Trump Signs Pandemic Relief Bill After Unemployment Aid Lapses: “The legislative package will provide billions of dollars for the distribution of vaccines, funds for schools, small businesses, hospitals and American families, and money needed to keep the government open for the remainder of the fiscal year. The enactment came less than 48 hours before the government would have shut down and just days before an eviction moratorium and other critical pandemic relief provisions were set to expire.
But it also came after two critical unemployment programs lapsed, guaranteeing a delay in benefits for millions of unemployed Americans.”
About the public’s health
COVID-19 Vaccination Considerations for Persons with Underlying Medical Conditions:From the CDC: “Adults of any age with certain underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19. mRNA COVID-19 vaccines may be administered to people with underlying medical conditions provided they have not had a severe allergic reaction to any of the ingredients in the vaccine.” The article details recommendations for some high risk groups.
Novavax starts late-stage trial of COVID-19 vaccine in United States: “Novavax Inc has begun a large late-stage study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the United States, the drug developer said on Monday, after delaying the trial twice due to issues in scaling up the manufacturing process.
It will enroll up to 30,000 volunteers across about 115 sites in the United States and Mexico, with two-thirds of them receiving the shot 21 days apart and the rest getting placebo, the company said.”
Biden will invoke Defense Production Act to boost Covid vaccine production, advisor says: “President-elect Joe Biden plans to invoke the Defense Production Act after he takes office next month to boost production of Covid vaccines, a member of his Covid-19 advisory team said.
The wartime production law allows the president to compel companies to prioritize manufacturing for national security purposes.”
Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine to be approved by UK within days: “The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is seen as game-changing within Whitehall, as its low price and ease of storage will allow the government to vaccinate people more quickly. The BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, which was approved earlier this month, must be kept at minus 70C and can be moved only four times within a cold chain before being used…
The Oxford vaccine was designed with access in mind. AstraZeneca has pledged to sell it at cost to developing nations in perpetuity. Its ease of storage, with a long-term shelf life protected at conventional refrigeration temperatures, has galvanised hopes that it can be used by much of the developing world.”
Comparing Health Outcomes of Privileged US Citizens With Those of Average Residents of Other Developed Countries: The study should have been done long ago. Policy makers are often arguing that we need to bring the US population up to the “best care in the world” that is enjoyed by our richest citizens. It looks like that goal only gets us half way. The entire article is worth a read. Here are some highlights:
“The health outcomes of privileged White US citizens for 6 health outcomes are better than those for average US citizens; however, the health outcomes of privileged White US citizens for infant mortality, maternal mortality, and AMI [heart attack] are not consistently better than the outcomes of average residents in many other developed countries…
Privileged White US citizens appear to have the best outcome in the world for breast cancer. That outcome is very likely due to the high rate of mammogram screening in the US, which is associated with higher rates of diagnosis of small cancers.However, if undetected, most of these small cancers would not have progressed to large cancers and caused death…
Our results suggest—but do not prove—that health outcomes depend on the system of care, rather than the performance of individual physicians or hospitals.”
About health insurance
Duke Health, Geisinger sue HHS over Medicare payments: “The hospitals' lawsuit takes issue with a Medicare policy change, adopted in 2004, that included a new methodology for allocating Medicare Part C days in the disproportionate share hospital formula. The appeals court has ruled against HHS in three actions challenging its attempts to apply its Part C days policy to deny DSH payments to hospitals. However, the hospitals argue that HHS is disregarding those decisions and a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Florida physician pleads guilty to $29M fraud: How does our healthcare system let such practices happen in the first place?
“As part of his plea deal, Dr. deGraft-Johnson acknowledged consistently performing two invasive diagnostic angiography procedures on hundreds of patients, whether medically necessary or not. When the patients returned for follow-up office visits, Dr. deGraft-Johnson submitted fraudulent claims to their insurance companies stating he performed atherectomies during the appointments. Using this scheme, the physician admitted he claimed to have performed more than 3,000 of these surgical procedures to clear blockages in arteries in as many as 845 of his patients' legs.
In court documents released in February, prosecutors provided several examples of Dr. deGraft-Johnson's fraud. In one case, he claimed to have done 14 procedures during a seven-hour period. Prosecutors said the procedures would have taken roughly 28 hours…”
CMS Holds Back Medicaid Rebate Reporting Policy for Two Years: ”The policy will require drugmakers to report discounts to CMS that do not help patients and instead lower costs for health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). It is intended to help ensure that patients see lower out-of-pocket costs through cost-sharing assistance, including copayment assistance cards provided by pharma companies.
CMS said that it is delaying the policy for two years (January 2023) to give manufacturers, insurance companies and PBMs time to make any necessary changes to the reporting systems used to offer discounts in patient assistance programs.”