With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of Ninlaro, patients living with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer of the bone marrow, have a new treatment option. The approval allows Ninlaro (ixazomib) to be used in combination with two other therapies for multiple myeloma patients who have tried at least one unsuccessful therapy.

Consumers' Choice Health Insurance Co. in South Carolina folded last month, becoming the ninth health co-op out of 23 across the U.S. to shutdown.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee recently passed the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015, a bipartisan legislation that aims to fix the nation’s broken mental health system by refocusing programs, reforming grants and removing barriers to mental health care. According to the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA), however, the bill falls short of real change.

In an effort to ensure patients that are prescribed Clozapine REMS can continue to have access to the drug, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the deadline for prescriber certification to Nov. 23 and the deadline for pharmacy certification to Dec. 14. A new Clozapine REMS program was recently launched, and health care providers have experienced some challenges.

For some patients, paying the necessary out-of-pocket costs for prescription medications can be difficult, if not impossible. To help those patients, pharmaceutical company Pfizer has doubled the allowable income level for its Pfizer RxPathways patient assistance program, opening it up to many more people who can take advantage of the more than 40 prescription medications the company offers free of charge.

Results of a recent study conducted by researchers from the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research (DRCR) Network offer good news to patients living with proliferative diabetic retinopathy: the study showed that Lucentis (ranibizumab), a product of pharmaceutical company Novartis, can be used effectively for the treatment of the condition.

Nearly a year ago, the Obama Administration announced that the future of the Medicare program would include shifting its payments "from volume to value." Since that time, officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have been working toward putting that plan into action.

Historically, studies have shown than men drink more alcohol than women, but a study recently conducted by researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), an arm of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), showed changing trends in alcohol consumption.

Patients battling advanced renal cell carcinoma have a new option for treatment with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of Opdivo as a therapy for the specific form of kidney cancer. Opdivo, a product of New Jersey-based Bristol-Myers Squibb, fights cancer by helping the body's immune system block cancer cells.

Since the launch of the Health Insurance Marketplace, which was mandated several years ago by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have worked continuously to make the health insurance shopping experience smoother and more understandable for consumers.

A new study of 7,000 patients found that, because of the lack of routine HIV testing in some European hospitals, many HIV-positive patients were unaware of their status. The problem was found to be especially prevalent in northern Europe. The patients in the study came into the hospitals to be treated for tuberculosis, hepatitis, cancer or thrush of the esophagus.

The new American Medical Association (AMA) Interaction Studio allows entrepreneurs to connect with a broad range of physicians, in person and virtually, to gain a deeper understanding of the key challenges in patient care that can be resolved with advances in new technology.

The members of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations have made flu preparedness a major priority over the last few years. Recently, a hearing, titled “U.S. Public Health Preparedness for Seasonal Influenza: Has the Response Improved?," was convened and chaired by the subcommittee's chair, Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA).

For senior citizens, not being able to afford medications prescribed to them by their doctors can be an impediment to their health. In an effort to help seniors struggling with drug costs, U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant of Texas has authored House Resolution 4062, called the Protecting Seniors Access to Proper Care Act.

Opdivo, a product of Bristol-Myers Squibb, has become the sole PD-1 inhibitor to successfully increase the overall survival of patients living with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) green-lighted Opdivo, an intravenous treatment, for RCC patients who had been previously treated with anti-angiogenic therapy.

An advance in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) has been made with the European Medicines Agency's designation of CRS-207 as an orphan drug. An orphan drug is one that has been developed expressly for the treatment of a rare condition, also called an orphan disease.

November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month. To help health care providers keep their patients with epilepsy and their families updated and educated, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has developed a new set of resources, which are available in both English and Spanish.

Nov. 19 marked the American Cancer Society's annual Great American Smokeout -- a day the ACS designed to encourage smokers to kick the habit for good.

Caldolor, an intravenous form of ibuprofen that is used as a pain reliever and fever reducer, was recently approved by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Caldolor is manufactured by the Nashville, Tennessee-based pharmaceutical company, Cumberland Pharmaceuticals.

Although thousands of people use supplements as part of health and weight-loss regimens, the FDA is not convinced of the products' safety. To help combat the problem of unsafe supplements being distributed, the FDA teamed up with a variety of other agencies for a year-long initiative, in an effort to identify those that could be unsafe or tainted.