Obituary
Pete Stark, congressman with a passion for healthcare, dies at 88: This story broke this afternoon. Much more will be written in media outlets tomorrow. Congressman Stark is responsible for the ethics laws that, among other things, prevent inducements for referrals and self-dealing. They are commonly called “Stark laws.”
About technology and ethics
An Ethical Future for Brain Organoids Takes Shape: In 2008 researchers created cerebral organoids, pea-sized tissue derived from stem cells that "can replicate aspects of human development and disease once thought impossible to observe in the laboratory. Scientists have already used organoids to make discoveries about schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders and the microcephaly caused by the Zika virus.” But if they behave so much like human brain cells, what are the ethical implications if the are used for research? Do the organoids experience pain? What do we do with the tissue after research is finished? Clearly another case of science moving faster than ethics.
About the public’s health
U.S. Notches Fifth Coronavirus Case as Global Count Nears 3,000: As China quarantines cities with millions of people during lunar new year celebrations, the US has its fourth and fifth cases of the corona virus.
Z Codes Utilization among Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Beneficiaries in 2017: “This study represents the first analysis of Medicare FFS claims data for the utilization of Z codes.” “Z codes are a subset of ICD-10-CM codes, used as reason codes to capture ‘factors that influence health status and contact with health services.’” The two most frequent codes were: Homelessness (Z590) – 223,062 claims and Problems related to living alone (Z602) – 196,551 claims. While this study’s data is older, it is still the best (and only) such analysis.
GSK hands TB vaccine to Gates Foundation's nonprofit biotech: “GlaxoSmithKline has licensed a tuberculosis vaccine to the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute (MRI). The deal sets the stage for a push to build on recent phase 2b data and make the vaccine available in low-income countries where TB is prevalent.”
About health insurance
Accounting for the burden and redistribution of health care costs: Who uses care and who pays for it: This study by the RAND Corporation found that: “Higher‐income households pay the most to finance health care in dollar amounts, but the burden of payments as a share of income is greater among lower‐income households.” Further, Medicare beneficiaries get the most for their money while those with employer-sponsored plans get the least value for what they pay . There are many policy implications of the information in this study, ranging from addressing the regressive payments to viability of the Medicare system.
Newly updated formulary tool aims to help payers get early information on unapproved drugs: Insurance companies need time to incorporate newly approved drugs into their formularies. Also, since these approvals occur year-round, payers and PBMs do not have enough advanced opportunity to evaluate the impact of their costs on member premiums and out of pocket expenses. To address these problems, in 2018 the FDA allowed pharma companies greater flexibility to share information on products that were pending approval. This article is about the recent update in this system by The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP).
Trump says he will 'save' Social Security after signaling openness to entitlement cuts: I previously referenced a Davos interview with the President in which he said entitlement cuts were on the table. Now he appears to have reversed his position.
Supreme Court Allows Trump’s Wealth Test for Green Cards: “The new policy revised the so-called public charge rule, making immigrants ineligible for permanent legal status if they use public benefits like Medicaid and food stamps.” Lower courts had stayed this policy.
About healthcare IT
Apple, Cerner call for interoperability rule release 'without further delay' highlighting industry rift: Apple and Cerner have taken issue with Epic in their support of using for expedited interoperability.
About pharma
The Pharmacist Is Out: Supermarkets Close Pharmacy Counters: This Wall Street Journal article is a great case study in strategy. Many supermarkets have/had pharmacies to lure customers for impulse grocery purchases and to take advantage of margins on drugs. Now, some are divesting themselves of this activity because of competition from larger chain stores (like Walmart), pharmacy chains (like CVS and Walgreens) and mail order programs.