News

High-deductible plans are often used by relatively healthy people with a small chance of exceeding the plan's annual deductible. These individuals have little loyalty to their plans. Here are eight ways health plans can create "stickiness" to keep members happy.

FDA’s approval last week of Vertex Pharmaceutical’s groundbreaking drug lumacaftor/ivacaftor (Orkambi) for cystic fibrosis is certainly good news, but formulary managers need to be aware of the high cost of the drug and other factors.

While recent attacks on Anthem, Community Health Systems, Premera and CareFirst helped focus awareness on the importance of cybersecurity, many healthcare payers and providers are still mired in outmoded or unfocused strategies and thus remain vulnerable.

A surprising 50 percent of U.S. drug overdoses are caused by prescription drugs – 22,000 annually – according to a new report, The Facts Hurt: A State-By-State Injury Prevention Policy.

After its proposed acquisition of Humana, Aetna is considering bringing its prescription drug management business in-house, which would mean an end to its contract with CVS Health in 2019.

New data from two phase 2 studies showed ceritinib (Zykadia) shrank tumors in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had received previous treatment with an ALK inhibitor and in those receiving an ALK inhibitor for the first time.

In a new lawsuit, the U.S. government alleges Novartis paid kickbacks to specialty pharmacies to increase sales of deferasirox (Exjade), which removes excess iron from the blood of patients who receive transfusions, and mycophenolic acid (Myfortic), to prevent rejection of kidney transplants.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology is asking for comments on its ASCO Value Framework, which compares the value of new cancer therapies with established treatments.

Patients with previously-treated metastic colorectal cancer (mCRC) taking regorafenib (Stivarga) experienced progression-free survival of 2.7 months, according to new data presented at the recent ESMO 17th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer 2015 in Barcelona.

A first-in-class antipsychotic that is a selective serotonin inverse agonist (with no dopaminergic, histaminergic, adrenergic, or muscarinic activity) potentially targeting 5-HT2A receptors, improved Parkinson’s disease psychosis (PDP) with demonstrated safety and tolerability, and without worsening motor Parkinson’s, according to data presented in two posters at the 19th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders (MDS), in San Diego.

According to the August issue of Consumer Reports, the overuse and misuse of antibiotics is leading to the strengthening and spread of dangerous infections that are becoming resistant to these drugs. Here are four recommendations Consumer Reports has for the medical community.

Overuse and misuse of antibiotics has led to a public health crisis-a crisis we must pay attention to now, according to a report that will be published in the August issue of Consumer Reports.