Category: Health

How healthy are you? GOP bill would help employers find out

A bill in Congress could make it harder for workers to keep employers from getting access to their personal medical and genetic information and raise the financial penalties for those who opt out of workplace wellness programs. House Republicans are proposing legislation aimed at making it easier for companies to gather genetic data from workers and their families, including their children, when they collect it as part of a voluntary wellness program.

Biotech Stock Mailbag: Puma’s Rebound Explained, TG Therapeutics Approval Debate, Aurinia Next Steps

This week’s Biotech Stock Mailbag will address some current controversies and burning questions in our little corner of the investment world. Why the hell is Puma Biotechnology trading higher after the successful readout of Roche’s “APHINITY’ study of Perjeta in adjuvant breast cancer? What are the arguments for and against TG Therapeutics securing approval for ublituximab in high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia ? Did Aurinia Pharmaceuticals make a change to the primary endpoint of its phase III study of voclosporin in lupus nephritis? Are regulators okay with it? The March 2 announcement by Roche that Perjeta met the primary endpoint in the APHINITY study caused Puma shares to fall from $38 to an intraday low of $29.

Treasury calls on Congress to raise debt limit, begins steps to delay default

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday began taking “extraordinary measures” to delay the U.S. government from defaulting on its obligations, as he called on House Speaker Paul Ryan to lift the debt ceiling “at its first opportunity.” Mnuchin, in a letter to Ryan , said Treasury was now suspending the sale of certain state and local securities, a practice the federal government normally performs to assist with tax policies.

Republicans will regret ignoring the Congressional Budget Office

Rather unusually, Republicans in the House of Representatives are intent on moving their plan to repeal and replace Obamacare through committees before they even have estimates of how much the plan will cost, how many people it will cover, or what it will do to insurance premiums. The Congressional Budget Office will likely come out with those estimates next week .

Tyson’s New CEO: The Future of Food Isn’t Meat

Tyson Foods' new CEO is on a mission to change people's perception of the iconic brand-which has faced chicken abuse and price-fixing charges. Hayes says he is now pushing the 80-year-old meat processor towards sustainability, plant-based … The new CEO of one of the world’s largest meat processors, Tyson Foods Inc., sees plant-based protein as a big part of the food industry’s future.

House GOP Finally Puts Out Repeal Plan

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., plans to send the bill to the House floor for a vote and then forward it to the Senate by the beginning of April. Employers would no longer face a tax for offering high-value “Cadillac” health plans under the latest House Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.

4 Trump plans piecemeal budget release, obscurring broader fiscal picture

The Trump administration’s first budget proposal this month will not include any specific changes to the tax code or big programs like Medicare and Social Security, an administration official said, A focusing instead on boosting A defense spending and cutting other programs that are annually authorized by Congress. This budget proposal is expected to be released around March 16. Other budget proposals will come at a later date, the Office of Management and Budget spokesperson official said.

Republicans Unveil Bill to Repeal and Replace Obamacare

Republicans unveiled their long-awaited legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, taking them a step closer to fulfilling a vow they’ve been repeating since the health law’s passage in 2010. Called the American Health Care Act, House Republicans’ proposal released Monday would unwind much of Obamacare over the next three years.

Roche’s Perjeta Succeeds in Key Aphinity Breast Cancer Study

Roche Holding AG’s breast cancer medicine Perjeta succeeded in the drugmaker’s most hotly anticipated patient study, bolstering a franchise that could exceed $9 billion in sales by 2021. Patients who took Perjeta alongside chemotherapy and Roche’s own Herceptin drug after surgery for early breast cancer had a reduced risk of dying or seeing their breast tumors return than those on the older treatments alone, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement Thursday.

Trump Doubles Down on Controversial Pledge to Leave Social Security, Medicare Untouched

President Trump delivered his first speech Tuesday night to a joint session of Congress, discussing his budget blueprint for the coming fiscal year which includes a $54 billion increase in defense spending, a large cut in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency– and “no changes” to Social Security and Medicare. As of January, 66 million Americans were receiving Social Security, Supplemental Security Income payments, or both, according to the program’s website.

