Sarepta Therapeutics knew about the death of a patient treated with its experimental gene therapy for a type of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, but said nothing public for a month. Financial analysts lambasted Sarepta executives for failing to disclose the fatality when the company announced a restructuring that includes stopping work on this limb-girdle program. The…
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Solo Agers, Join the Crowd! Enjoyed your panel discussion (Watch: ‘Going It Alone’ — A Conversation About Growing Old in America, Dec. 12). I am 85, retired at 55. Traveled (birding)…
The survey provides an in-depth look at trends in employer-sponsored coverage in California, including premiums, cost sharing, offer rates, and employer strategies to manage costs and access to care, including comparisons to the nation overall.
A paper by Qato et al. (2024) quantifies the degree of of pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) market concentration. Across all payer types, the PBM market was highly concentrated, with an HHI [Herfindahl Hirschman Index (HHI)] of 1972…the HHI was lowest in commercial insurance (1940), with 90 PBM participants, and highest in Medicare Part D (2399),…
The Trump administration quietly restored federal family planning money to Tennessee and Oklahoma, despite court rulings that the states weren’t entitled to funds because they refused to provide women information about terminating pregnancies or abortion referrals on request. The decision by the Department of Health and Human Services to restore millions of dollars for the…
According to new survery, over 1,700 US employers anticipate increased healthcare costs in 2026
As premium payments for Affordable Care Act insurance plans soar and cuts to Medicaid start to affect hospitals and patients, many people in 2026 will need help paying medical bills. And charity care may be a solution. One group working on this is Dollar For, a nonprofit focused on helping people access the financial assistance…
Robert Califf addressed a range of issues, including AI, lack of nutrition resources at the FDA and how he evaluates the progress of precision medicine at the Precision Medicine World Conference in Silicon Valley. The post “Precision Med Has Evolved as Badly As I Expected” And OtherTakeaways From Former FDA Commissioner At PMWC appeared first…
The application of AI technology is part of a carefully orchestrated effort dependent on human intelligence, and the collaboration of physicians, disease-specific specialists, nurses, data scientists, and technologists. Done right, these efforts can lead to profound benefits, and offer a promising future for clinical research and patient care. The post Augmenting Brain Power: Real-World Data, Advanced…
Republicans in Congress have suggested big cuts to Medicaid. But what exactly is it? Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities, is integral to the U.S. health care system. It keeps hospitals and other providers afloat, provides a key source of federal funds to states, and helps provide health…