Today is the 75th anniversary of the first atomic bomb test.
For a brief review, see: ‘Now I Am Become Death’: The Legacy of the First Nuclear Bomb Test
About healthcare IT
Prepared Remarks from HHS Media Call with CDC Director Redfield and CIO Arrieta on COVID-19 Data Collection: These statements are a followup to yesterday’s story about the CDC being cut out of the loop on data reporting. The explanation of streamlining the process does not seem credible, since there are other places hospitals may report data. Also, CDC will continue to collect nursing home and long term care facility data. Why the split?
Here is another “curious” fact about the information transfer:
‘Sole Source’ Contract for Covid-19 Database Draws Scrutiny From Democrats:” A $10.2 million ‘sole source’ contract to run a centralized Covid-19 database for the Trump administration drew sharp criticism on Wednesday from congressional Democrats, who demanded that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention be reinstated as the primary repository of coronavirus data.
The contract drew scant public attention when it was awarded in April to TeleTracking Technologies, a Pittsburgh company whose core business is helping hospitals manage the flow of patients.” I could not find any evidence of donations by CEO Michael Zamagias to the Trump campaign or RNC.
About health insurance
COVID-19 and the Medicare Trust Funds: From the American Enterprise Institute:
”The 2020 Medicare trustees’ report released in April did not incorporate how the coronavirus pandemic would affect program finances. Even so, the trustees project that the Medicare Hospi- tal Insurance (HI) trust fund will be unable to fully cover its obligations beginning in 2026. While the cost of treating patients with COVID-19 might be offset by a delay or reduction in patient use of other medical services, the deep recession now underway will erode payroll tax revenue and hasten the depletion of HI reserves. The Supplementary Medicare Insurance trust fund, which accounts for the cost of physician and other services and the drug benefit, adds an even larger burden on taxpayers. Congress and the administration should reform the entire program to lower long-term costs while protecting the quality of services provided to the nation’s elderly.”
Hospitalized care for COVID-19 averages $34,662 to $45,683, varying by age: “Nationally, the median charge amount – the amount for people without insurance or who went out-of-network – for COVID-19 inpatient care was $45,683 for people aged 51 to 60 and $34,662 for those in the 23 to 30 age bracket, according to a new study.
The highest average allowed amount paid to the provider under an insurance plan was $24,012 for people aged 51 to 60 and, at its lowest, $17,094 for people above age 70.”
Lawsuit accuses UnitedHealth of 'looting' billions from employer plans through cross-plan offsetting: “The suit alleges that UnitedHealth uses money brought in from self-funded employer clients to resolve overpayment disputes in its fully funded employer plans.” The basis for the claim is that this procedure is illegal according to ERISA.
Inspector general: Medicare chief broke rules on her publicity contracts: “A top Trump administration health official violated federal contracting rules by steering millions of taxpayer dollars in contracts that ultimately benefited GOP-aligned communications consultants, according to an inspector general report set to be released today.
The contracts, which were directed by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Seema Verma, were only halted after a POLITICO investigation raised questions about their legality and the agency had paid out more than $5 million to the contractors.”
About the public’s health
Opioid overdoses have skyrocketed amid the coronavirus, but states are nevertheless slashing addiction treatment program budgets: The headline is self- explanatory. A related article: New peak of 71K US overdose deaths in 2019 dashes hopes. The figure is pre-COVID-19; experts think the numbers will be higher when pandemic numbers are calculated.
Views on Firearm Safety Among Caregivers of People With Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias:”In this survey study of US adults (aged ≥35 years) living in homes with firearms, 2.6% reported being caregivers of a person with Alzheimer disease and related dementias, and 41% of these caregivers lived with that person. Although most caregivers were open to health care professional counseling about firearm safety for persons with Alzheimer disease and related dementias, few caregivers had ever received any such counseling.”
Men should limit alcohol to 1 drink a day, experts say: “In a report [not yet online] released Wednesday, a committee of experts noted there isn’t adequate evidence to support different alcohol recommendations for men and women, and that research supports tightening the limit for men. U.S. health agencies that issue dietary guidelines aren’t required to adopt the committee’s recommendations.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp forbids cities, counties from requiring masks as coronavirus surges in the state: “Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed an executive order Wednesday night explicitly banning cities from enacting their own mask mandates, even as the state experiences a sharp rise in coronavirus cases and other Republican governors are turning to mask orders to try to quell the surge.” Should Georgia be a priority state for a vaccine if it does not take simple precautionary measures?
About pharma
Chief Vaccine Scientist Will Not Be Forced to Disclose Pharmaceutical Stocks:”As the chief adviser for the vaccine program — called Operation Warp Speed — Dr. Slaoui is working on a contract that pays him $1. Under the arrangement, he is exempt from federal disclosure rules that would require him to list his outside positions, stock holdings and other potential conflicts of interest.”
Johnson & Johnson to start human testing of COVID-19 vaccine next week:”A phase 1/2a study in more than 1,000 adults ages 18 to 55 will start by enrolling in Belgium next week and open to U.S. participants the week after. The study will also include an arm testing the vaccine in people 65 and older…”
Vaccine-makers’ ‘no profit’ pledge stirs doubts in Congress: “Some of the pharmaceutical companies developing Covid-19 vaccine candidates have pledged to not take a profit.
But neither the companies nor the U.S. government bankrolling a great deal of the vaccine research has defined precisely what forgoing a profit means or how long that will last. And that’s feeding skepticism and uncertainty among industry watchers and doubts in Congress about who will end up paying what could be a very large tab.” In a related article: Novartis to provide 15 drugs at zero-profit for treating COVID-19 symptoms:”Under the latest initiative, the portfolio of 15 drugs will be available to governments in up to 79 eligible countries during the pandemic and until a vaccine or curative treatment is available. Novartis explained that the medicines were chosen based on clinical relevance and availability to ensure global demand can be met.”
Coronavirus Drug and Treatment Tracker: The article is a really good summary of 20 COVID-19 treatments and their evaluated effectiveness.
U.S. Says Russian Hackers Are Trying To Steal Coronavirus Vaccine Research: “The Western intelligence agencies say they believe the hackers are part of the Russian group informally known as Cozy Bear. The intelligence agencies refer to it as APT29.
That group has been linked to Russian intelligence and was blamed for hacking Democratic Party emails in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.”
Why do we have to keep such data secret when it benefits everyone to get a successful product out as soon as possible?
About hospitals
Results from 2017 Tax-Exempt Hospitals’ Schedule H Community Benefit Reports: According to an American Hospital Association report issued yesterday: “In tax year 2017, exempt hospitals spent on average 13.8% of their total annual expense on benefits to the community. Benefits include financial assistance, Medicaid and other means-tested government program underpayments, community health improvement services, research, health professions education, subsidized services, bad debt expense attributable to financial assistance, Medicare shortfall, and other community benefits and building activities. These are the financial costs hospitals incurred in providing particular benefits to their community, but do not reflect all the tangible and intangible benefits of improving their communities’ health and well-being.” The benefit is about $100 billion.