About the public’s health
Congress reaches deal to fund gun violence research for first time in decades: As part of the budget compromise, Democrats were able to get funding for gun violence research: $12.5 million each for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health. Previously the Republicans had held up such funding.
From Border Security To Tobacco Age, Both Parties Tout Key Wins In Spending Deal: Another benefit from the budget compromise is raising the national smoking age to 21.
Flexible Hierarchical Wraps Repel Drug-Resistant Gram-Negative and Positive Bacteria: Diverse solutions have been offered to stem the spread of pathogenic bacteria, This latest one is unique: “a flexible plastic wrap that combines a hierarchical wrinkled structure with chemical functionalization to reduce bacterial adhesion, biofilm formation, and the transfer of bacteria through an intermediate surface. These hierarchical wraps were effective for reducing biofilm formation of World Health Organization-designated priority pathogens Gram positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) and Gram negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa by 87 and 84%, respectively.”
Association of E-Cigarette Use With Respiratory Disease Among Adults: A Longitudinal Analysis: Recently, the acute (often fatal) consequences of e-cigarette use has been in the news. This study looks at long term effects of such use. The authors found: “Use of e-cigarettes is an independent risk factor for respiratory disease in addition to combustible tobacco smoking. Dual use, the most common use pattern, is riskier than using either product alone.”
Chili Pepper Consumption and Mortality in Italian Adults: “In a large adult Mediterranean population, regular consumption of chili pepper is associated with a lower risk of total and CVD death independent of CVD risk factors or adherence to a Mediterranean diet. Known biomarkers of CVD risk only marginally mediate the association of chili pepper intake with mortality.”
About health insurance
Congress poised to repeal HIT, medical device and 'Cadillac' ACA taxes as part of spending deal: “Congress is expected to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA's) health insurance, medical device and ‘Cadillac’ taxes as part of a must-pass spending agreement set to be passed this week.” With the continued repeal of sources of income to operate the ACA, how will it be able to function?
Judge strikes down AHA's bid to halt CMS' site-neutral payment cuts for 2020: In September, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Columbia Rosemary Collyer ruled that CMS could not impose site-neutral payments on hospitals. (Site neutral payments do not increase hospital compensation just because a service was performed there.) However, that ruling only applied to 2019. Yesterday she ruled that starting Jan. 1 the cuts can continue. “The ruling means that hospitals could face a 60% reduction in Medicare payments for off-campus hospital outpatient departments.”
Moody's: Insurers' 2020 outlook stable, though political, legal risks loom: “Moody’s projects health insurers will continue to see strong earnings growth amid stable economic and demographic trends, with financial growth likely in the mid- to high-single digits. That’s slightly below 2019, with some headwinds coming from the potential reinstatement of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA's) health insurance tax and from the cost of an aging population.
Moody’s also estimates that medical costs will continue to increase, though the industry has made strides in mitigating those expenses. Short-term trends, such as growth in Medicare Advantage enrollment and the growing number of pricey specialty drugs, could negate some of those gains.” The report was issued before the above story about elimination of the health insurance tax as part of the federal budget negotiations.
U.S. government extends deadline to sign up for Obamacare insurance plans: Because of online glitches, CMS has extended the ACA enrollment deadline to tomorrow. With a surge in signups the past couple days and the extension, enrollment totals may be on track to match recent years’ numbers.
CVS subsidiary accused by DOJ of fraudulent billing: “The federal government has joined a lawsuit alleging Omnicare, a subsidiary of CVS Health, fraudulently billed Medicare, TRICARE and Medicaid for thousands of drugs.
The Department of Justice on Tuesday joined the whistleblower suit (PDF) that charges Omnicare dispensed hundreds of thousands of drugs to elderly patients at thousands of long-term care facilities between 2010 and 2018.”
About healthcare quality and safety
Top Hospitals: The Leapfrog Group just issued its annual top hospital report. Some very interesting omissions of academic medical centers nationwide.
About healthcare IT
CMS Made an Estimated $93.6 Million in Incorrect Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Payments to Acute-Care Hospitals, or Less Than 1 Percent of $10.8 Billion in Total Incentive Payments: The headline speaks for itself. Reasons for the errors are in this report from the Office of the Inspector General of HHS.
About pharma
Inaccessible Insulin: The Broken Promise of Eli Lilly’s Authorized Generic: “To assess the impact of authorized generics, like ‘Insulin Lispro,’ on patients’ access to insulin, the Offices of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal conducted a national telephone survey of pharmacies to determine if they had access to and were providing patients with the lower-cost authorized generic version of Humalog insulin. The investigation found that, contrary to the promises made by Eli Lilly, the vast majority of patients who seek to use this less expensive drug are not able to obtain it at their local pharmacy. Specifically, a 50-state survey of 190 chain and 196 independent pharmacies reveals that:
…In 83% of pharmacies surveyed, the less expensive, authorized generic promised by Eli Lilly was not in stock and available for consumers…
Pharmacies are unaware of and not adequately informing consumers about the availability of Eli Lilly’s authorized generic insulin. In many cases, consumers cannot get the generic version of a drug if they do not know to ask for it…”