About the public’s health
Children’s Drinks: Food Advertising to Children and Teens 2019: This study is a very complete analysis of how unhealthy drinks are marketed, with recommendations to address the problem. You can also check what drinks your kids may be consuming.
California Governor’s Bill-Signing Marathon Offers Glimpse Of 2020 Issues: California has been at the forefront of a spectrum of healthcare reforms. This article is a great summary of those initiatives which could become models for national or other local agendas.
About healthcare information systems
AI platform screens for diabetic retinopathy in 60 seconds: This AI platform will do a retina screens on undilated pupils in 60 seconds with an accuracy of 95.5%. Currently its status in the U.S. is for investigational use only; it is not yet available for sale. If it proves accurate and the cost is reasonable, these devices can be placed in primary care offices.
About health insurance
Accountable Care Organizations in the United States: Market and Demographic Factors Associated with Formation: Researchers are looking at the institutional success/failure factors for ACO performance. This research looks at environmental settings that may influence that performance. The conclusion is: “Much of the US population resides in areas where ACOs have been established. ACO formation has taken place where it may be easier to meet quality and cost targets. Wider adoption of the ACO model may require tailoring to local context.”
Physician-Led Accountable Care Organizations Outperform Hospital-Led Counterparts: On the same theme of ACO savings, “analysis from Avalere finds that physician-led accountable care organizations (ACOs) in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) outperformed hospital-led ACOs by a significant margin. Additionally, MSSP ACOs continue to achieve higher savings the longer they participate in the program.” Why are physician-led organizations so much better? They are closer to patient care decisions that look at alternatives to hospital care and wasteful high cost diagnostics and treatments. Why do they pay more attention to this management in the ACO setting than in fee for service? With respect to fee for service care, I am reminded of what Upton Sinclair said : “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!”
Promoting access to Medicare hospice benefit could save taxpayers, benefit underserved communities: “Racial and ethnic minority patients with terminal illnesses are much less likely to enter hospice care than their white counterparts—even when controlling for socioeconomic factors such as age, education, income and area population. There is also evidence that addressing this issue will save the Medicare program millions of dollars.”
Sutter Health, California settle massive antitrust case: “One of California’s largest hospital systems has reached an agreement to settle a massive class-action lawsuit over allegations that it abused its market power and has been overcharging patients for medical bills…
The antitrust lawsuit against Sutter Health, which operates 24 hospitals with 5,500 doctors across Northern California, was first brought by employers and unions in 2014 and later joined by California’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, who filed a similar lawsuit last year after a six-year investigation.”
Schumer seeks focus on health care amid impeachment fever: “Senate Democrats plan to force vulnerable Republicans to vote on legislation that would overturn a controversial Trump administration directive on ObamaCare…Schumer is taking advantage of a little-known law, the Congressional Review Act, which allows the minority party to seize the initiative to overturn an administrative rule as long as it’s done within a certain time period.” There is little chance it will pass, but it forces Republicans to make public their views on healthcare.
Top Republican rejects Democratic chairman's approach to stopping surprise medical bills: “The top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday rejected a proposal from the Democratic chairman of the panel to protect patients from surprise medical bills, saying a different approach is needed to solve the problem.” Another case of concordance in the goal but a difference of opinion about tactics that prevents action.
About pharma
House Democrats are pushing forward on their partisan drug-pricing bill (Washington Post- may require subscription): This article builds on yesterday’s report of progressive Democrats’ suggestions to modify Speaker Pelosi’s drug-pricing bill. While the modifications may be made before the vote, the more of them there are, the greater the Republican opposition. Again, the issue being argued is not the goal (lower drug prices), but how to do it.
The Bristol-Myers Squibb-Pfizer Alliance and Fitbit Collaborate to Address Gaps in Atrial Fibrillation Detection with the Aim of Accelerating Diagnosis: Why this deal is being done is not in the article, i.e., the pharma companies make anticoagulants (“blood thinners”) used in patients with atrial fibrillation.