Ionis Pharmaceuticals plans a 2026 FDA submission for zilganersen as a treatment for Alexander disease, an ultra-rare inherited neurological disorder. The antisense oligonucleotide developer has been moving toward commercializing drugs on its own rather than seeking partners. The post Ionis Pharma’s Drug for Rare Disease With No Approved Therapies Meets Goals of Pivotal Study appeared…
By STEVEN ZECOLA On December 19th, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a Request for Information seeking to harness artificial intelligence (“AI”) to deflate health care costs and make America healthy again. As described herein, AI can be used in many dimensions to help lower healthcare costs and improve care. However, to…
If the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is signed into law, it would result in a $50.4 billion reduction in federal Medicaid spending on rural hospitals over the next decade, which could put 338 rural hospitals at risk of closure, according to new analyses. The post How Badly Would Medicaid Cuts Hurt Healthcare Access in…
That is the title of a paper recently published in AJMC with co-authors Suhail Thahir, Alexa Klimchak, Ivana Audhya, Lauren Sedita, and John A. Romley. The abstract is below. Objectives: To quantify the magnitude of altruism value as applied to a hypothetical new treatment for a rare, severe pediatric disease: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Study Design: Prospective…
Using data from the 23rd KFF survey of officials administering Medicaid home care programs, this issue brief describes the mechanisms states are currently using to limit Medicaid spending on home care and their plans for adopting new mechanisms in state fiscal year (FY) 2026.
In a recent Meet the Press appearance, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) joined a growing number of Republicans who are speaking out against Obamacare. One of his lines of attack: that the Affordable Care Act fueled health care consolidation. “What Democrats did 15 years ago was they radically changed all health care in America. They moved…
Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, appeared on CBS News’ “Face the Nation With Margaret Brennan” on Aug. 31 to discuss leadership changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and vaccine policy concerns. Gounder noted that the departures of top officials and confusion over how to get vaccines affect the…
On May 22, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget reconciliation bill that includes significant reductions in federal Medicaid spending to help offset the cost of tax cuts, along with changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), immigration reforms and other provisions. This issue brief discusses the potential implications of the bill for…
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Creating a specialty pharmacy in a space-challenged hospital campus can seem like a daunting task, particularly in a crowded metropolitan or suburban area. Here are some creative solutions to solve for this barrier. The post Creating a Specialty Pharmacy in a Space-Challenged Hospital Campus appeared first on MedCity News.