Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center gets $400K for clinical trials program
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center (MBPCC) received a $400,000 grant for its clinical trials program.
According to MBPCC, the two-year grant from the Gilead Foundation will fund a dedicated patient navigator and support community engagement opportunities to raise awareness about the benefits of clinical trials. As part of an awareness campaign, The Walls Project will create a large mural in North Baton Rouge, set to be unveiled in the summer.
'Diverse participation in clinical trials is not only an issue of equity, but of scientific accuracy and advancement,' said Dr. Victor Lin, MD, PhD, research medical director. 'When clinical research reflects the full spectrum of our communities, we're able to develop treatments that are more effective for more people.'
Every patient is evaluated for potential clinical trial participation. MBPCC said minority populations make up 21% of those on an active clinical trial. The center aims to achieve a 5-10% increase in participation rates of underrepresented populations in breast clinical trials by August 2026.
After a political career shaped by cancer, Biden faces his own grim diagnosis
Hannah Kobayashi speaks out after disappearance, father's death
Star of 'My 600-lb Life' Latonya Pottain dies
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center gets $400K for clinical trials program
'My embryo's a little fighter;' IVF patients thank heroes after California bombing
STARTING GRID | 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
3 reasons your Obamacare premiums are going up next year
If you happen to be one of the roughly 24 million people in America who buy their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces, you're probably in for some sticker shock next year. Many families could be on the hook for hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dollars more in premium payments thanks to the expiration of Biden-era coverage subsidies. A little-talked-about change in the GOP's tax bill could also bump up costs by ending a practice among insurers known as 'silver loading,' which juiced the amount of financial help households could qualify for when buying a health plan. Meanwhile, higher premiums and new red tape contained in the GOP's bill are expected to push younger, healthier customers out of the market. As a result, carriers are already signaling their intention to raise their rates by more than usual next year to deal with the cost of a smaller and sicker customer base. Here's what you need to know about the potential triple whammy. The Biden administration temporarily upgraded the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by offering insurance shoppers much larger tax credits to help them buy coverage. Those changes dropped some premiums to zero and decreased out-of-pocket costs for lower-income families, and for the first time, capped monthly payments for households earning more than 400% of the poverty line, limiting costs to 8.5% of their income. The enhanced insurance subsidies are set to expire next year, which means premiums will spike. As the Urban Institute calculated last year, that could leave some lower-income households paying 80% more. People with incomes above 400% of the poverty line — $62,000 for an individual, or $128,000 for a family of four — will no longer receive any help. This year, that would have meant paying an extra $2,900, according to Urban's calculations. These changes are going to be particularly important for freelancers and small-business owners who tend to rely on the individual insurance market, as well as service industry workers who don't receive health coverage through their jobs. For most of this past decade, many marketplace customers have been able to get a free bronze plan or very cheap gold-level coverage courtesy of a quirk that developed after Trump tried to cut funding to Obamacare during his first term. Those days will likely soon be over, thanks to the new tax bill. The backstory is a bit technical: Under the ACA, lower-income households who buy coverage from the marketplace get big discounts that shrink their out-of-pocket expenses like copays and deductibles. The federal government was supposed to pay insurers directly to cover these so-called 'cost-sharing reductions.' But Trump cut off that flow of payments in 2017, seizing on what was essentially a legal hole in the Affordable Care Act after Republicans failed to repeal the statute. The president's move was expected to seriously weaken the markets. Instead, states and insurers found a workaround known as silver loading that made coverage cheaper for many Americans while adding to the federal government's expense. Rather than try to make up for the lost payments by upping the prices of all of their health plans, carriers only increased the cost of the silver plans that are used to calculate the value of the tax credits enrollees could receive. This allowed insurers to recoup their costs and increased the subsidies that households were eligible for, with the side effect that people could suddenly get free bronze or cheaper gold insurance. As part of their tax and spending bill, Republicans are planning to save some money by restoring the old cost-sharing reduction payments. In essence, they'll be restoring this aspect of the Affordable Care Act to how it was originally supposed to work, but it will also make the law's tax credits a bit less generous and kill the option of buying those super-cheap bronze or gold plans. By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy The coming cuts to Obamacare's subsidies are expected to lead many young and healthier enrollees to drop their coverage. The same goes for parts of the GOP bill that will likely make buying and maintaining ACA coverage more difficult, such as ending the ability to automatically re-enroll in your health plan from year to year. As a result, experts anticipate that insurers will have to increase the unsubsidized price of coverage by more than usual this coming year, since older, sicker patients cost more to insure. Already, there are signs of that happening. According to a review by the think tank KFF, insurers in Vermont, Oregon, Washington, and Washington, D.C., are requesting an additional 4% increase in their rates for next year, specifically because they expect the market to shrink when Biden's enhanced subsidies expire. Those price hikes won't affect households that get subsidized coverage, which caps their premium payments at a share of their income. But they will be felt by households that earn above 400% of the poverty mark, since they'll no longer receive tax credits. If you're middle-income and self-employed, be prepared for a big pop in your insurance bill. Jordan Weissmann is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
