About health insurance
AHA, AAMC press appeals court for rehearing on site-neutral payments case: “The American Hospital Association (AHA) and Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) announced Friday they are seeking a rehearing on the ruling earlier this month from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The ruling upheld the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) authority to install Medicare payment cuts to off-campus hospital clinics to bring them to the same payment level as physician offices.”
About pharma
Trump signs orders to lower prescription drug prices: As announced in Friday’s blog, Trump signed executive orders aimed at lowering drug prices.
”One order would allow for the legal importation of cheaper prescription drugs from countries like Canada, while another would require discounts from drug companies now captured by middlemen to be passed on to patients, Trump said.
Another measure seeks to lower insulin costs while a fourth, which may not be implemented if talks with drug companies are successful, would require Medicare to purchase drugs at the same price that other countries pay, Trump said.” Pharma companies have until August 25 to come up with a plan.
For White House texts of the orders, see: Executive Order on Access to Affordable Life-saving Medications and Remarks by President Trump at Signing of Executive Orders on Lowering Drug Prices.
The top 20 drugs by global sales in 2019: Leading the group is Humira's $19.74 billion in sales.
1 in 3 hospital pharmacies face shortage of remdesivir, survey funds: “A new report from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists polls 112 respondents on a number of concerns related to the pandemic. While some expressed concern about supply of remdesivir, supplies of intensive care medications are improving, the survey found.”
About the public’s health
FDA authorizes first COVID-19 test for screening people without symptoms: “Previously, the agency’s testing green lights were reserved for people showing early signs of an infection, such as a fever, as well as high-risk individuals and front-line healthcare workers…
The new regulatory expansion goes to LabCorp’s coronavirus diagnostic test…. The agency also endorsed its use for batch testing, which allows up to five samples to be combined and analyzed at once to stretch testing supplies and speed up screening efforts.”
Coronavirus Vaccine Put To Final Test In Thousands Of Volunteers: “The world’s biggest COVID-19 vaccine study got underway Monday with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers helping to test shots created by the U.S. government —… developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc….”
Flu, Pneumonia Vaccinations Tied to Lower Risk of Alzheimer's Dementia: Another reason to get these vaccinations. The research found:
“At least one flu vaccination was associated with a 17% reduction in Alzheimer’s incidence. More frequent flu vaccination was associated with another 13% reduction in Alzheimer’s incidence.
Vaccination against pneumonia between ages 65 and 75 reduced Alzheimer’s risk by up to 40% depending on individual genes.
Individuals with dementia have a higher risk of dying (6-fold) after infections than those without dementia (3-fold).”
About healthcare IT
10 concerning trends in health IT: A nice summary of some current trends, including problems.