About the public’s health
Researchers find a western-style diet can impair brain function: “Researchers found that after seven days on a high fat, high added sugar diet, volunteers in their 20s scored worse on memory tests and found junk food more desirable immediately after they had finished a meal.”
A future for the world's children? A WHO–UNICEF–Lancet Commission: This article is a very deep dig into a county-by-country assessment of healthcare, the environment and other factors that affect children’s development potential.
Sanofi looks to previous SARS work in bid to speed up development of COVID-19 vaccine with BARDA: “Sanofi announced Tuesday that it is teaming up with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 infections. According to the drugmaker, the partnership will leverage previous work for a SARS vaccine that it says "may unlock a fast path forward" for developing one against the new coronavirus. Financial details of the collaboration were not disclosed.”
About health insurance
Medicaid Eligibility:Accuracy of Determinations and Efforts to Recoup Federal Funds Due to Errors: “While CMS is generally required to disallow, or recoup, federal funds from states for eligibility-related improper payments if the state's eligibility error rate exceeds 3 percent, it has not done so for decades, because the method it used for calculating eligibility error rates was found to be insufficient for that purpose. To address this, in July 2017, CMS issued revised procedures through which it can recoup funds for eligibility errors, beginning in fiscal year 2022.” This GAO report looks into the errors in Medicaid enrollment and the money the federal government is losing through these errors.
Trump’s support for bipartisan Senate drug pricing bill may not be enough to push it into law: This article is a reminder of the different stances on this issue.
The Health System We’d Have if Economists Ran Things: About 200 Ph.D. health economists working in the United States were surveyed by the American Society of Health Economists. Their opinions are surprising for the lack of radical proposals. For example, 69% said people who engage in unhealthy habits, like smoking, should pay higher premiums; 62% said soft drinks should have a higher tax; and 89% want to keep the ACA.
About pharma
FDA: China's coronavirus might disrupt 'critical medical products' including drugs and devices: As a result of the Coronavirus, many factories that use raw materials in pharmaceuticals are closed. Further, the FDA is pulling quality investigators from the country. The implication of these actions is that patients may face a drug shortage in the next couple months. Perhaps we will see the use of compulsory licenses in the face of shortages (see the Technology chapter in the text).
The top 10 ad spenders in Big Pharma for 2019: Prescription DTC advertising has survived “more than 20 years of numerous legal, regulatory and perception challenges on its way to becoming a $6 billion-plus annual industry.” This article discusses the top ten drugs by ad spending.
Bill creating path for drug imports from Canada sent to governor: “A bill that would create a potential pathway for New Mexico to import prescription drugs from Canada is now on its way to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's desk, where it is expected to be signed into law.” The practice is still illegal under federal law unless the state receives a waiver. Also (per previous posts) such practices assume Canada has extra drugs to export.
2019 Drug Trend Report: This annual report is from the PBM Express Scripts. Much of the report is specific to the company, but scroll down and see some general interest statistics. For example:
”Even as brand drug list prices increased 5.2%, the share of costs paid by patients went up only slightly from 15% in 2018 to 15.1% in 2019. At $11.75 for a 30-day supply, member average out-of-pocket costs increased only 19¢ or 1.6%.” While the average is low, the dollar amounts some people pay is still significant.
About healthcare technology
The Biobeat Wearable Wristwatch and Patch Receive CE Mark Approval for Non-invasive Cuffless Monitoring of Blood Pressure, as Well as Cardiac Output, Stroke Volume, Pulse and Saturation: Fascinating technology that could replace many current devices.