About health insurance
Uninsured Americans increased even before pandemic, Census Bureau finds:”The number of people without health insurance increased last year, even before the coronavirus pandemic struck, according to new federal figures released Tuesday.
The Census Bureau found nearly 30 million people were not covered by health insurance at the time they were interviewed in 2019, up from 28.6 million in 2018.
The number of uninsured Americans has been increasing for the past three years, after seeing a massive decline in the wake of the passage of the Affordable Care Act.”
Cigna to rebrand health services business line as Evernorth: “Cigna is rebranding its health services business line, launching it as Evernorth.
Evernorth will include a slew of Cigna segments, including pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts and specialty pharmacy Accredo, both of which will continue to operate with their existing branding under that umbrella…
The goal, Cigna said, is to offer a one-stop-shop for partners looking to harness their solutions as their reach extends beyond Cigna's membership. The Evernorth team will also continue to develop and launch new solutions through a data-driven approach.”
About the public’s health
FDA ranks the performance of 58 molecular coronavirus tests from major developers: Widely different accuracy scores. See the list here.
HHS chief overrode FDA officials to ease testing rules: In a related story from Politico: “Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar led an escalating pressure campaign against his own Food and Drug Administration this spring and summer, urging the agency to abandon its responsibility for ensuring the safety and accuracy of a range of coronavirus tests as the pandemic raged.
Then in late August, Azar took matters into his own hands. Overriding objections from FDA chief Stephen Hahn, Azar revoked the agency’s ability to check the quality of tests developed by individual labs for their own use, according to seven current and former administration officials with knowledge of the decision.”
COVID-19 has set global health progress back decades - Gates Foundation:”The knock-on effects of the coronavirus pandemic have halted and reversed global health progress, setting it back 25 years and exposing millions to the risk of deadly disease and poverty…
Because of COVID-19, extreme poverty has increased by 7%, and routine vaccine coverage - a good proxy measure for how health systems are functioning - is dropping to levels last seen in the 1990s, the report said.”
British researchers design death risk tool for COVID-19 patients: “British scientists have developed a four-level scoring model for predicting the death risk of patients hospitalised with COVID-19, saying it should help doctors quickly decide on the best care for each patient.
The tool, detailed in research published in the BMJ medical journal on Wednesday, helps doctors put patients into one of four COVID-19 risk groups - from low, to intermediate, high, or very high risk of death.”
The Road to Clean Air: Benefits of a Nationwide Transition to Electric Vehicles: From the American Lung Association:
”The widespread transition to zero-emission transportation technologies could produce emission reductions in 2050 that could add up to $72 billion in avoided health harms, saving approximately 6,300 lives and avoiding more than 93,000 asthma attacks and 416,000 lost work days annually due to significant reductions in transportation-related pollution…”
Much of the benefit would occur in what the report calls “people of color”: “For example, people of color were 1.5 times more likely to live in a county with at least one failing grade, and 3.2 times more likely to live in a county with a failing grade for unhealthy ozone days, particle pollution days and annual particle levels.”
About pharma
The Cost of Brand Drug Product Hopping: “Product hopping describes when a brand drug company with a product nearing the end of its monopolistic life works to move patients to a reformulation of the drug that has longer exclusivity. It is a lifecycle management tactic that creates quantifiable burdens on patients and the healthcare system, as generic savings cannot be realized if patients have been moved to a protected drug before generic competitors can enter the market.
This report looks at just five examples of this tactic over the last 20 years – for the brand drugs Prilosec, TriCor, Suboxone, Doryx, and Namenda – and estimates that these five product hops carried a total cost of $4.7 billion annually.”
243 House members urge HHS to stop drugmakers from blocking 340B discounts: “A bipartisan group of 243 members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar Sept. 14 urging him to use his authority to stop drugmakers from blocking safety-net hospitals' access to 340B discounts.”
About healthcare IT
Apple steps up its focus on health with new blood oxygen sensor, population health initiative in Singapore: “The new Apple Watch Series 6 expands the health capabilities of previous Apple Watch models with a new feature that measures the oxygen saturation of the user’s blood so they can better understand their overall fitness and wellness…
Apple also has unveiled a new fitness app designed for its smartwatches, and CVS Health has signed on to offer it to select commercial Aetna and Caremark members.
The company plans to partner with the government of Singapore on a national health initiaitve using Apple Watch.
The initiative, called LumiHealth, is a personalized program to encourage healthy activity and behaviors using fitness tracking and apps.”
CVS signs on with Apple's new Fitness+ service: In a related story: “Apple's Fitness+ will launch later this year, the technology giant said Tuesday, and visualizes inputs from a user's Apple Watch on their iPad, iPhone or Apple TV to allow for a more customized workout.
It will also provide access to studio workout videos at a variety of skill levels, including "Absolute Beginner," which will coach them in ways to get moving in preparation for more advanced workouts, Apple said.
The service will be available at a monthly or annual subscription fee. CVS is currently developing plans for a yearlong subscription for its commercial and pharmacy benefit management members, the company said.”
Taskforce on Telehealth Policy: From NCQA: “The Taskforce on Telehealth Policy is an effort between the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the Alliance for Connected Care, and the American Telemedicine Association, uniting 22 industry experts representing clinicians, health systems, telehealth platforms, state and federal health agencies, insurers and consumer advocates – including leadership from CMS, HHS, Kaiser, Humana, AARP, among other leading stakeholders.”
Here is the link to the final report.