About pharma
WHO stands by COVID-19 study casting doubt on benefit of Gilead's Veklury: “Interim findings from the World Health Organization's (WHO) global Solidarity trial have been posted to the medRxiv preprint server, and the agency says Gilead Sciences' Veklury (remdesivir) and the other drug regimens tested had "little or no effect" on 28-day mortality or the in-hospital course of COVID-19 among hospitalised patients. The data appear to corroborate a recent report based on a copy of the study that was obtained by the Financial Times.”
About the public’s health
bioLytical Receives CE Mark for One-Minute COVID-19 Test: “The portable test kit delivers results in one minute from a single drop of blood and doesn’t require any additional processing equipment, providing all the needed materials in a single pouch.” Testing is getting faster and faster.
Walgreens, CVS will offer free COVID-19 vaccines at long-term care facilities: “The vaccines will be free, and the partnership covers long-term care settings including skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, residential care homes and adult family homes.”
COVID-19 testing capacity outpacing desire to get swabbed: “The Trump administration says more than 120 million tests will be available in October nationwide. But far fewer Americans are actually being tested: only around 1 million per day, less than 30 million per month.”
State health officials tell Congress they need $8.4B for COVID-19 vaccination effort:”State public health officials are urging Congress to provide at least $8.4 billion in emergency funding for distributing a coronavirus vaccine, warning that they do not currently have enough money to carry out the immense logistical effort.
The letter to bipartisan congressional leaders came from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), a group that represents state public health departments, and the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM), which represents states’ vaccination officials.”
Key coronavirus model predicts nearly 80 percent rise in deaths by February:”A key model foresees approximately 171,000 more coronavirus related deaths by February 2021, a number that would represent a spike of 78 percent.
The model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine suggests there will be roughly 389,087 deaths by Feb. 1.
If all Americans use face masks, the model’s best-case scenario projects 314,000 deaths by that date. The model, however, foresees more than 477,000 deaths if mask mandates are eased.”
CMS data shows 21% of Medicare beneficiaries forego care: “The data showed that the most common type of care that beneficiaries delayed was going to the dentist (43%) followed by a regular checkup at 36%.
Another 36% reported not getting treatment for an ongoing condition and 32% for a diagnostic or medical screening.
CMS found that 45% of beneficiaries cited COVID-19 risk as the reason for not going to a medical facility.”
The data is a few months old so need a newer study to see if the trends are holding.
Prostate Cancer Incidence and Survival, by Stage and Race/Ethnicity — United States, 2001–2017: “Additional years of data show continued increases in the incidence of distant stage prostate cancer in the United States. The percentage of distant stage prostate cancer increased from 4% in 2003 to 8% in 2017. Five-year survival for distant stage prostate cancer improved from 28.7% during 2001–2005 to 32.3% during 2011–2016; for the period 2001–2016, 5-year survival was highest among Asian/Pacific Islanders (42.0%), followed by Hispanics (37.2%), American Indian/Alaska Natives (32.2%), Black men (31.6%), and White men (29.1%).”
The question is how often and in what populations do you need to screen. This period coincides with recommendations to decrease PSA testing.
About health insurance
Feds approve Georgia health insurance changes sought by Kemp:”Georgia will become the first state to offer federally subsidized health insurance to its residents only through private brokers under a plan being approved by President Donald Trump’s administration.
A separate part of the plan would offer Medicaid to some of the state’s poorest able-bodied adults, but only on the condition that they work, volunteer, receive job training or attend school.”
2021 Premium Changes on ACA Exchanges and the Impact of COVID-19 on Rates: “We find that the majority of rate changes for 2021 are still moderate, with increases or decrease of a few percentage points. Proposed rate changes range from a -42.0% decrease to a 25.6% increase, though half fall between a 3.5% decrease and 4.6% increase…” More details are in the survey.
About healthcare systems
Direct primary care provider to acquire 230 clinics: “Paladina Health, a Denver-based direct primary care provider, has signed an agreement to acquire Healthstat, a Charlotte, N.C.-based provider of onsite and virtual primary care.
Paladina currently operates 120 clinics in 19 states. Through the Healthstat acquisition, Paladina will add 230 clinics in 13 additional states.”
MOST HOSPITALS EXPANDING ASC INVESTMENTS: “In two years, the number of hospitals owning or affiliating with more than one ASC jumped 17 percentage points. In 2020, 75% of hospitals with 200-plus beds have more than one ASC. Payer pressures and other market forces have softened hospitals’ historically defensive posture toward ASCs, paving the way for overall growth, lower operating costs and heightened patient satisfaction.”
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Outpatient Care: Visits Return to Prepandemic Levels, but Not for All Providers and Patients: “Visits to ambulatory providers fell nearly 60 percent by early April. Since then visits have rebounded, returning in the past month to prepandemic levels.” Read this update from the Commonwealth Fund for more details.