.

This week, the top stories in managed care include a study on which mammogram recommendations to follow; findings that continuous glucose monitoring benefits patients with type 2 diabetes; and a new position statement on treating patients with diabetes and hypertension.

Surviving cancer doesn't mean the challenges are all in the past. After cancer is treated and cured, many survivors still face financial debt and lingering toxcities that impact their lives. Samantha Eisenstein Watson, MBA, CEO and founder of The Samfund, explains the challenges that young adult cancer survivors, in particular, go through and how her organization tries to help alleviate some of the financial burden. Plus, a look at what the effects of cancer treatment mean for fertility and what challenges this represents for young adults.

This week, the top managed care articles included a report from the Congressional Budget Office on the impact of eliminating the Affordable Care Act's cost-sharing reduction payments; a decision from CMS to eliminate 2 mandatory bundled payment programs; and a new value-based alliance that called for ending use of a test for diagnosing heart attacks.

There is a lot of evolution happening in healthcare in a number of areas, including policy, technology, and the market, explained Deanne Kasim, founding partner of Santesys Solutions.

This week, a look at the politics of right-to-try legislation; research finds the FDA's expedited review programs have been successful; and a review of guidelines from American College of Cardiology, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Heart Association highlights the best way to prevent cardiovascular risk in patients with diabetes.

This week, a bipartisan group of members of the House of Representatives released proposals for fixing the Affordable Care Act (ACA); the FDA approved a targeted therapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia who have a rare genetic mutation; and a study found that since the ACA was implemented, more patients have gained access to clinical trials.

This week, a bipartisan group of members of the House of Representatives released proposals for fixing the Affordable Care Act (ACA); the FDA approved a targeted therapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia who have a rare genetic mutation; and a study found that since the ACA was implemented, more patients have gained access to clinical trials.