Campaigns spar over debate timing after Trump rejects virtual event: “Trump rejected a decision by a nonpartisan panel to hold a town-hall-style event on Oct. 15 virtually instead of in person.”
About health insurance
Verma doubles down on supporting Medicaid work requirements as enrollment swells: “The head of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reiterated support for Medicaid work requirements as enrollment in the program swells this year…
Her remarks come less than a month after a study in Health Affairs found that work requirements in Arkansas did not lead to more employment.”
How Many Americans Have Lost Jobs with Employer Health Coverage During the Pandemic?: From the Commonwealth Fund: “We estimate that as many as 7.7 million workers lost jobs with ESI [Employer Sponsored Insurance] as of June 2020 because of the pandemic-induced recession. The ESI of these workers covered 6.9 million of their dependents, for a total of 14.6 million affected individuals. Only with time will we know how many job losses are ultimately permanent, resulting in loss of ESI for workers and their dependents.”
Cigna won't cover some hospital-based MRIs, CT scans under new policy: “Cigna will not cover MRIs and CT scans performed in a hospital setting if they don't meet new medical necessity requirements, according to a policy that took effect Aug. 1.
Other commercial insurers, including Anthem, have similar policies in place. The policies aim to direct patients to less pricey freestanding facilities for imaging services.” Plans have been using utilization review for costly diagnostics for quite a while, e.g., Anthem’s division AIM.
How Much Would Trump’s Coronavirus Treatment Cost Most Americans?: The short answer is: “For someone who isn’t president, that would cost more than $100,000 in the American health system.” Read the article for more details.
About pharma
AstraZeneca vaccine document shows limit of no-profit pledge: The pledge is only good during the pandemic. AZ decides when it is over and can do so as soon as July, 2021. See also: Moderna Vows to Not Enforce Covid-19 Vaccine Patents During Pandemic: “Moderna Inc. said it wouldn’t enforce patents related to its experimental Covid-19 vaccine while the pandemic continues and is willing to license the patents to others after the pandemic.”
Lilly seeks FDA emergency use for LY-CoV555 in higher-risk COVID-19 patient : “Eli Lilly said Wednesday that it submitted a request to the FDA for emergency-use authorisation (EUA) of LY-CoV555 monotherapy for higher-risk patients who have been recently diagnosed with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. The neutralising IgG1 monoclonal antibody, also known as bamlanivimab, is being co-developed with AbCellera.”
Statement on REGN-COV2 Emergency Use Authorization Request: From Regeneron: “Subsequent to our discussions with regulatory authorities, we have submitted a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for our REGN-COV2 investigational antibody combination for COVID-19. Under our agreement with the U.S. government for the initial doses of REGN-COV2, if an EUA is granted the government has committed to making these doses available to the American people at no cost and would be responsible for their distribution. At this time, there are doses available for approximately 50,000 patients, and we expect to have doses available for 300,000 patients in total within the next few months.”
Dexamethasone price has increased 137% in recent months: “The price of the steroid spiked from $0.59 per unit to $1.39 per unit and is currently listed in shortage from both the FDA and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.”
About the public’s health
Renewal of Determination That A Public Health Emergency Exists: From the HHS secretary:
”As a result of the continued consequences of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, on this date and after consultation with public health officials as necessary, I, Alex M. Azar II, Secretary of Health and Human Services, pursuant to the authority vested in me under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, do hereby renew, effective October 23, 2020, my January 31, 2020, determination, that I previously renewed on April 21, 2020 and July 23, 2020, that a public health emergency exists and has existed since January 27, 2020, nationwide.”
The vice presidential debate: 6 healthcare takeaways: A good summary of the major healthcare points from last night’s debate. VP Pence said the Administration has a healthcare plan, but the question is: Where is it?
Survival of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus on the human skin: Importance of hand hygiene in COVID-19: “The 9-h survival of SARS-CoV-2 on human skin may increase the risk of contact transmission in comparison with IAV [Influenza A Virus], thus accelerating the pandemic. Proper hand hygiene is important to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections.”
About healthcare professionals
Latest $20 billion round of CARES Act physician relief now open:”The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is disbursing another $20 billion in financial relief for physician practices and other health care delivery organizations and clinicians that is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.”
About healthcare technology
Heritable Human Genome Editing: From the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine: “Heritable human genome editing - making changes to the genetic material of eggs, sperm, or any cells that lead to their development, including the cells of early embryos, and establishing a pregnancy - raises not only scientific and medical considerations but also a host of ethical, moral, and societal issues…
From an international commission of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.'s Royal Society, the report considers potential benefits, harms, and uncertainties associated with genome editing technologies and defines a translational pathway from rigorous preclinical research to initial clinical uses, should a country decide to permit such uses.”
The report is free to download.