3 reasons your Obamacare premiums are going up next year
If you happen to be one of the roughly 24 million people in America who buy their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces, you're probably in for some sticker shock next year. Many families could be on the hook for hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dollars more in premium payments thanks to the expiration of Biden-era coverage subsidies. A little-talked-about change in the GOP's tax bill could also bump up costs by ending a practice among insurers known as 'silver loading,' which juiced the amount of financial help households could qualify for when buying a health plan. Meanwhile, higher premiums and new red tape contained in the GOP's bill are expected to push younger, healthier customers out of the market. As a result, carriers are already signaling their intention to raise their rates by more than usual next year to deal with the cost of a smaller and sicker customer base. Here's what you need to know about the potential triple whammy. The Biden administration temporarily upgraded the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by offering insurance shoppers much larger tax credits to help them buy coverage. Those changes dropped some premiums to zero and decreased out-of-pocket costs for lower-income families, and for the first time, capped monthly payments for households earning more than 400% of the poverty line, limiting costs to 8.5% of their income. The enhanced insurance subsidies are set to expire next year, which means premiums will spike. As the Urban Institute calculated last year, that could leave some lower-income households paying 80% more. People with incomes above 400% of the poverty line — $62,000 for an individual, or $128,000 for a family of four — will no longer receive any help. This year, that would have meant paying an extra $2,900, according to Urban's calculations. These changes are going to be particularly important for freelancers and small-business owners who tend to rely on the individual insurance market, as well as service industry workers who don't receive health coverage through their jobs. For most of this past decade, many marketplace customers have been able to get a free bronze plan or very cheap gold-level coverage courtesy of a quirk that developed after Trump tried to cut funding to Obamacare during his first term. Those days will likely soon be over, thanks to the new tax bill. The backstory is a bit technical: Under the ACA, lower-income households who buy coverage from the marketplace get big discounts that shrink their out-of-pocket expenses like copays and deductibles. The federal government was supposed to pay insurers directly to cover these so-called 'cost-sharing reductions.' But Trump cut off that flow of payments in 2017, seizing on what was essentially a legal hole in the Affordable Care Act after Republicans failed to repeal the statute. The president's move was expected to seriously weaken the markets. Instead, states and insurers found a workaround known as silver loading that made coverage cheaper for many Americans while adding to the federal government's expense. Rather than try to make up for the lost payments by upping the prices of all of their health plans, carriers only increased the cost of the silver plans that are used to calculate the value of the tax credits enrollees could receive. This allowed insurers to recoup their costs and increased the subsidies that households were eligible for, with the side effect that people could suddenly get free bronze or cheaper gold insurance. As part of their tax and spending bill, Republicans are planning to save some money by restoring the old cost-sharing reduction payments. In essence, they'll be restoring this aspect of the Affordable Care Act to how it was originally supposed to work, but it will also make the law's tax credits a bit less generous and kill the option of buying those super-cheap bronze or gold plans. By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy The coming cuts to Obamacare's subsidies are expected to lead many young and healthier enrollees to drop their coverage. The same goes for parts of the GOP bill that will likely make buying and maintaining ACA coverage more difficult, such as ending the ability to automatically re-enroll in your health plan from year to year. As a result, experts anticipate that insurers will have to increase the unsubsidized price of coverage by more than usual this coming year, since older, sicker patients cost more to insure. Already, there are signs of that happening. According to a review by the think tank KFF, insurers in Vermont, Oregon, Washington, and Washington, D.C., are requesting an additional 4% increase in their rates for next year, specifically because they expect the market to shrink when Biden's enhanced subsidies expire. Those price hikes won't affect households that get subsidized coverage, which caps their premium payments at a share of their income. But they will be felt by households that earn above 400% of the poverty mark, since they'll no longer receive tax credits. If you're middle-income and self-employed, be prepared for a big pop in your insurance bill. Jordan Weissmann is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Louisiana State Capitol to shine purple for National Naloxone Awareness Day
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The Louisiana State Capitol will glow purple for 12 hours starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 6, in honor of National Naloxone Awareness Day. This display was requested by the Victoria's Voice Foundation and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana as a visual reminder that naloxone, a medication that reverses an opioid overdose, can save lives. 'It is available with a prescription or over the counter. Many community groups and healthcare organizations provide Narcan, a naloxone nasal spray, and training on how to use it at no cost,' a news release said. Victoria's Voice and Louisiana Blue representatives were joined by Zachary Mayor David McDavid, East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards, Central Mayor Wade Evans and others in Washington, D.C. this week. They met with members of Congress to discuss efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl and expand access to prevention tools. If you know someone who needs help with substance abuse, call 988. As Louisiana's governor faces ethics charges, his lawyer raises bar for future ethics investigations Baton Rouge conference aims to inspire girls with guest speakers, music House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries says budget bill should be killed Jeffries declines to embrace Musk amid the billionaire's feud with Trump Trump administration faces growing bipartisan pressure over Job Corps Shark-freeing diver says Trump pardon surprised him Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
