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Levine, a principal at Avalere Health, explains some of the details of Medicaid work requirements, including how activities of daily living may factor in and some of the leeway states have in how they are applied.

CMS's new interim rule sets an 80-hour monthly work requirement for many Medicaid enrollees but leaves states some latitude on setting medical exemptions and verification processes.

The finding is not novel, but it adds to the evidence base that atopic dermatitis makes people more susceptible to developing shingles.

A study by the American Diabetes Association also finds that 1.5 million diabetic Medicaid enrollees face new cost-sharing by 2029, potentially adding $1,000 in annual out-of-pocket costs in some states.

BeOne Medicines posts surging sales as Brukinsa leads blood cancer therapy growth, lifts 2026 outlook and adds new FDA approvals.

Melody Chang, RPh, BCOP, MBA, of the American Oncology Network, discusses building outpatient infrastructure for bispecific antibody and CAR-T therapy.

The researchers used efficiency frontier analysis, an alternative to quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), to rank adalimumab, secukinumab and bimekizumab, biologics used for hidradenitis suppurativa.

The Senate confirmed Erica Schwartz, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., 51-44, as CDC director, ending the agency's nearly year-long leadership vacancy.

Tufts researcher James Chambers, Ph.D., says IRA’s Medicare price negotiation program should target drugs that are unlikely to face biosimilar competition.

A mouse study found that formoterol was able to reduce liver fat, and a real-world analysis found that the asthma drug was associated with fewer complications from advanced liver disease and lower rates of several serious liver-related outcomes, including cirrhosis and all-cause mortality.

A South African trial found a doravirine-based HIV regimen caused less weight gain than a dolutegravir-based combination.

In an interview, James D. Chambers, Ph.D., from Tufts Medical Center, discusses how biosimilars have improved access to biologics, but more work needs to be done for patients to see cost reductions.

Genomic testing among Medicare beneficiaries with cancer rose from 6% in 2016 to 16.7% in 2023, though NGS use stayed low, a study found.

In this discussion, Mahavir Agarwal, M.D., Ph.D., a psychiatrist and scientist in the Schizophrenia Division at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto and an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, discusses recent advancements in treating antipsychotic-associated weight gain.

Yesafili joins Amgen's Pavblu as a competing Eylea biosimilar.

Pharmacy benefit managers are adopting new business models to adjust new transparency rules, but Holzworth-Nash says, "We're still focused on getting members to the right healthy outcomes. We’re still focused on empowering pharmacists. We are still focused on getting members to the lowest-cost therapies and helping members navigate their benefits.”

Patel says pharmacy benefit managers are better off using a low list price approach "because it’s simpler, it’s less opaque and, frankly, it’s more predictable.”

As she moved from specialty operations into broader benefit leadership roles, McMahan says her perspective changed, and she began to see the "whole board."

From her perch at Navitus, Crosson has become a prominent advocate on PBM transparency and prescription drug affordability issues, frequently speaking with policymakers, industry groups, and healthcare stakeholders about legislative reforms and regulatory trends.

Savasta welcomes the new transparency rules for pharmacy benefit managers because "transparency has always been a core component of our business model."

The move toward integrating HIV services with other healthcare services was already underway before the PEPFAR cuts, says Warren, executive director of AVAC.

Zambia's infectious disease director says data and specimen sharing, not mineral rights, are what's holding up its still-unsigned U.S. health memorandum of understanding.

Like Journavx, LTG-001 is a Nav1.8 inhibitor that is designed to selectively block the transmission of pain without the risk of addiction.

CMS said its Medicaid Fraud War Room suspended more than $203 million in improper payments and flagged 50 high-risk providers in its first 88 days of operation.

It is not surprising that it is taking some time for injectable lenacapavir for PrEP to catch, an Emory Univeristy researchers say the patterns of use in the early months of lenacapavir's availability are similar to inequities seen with older versions of PrEP.

Children using virtual reality needed significantly lower nitrous oxide concentrations during Botox procedures, potentially reducing side effects like nausea, vomiting, and hallucinations, researchers reported.

CMS has set the 2027 Part D bid amount at $296.05 and will end its premium stabilization demonstration, raising cost questions for 25 million enrollees.

Specialty drug spend is being driven by utilization, while the non-specialty trend is being pushed up as a result of the use of GLP-1s for diabetes and for weight loss.