Trump Tells Health Insurers to Expect `Something Special’

President Donald Trump told major U.S. health insurers at a White House meeting Monday to expect “something special” to replace Obamacare, as the administration gets more involved in Republican efforts to repeal the health-care law. “We’re going to be talking about it tomorrow night during the speech,” Trump said, referring to his address to a joint session of Congress scheduled for Tuesday.

Aetna, Humana Abandon $37 Billion Merger Blocked by Judge

Aetna Inc. ended its $37 billion takeover of Humana Inc., after deciding not to appeal a ruling by a federal judge who blocked the health insurers’ combination on antitrust grounds. The companies came to a mutual agreement to terminate the deal, and Aetna will pay Humana a $1 billion breakup fee, or about $630 million after taxes.

Why Sage Therapeutics Jumped Today

Sage Therapeutics announced top-lineresults froma Phase 2 clinical trial study of SAGE-217, the company’s orally administereddrug that is being researched as a hopeful treatment of major depressive disorder . Data from the trial showed that SAGE-217 met the study’s primary endpoint, which was to evaluate that the drug was safe and well-tolerated by patients.

Why Acorda Therapeutics Stock Is Jumping Today

The drugmaker’s stock is moving higher this morning in response to the news that its inhaledParkinson’s disease drug, CVT-301, hit the mark in a late-stage trial. According to the press release, patients receiving CVT-301 exhibited astatistically significant improvement in motor function whenexperiencing off periods compared to those taking a placebo.

article

Many people look forward to retirement in all of its budget-friendly glory. But in reality, retirement may not be the bargain you’d expect it to be.

Why Seniors Hate This Medicare Plan “Fix”

Medicare provides a critical healthcare safety net to tens of millions of American seniors, but the program’s costs are soaring as more baby boomers sign up and healthcare gets more complex, and that’s got Washington, D.C., lawmakers trying to come up with fixes to keep the program on solid financial footing. Unfortunately, these fixes could cause significant changes to Medicare that impact choice and cost sharing and, unsurprisingly, that’s drawn the ire of budget-conscious seniors, and organizations, including AARP, that advocate for them.

Medicare Participants: You Have 10 Days Left to Do This

Every year, Medicare participants have to make decisions about their coverage, and they typically have set time periods during which they can figure out what they’ll do for a given year. The regular Medicare open enrollment period runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, and that gives Medicare participants the broadest set of choices to make changes in coverage.

‘Obamacare’ sign-ups show slippage in preliminary report

The government says about 9.2 million people signed up for coverage this year through HealthCare.gov, the health insurance website serving most states. The preliminary numbers out Friday don’t include figures from 11 states that run their own health insurance markets, so the final national number will be higher.

Roche Sees Slower Profit Growth on Cost of Drug Transition

Roche Holding AG is bracing for slower earnings growth this year as its ageing cancer blockbusters face competition and the Swiss drugmaker readies a new generation of medicines. The world’s biggest maker of cancer drugs is pushing out new treatments such as the cancer immune therapy Tecentriq to buoy earnings as it faces the prospect of biosimilar competition for its top sellers Rituxan, Herceptin and Avastin, targeted tumor therapies that were revolutionary when they were first approved in the late 1990s and mid-2000s.

Pfizer Profit, Forecast Fall Short as Generics to Hurt Sales

Pfizer Inc. posted fourth-quarter earnings and a forecast for 2017 that were both short of analysts’ estimates, as the drugmaker said it will lose billions of dollars in revenue as products lose exclusive sales rights. Revenue in 2017 will be $52 billion to $54 billion, Pfizer said in a statement Tuesday, compared with the $54.3 billion average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Altria: 5 Fascinating Facts You Ought to Know

In overcoming legal threats, regulatory hurdles, and a general trend away from smoking, Altria has nevertheless managed to keep its key figures on its income statement moving higher. The five facts discussed below are particularly interesting for those who haven’t followed the tobacco company closely.

How Big Is the Opportunity for Celgene’s Otezla Overseas?

Since winning approval for use in psoriasis in September 2014, Otezla has steadily been chipping away at U.S. market share in the indication, turning into a billion-dollar blockbuster in the process. Otezla’s sales continued climbing throughout 2016, and with launches planned in new international markets soon, sales could head even higher.