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An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Medicare Changes Could Have Some Patients Paying More for Drugs

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—A proposed shift in Medicare coverage for medicines administered by doctors may help reduce total drug spending, but a new study suggests it may also lead to higher out-of-pocket costs for some patients. Right now, drugs given by infusion or injection in outpatient settings are covered by Medicare Part B, which is part of…

Updated ACP Ethics Manual Provides 6-Step Approach to Dilemmas

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The 2019 edition of the American College of Physicians (ACP) ethics manual provides a six-step approach to resolving ethical dilemmas and adds or expands sections that address emerging issues in 21st century medicine.1 “The Manual provides succinct guidance on issues that affect the patient-physician relationship, and also issues that have to do…

U.S. Lawmaker Launches Investigation into Pharma Drug Pricing

Yasmeen Abutaleb  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—A top U.S. lawmaker has launched an investigation into pharmaceutical industry pricing practices, less than a week after he and fellow Democrats introduced legislation aimed at lowering medicine prices. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who chairs the U.S. House Oversight Committee, sent letters to 12 drug makers seeking information on price increases, investment in research…

Intensive Patient Education May Not Be Helpful for Acute Low Back Pain

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Education with recommended first-line care may not improve pain outcomes in patients with acute low back pain. When comparing patients who received education with those who received professional consultation without information or advice, researchers found patient education was no more effective than placebo at reducing depression or incidence of chronic low back pain…

Sen. Sanders, Rep. Cummings to Introduce Bill to Lower U.S. Drug Prices

Yasmeen Abutaleb  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Elijah Cummings plan to introduce legislation on Thursday aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs for U.S. consumers. Democrats have been critical of efforts by the Trump administration to bring down drug prices after President Donald Trump promised to do so during his campaign and since being…

New York City Launches $100 Million Universal Health Insurance Program

Gina Cherelus  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters)—New York City has launched a $100 million health insurance program to cover 600,000 uninsured residents, including those unable to afford coverage and those living in the United States illegally, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday. De Blasio, now in his second term as mayor of the country’s most populous city, has…

Former Insys CEO Pleads Guilty to Opioid Kickback Scheme

Nate Raymond  |  

BOSTON (Reuters)—The former chief executive of Insys Therapeutics Inc pleaded guilty on Wednesday to participating in a nationwide scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe an addictive opioid medication and has agreed to become a government witness. Michael Babich, who resigned as the Arizona-based drugmaker’s CEO in 2015, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to…

Intronic Polymorphism Associated with Risk of Neurological Disorders in SLE

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Patients who develop neuropsychiatric symptoms of SLE have a small nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in an intron in a Ca++ ion channel gene that influences some, but not all, events regulated by Ca++. The SNP appears to influence activation induced apoptosis rates and cytokine production, specifically IL-4, in a disease- and genotype-specific manner…