NEW YORK (Reuters)—U.S. antitrust officials on Thursday moved to block an unprecedented consolidation of the national health insurance market, filing suit against Anthem Inc.’s proposed purchase of Cigna Corp. and Aetna Inc.’s planned acquisition of Humana Inc. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says the two mergers would reduce competition, raise prices for consumers and…
Articles by Natasha Yetman
Underprescribing Adds to Mortality, Hospitalization for Oldest Patients
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Inappropriate underprescribing of medications is associated with increased mortality and hospitalization rates among community-dwelling adults aged 80 years and older, researchers from Belgium report. “Patients with five or more medications (a standard cut-off used for polypharmacy) can have a well-tailored and balanced medication therapy with an acceptable risk for adverse events,” Dr….
UnitedHealth Sees Further Losses for Obamacare Insurance
(Reuters)—UnitedHealth Group Inc. on Tuesday said it anticipated another $200 million more in losses this year on the individual insurance business created under U.S. President Barack Obama’s national healthcare reform law, citing the program’s high medical costs. The largest U.S. health insurer says the problem was confined to this one business line, which it plans…
U.S. FDA Panel Backs Valeant Psoriasis Drug with Risk Program
(Reuters)—Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s experimental drug to treat psoriasis should be approved as long as certain measures are put in place to mitigate the risk of suicide, an advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded on Tuesday. The FDA is not obliged to follow the advice of its advisory committees but typically…
U.S. Antitrust Officials Poised to Block Anthem, Aetna Deals
NEW YORK (Reuters)—U.S. antitrust officials are poised to file lawsuits to block Anthem Inc’s acquisition of Cigna Corp., as well as Aetna Inc.’s takeover of Humana Inc., a person familiar with the matter tells Reuters. Antitrust regulators have been scrutinizing the deals and looking at the potential for higher prices if the insurance market consolidates…
Women on Osteoporosis Drugs Still Need Bone Density Screenings
(Reuters Health)—Women with osteoporosis who take bisphosphonates to help avoid fractures still need to have their bone density monitored, a Canadian study suggests. Researchers who studied more than 6,600 women taking osteoporosis drugs found that for nearly one in five, bone mineral density at the hip actually decreased after the women started taking the medication….
FDA Panel Supports Novartis Biosimilar of Etanercept
(Reuters)—Novartis AG’s cheaper version of Amgen Inc.’s arthritis drug etanercept (Enbrel) is highly similar in potency and safety to the original and should be approved, an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded on Wednesday. The panel voted 20–0 that there is no clinically meaningful difference between Novartis’s drug, a biologic made…
FDA Panel Backs Amgen Biosimilar of Humira
(Reuters)—Amgen Inc.’s cheaper version of AbbVie’s top-selling arthritis drug adalimumab (Humira) is highly similar to the original and should be approved, an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded on Tuesday. The panel voted 26–0 that the drug, ABP 501, which was studied in rheumatoid arthritis and plaque psoriasis, was similar in…
Prescription-Drug Monitoring Saves Lives, Could Save More
(Reuters Health)—State programs that monitor narcotic prescriptions help prevent 10 opioid-overdose deaths a day in the U.S., yet improvements could save another two people a day, a new study finds. States with the most robust programs—ones that tracked a greater number of potentially addictive medications and updated their databases at least weekly—saw the biggest drops…
U.S. Justice Department Has Concerns about Aetna-Humana Deal
(Reuters)—The U.S. Department of Justice has significant concerns about Aetna Inc.’s proposed acquisition of health insurer Humana Inc., a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday, and shares of Humana fell more than 11%. Aetna’s purchase of Humana would combine two of the largest providers of Medicare Advantage plans for elderly people, and investors…
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