NEW YORK (Reuters)—Aetna Inc., the No. 3 U.S. health insurer, on Monday said that due to persistent financial losses on Obamacare plans, it will sell individual insurance on the government-run online marketplaces in only four states next year, down from the current 15 states. Aetna’s decision follows similar moves from UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Humana…
Articles by Natasha Yetman
Senior Drivers Taking Opioid Painkillers Have Higher Crash Risk
(Reuters Health)—Seniors who get behind the wheel soon after starting to use narcotic pain relievers have twice the risk of getting into a serious car crash as their peers who use non-opioid painkillers, Swedish researchers say. Senior drivers who’d been using opioid painkillers regularly for several months also had higher odds of getting into accidents,…
Most Seniors Won’t Abuse Opioids After Surgery
(Reuters Health)—Seniors who receive prescriptions for opioid drugs to control pain after major surgery don’t usually end up addicted to them, research from Canada shows. One year after having major surgery, less than 1% of patients over age 66 were still taking opioids, according to a report in JAMA Surgery. Recent research has suggested the…
Mesoblast Cell Treatment Shows Promise in Rheumatoid Arthritis
(Reuters)—Mesoblast Ltd. on Monday said its experimental stem-cell treatment led to significant improvements of symptoms and disease activity in patients whose rheumatoid arthritis had stopped being helped by widely used biotech medicines, according to data from a mid-stage trial. Treatment with the Australian company’s mesenchymal precursor cell (MPC) product, MPC-300-IV, was deemed well tolerated with…
Health Has Improved in States That Expanded Low-Income Insurance Options
(Reuters Health)—In states that expanded either their Medicaid programs or private insurance options for low-income Americans, beneficiaries used more outpatient and preventive care and less emergency care. They also had better subjective overall health, compared with low-income residents of states with no expanded coverage. All states participate in Medicaid, a partnership with the federal government…
E-Health, Telemedicine Pose Challenges, Offer Benefits for Patients with Arthritis
(Reuters Health)—As more and more sick patients are going online and using social media to search for answers about their health, it’s raising a lot of thorny ethical questions for doctors. “The internet and ready access to vast amounts of information are now permanent aspects of how we live our lives, including how we think…
U.S. Panel Backs Approval of Abuse-Resistant Opioid Painkiller
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—A U.S. advisory panel on Thursday recommended approval of Egalet Corp’s long-acting opioid painkiller, Arymo ER (morphine sulfate), saying it dulls pain and could deter abuse by addicts seeking a quick high. The panel recommended that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve the drug and said it deters, but does not eliminate,…
Cephalon, U.S. States Reach $125 Million Settlement Over Generic Drugs
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—Cephalon has reached a $125 million settlement with 48 states in connection with its alleged efforts to delay generic versions of its blockbuster sleep disorder drug modafinil (Provigil) from entering the market, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said on Thursday. The settlement with Cephalon, now owned by Teva Pharmaceuticals, comes a little more…
Banner Health Says Hackers May Have Gained Access to Patient Data
(Reuters)—Banner Health, a non-profit organization that runs a chain of hospitals, says hackers may have gained unauthorized access to patient, physician and beneficiary data. Phoenix-based Banner said it was notifying 3.7 million patients, health plan members, food and beverage customers, physicians and healthcare providers about the attack, which occurred between June 23 and July 7….
Generic TNF-Alpha Inhibitors Comparable to Established Brands
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Biosimilar tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors appear equivalent to the branded original versions, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis. As Dr. G. Caleb Alexander tells Reuters Health by email, “biologic treatments represent a rapidly growing proportion of prescription drug expenditures and thus there is enormous interest in whether or not biosimilar products…
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