A bit of whimsy to start your week:
His Vaccine Story Inspired His Father To Write A Disney Classic
Today is the start of the 4-day annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. Obviously, this year it is virtual. Here are some highlights for today:
Novartis' Cosentyx growth, Bristol's M&A shopping list, Vertex's beyond-CF ambitions
Microsoft signs on to Verily, Broad Institute’s Terra open research platform
About health insurance
CMS approves first block grant waiver, giving Tennessee ability to remake Medicaid program: “The Trump administration has approved a federal waiver to enable Tennessee to convert its Medicaid program into a block grant, the first waiver of its kind to be cleared.
It remains unclear whether the waiver, approved Friday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will survive under President-elect Joe Biden’s administration set to start in a few weeks.
The waiver, which will last for a 10-year period, would create a budgetary cap for federal spending based on recent historical spending and enrollment in Medicaid in the state."
CMS Issues New Roadmap for States to Address the Social Determinants of Health to Improve Outcomes, Lower Costs, Support State Value-Based Care Strategies: This statement clarifies opportunities for states to provide services that would otherwise not be eligible for federal matching. The CMS letter to state health officials provides more details. From that latter document is the statement: “States have flexibility to design an array of services to address SDOH. However, the services and supports that states can cover tend to fall within several categories of services, including housing-related services and supports, non-medical transportation, home-delivered meals, educational services, employment, community integration and social supports, and case management.”
An example of one opinion is: “Federal financial participation is not available to state Medicaid programs for room and board (except in certain medical institutions ). However, federal financial participation is generally available under certain federal authorities for housing-related supports and services that promote health and community integration, including home accessibility modifications, one-time community transition costs, and housing and tenancy supports, including pre-tenancy services and tenancy sustaining services.”
HHS Announces Plans to Expand the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model: “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Friday that it is expanding the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model. First implemented in 2016, the HHVBP Model is currently active in just nine states: Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, Washington, Arizona, Iowa, Nebraska and Tennessee.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar has already signed off on an expansion, the department noted. Friday’s announcement did not specify the extent of the expansion, but clarified that HHS would execute the implementation through rulemaking no earlier than Jan. 1, 2022.”
How 2020 Has Changed Employee Benefits: “Artemis Health conducted a research study surveying over 300 benefits leaders at companies with 5,000 or more employees to see exactly how their goals, motivations, and challenges have changed in 2020.”
Among the findings:
78% of benefits leaders are prioritizing well-being
Mental health will be a key 2021 priority
2/3 of organizations will be investing in benefits data
About the public’s health
Biden to unveil trillions in pandemic economic relief spending next week: “He said the proposal includes relief for state and local governments grappling with the pandemic, as well as new support for people who lost their jobs or cannot afford rent.
Biden also called for raising the minimum wage to $15, a campaign promise, and for sending out $2,000 in direct cash payments. Democrats sought those cash payouts in the last relief bill, passed in December, but only were able to get Republicans to agree to $600.”
6-month consequences of COVID-19 in patients discharged from hospital: a cohort study: This Chinese study published in The Lancet may or may not reflect a clinical pattern elsewhere. Given that caveat, the results showed: “At 6 months after acute infection, COVID-19 survivors were mainly troubled with fatigue or muscle weakness, sleep difficulties, and anxiety or depression. Patients who were more severely ill during their hospital stay had more severe impaired pulmonary diffusion capacities and abnormal chest imaging manifestations, and are the main target population for intervention of long-term recovery.”
The implication is that, in addition to acute care, chronic services will be needed to care for large populations—exacerbating a personnel shortage.
No evidence homegrown variant is fueling coronavirus surge in the US, CDC says: “There is no evidence the United States has a homegrown variant of coronavirus that's fueling the recent increased spread of the virus, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday
The White House Coronavirus Task Force told states last week ‘there may be a USA variant that has evolved here, in addition to the UK variant that is already spreading in our communities,’ according to reports obtained by CNN.
But the CDC said there was no evidence of that yet.”
Interim recommendations for use of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2, under Emergency Use Listing: From the WHO: “Countries experiencing exceptional epidemiological circumstances may consider delaying for a short period the administration of the second dose as a pragmatic approach to maximizing the number of individuals benefiting from a first dose while vaccine supply continues to increase. WHO’s recommendation at present is that the interval between doses may be extended up to 42 days (6 weeks), on the basis of currently available clinical trial data.”
The document is an update on recommendations. This 6-week delay recommendation is new.
About healthcare systems
ER operator Adeptus, formerly one of DFW's fastest-growing companies, files for bankruptcy: “Adeptus Health LLC, the operator of a network of independent emergency rooms and once considered one of the fastest-growing companies in Dallas-Fort Worth, filed for voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection Dec. 18 in the Northern District of Texas.
The Irving-based company listed assets of roughly $6.8 million and debts of about $278.2 million. The filing's largest creditor was listed as Deerfield Partners LP with an outstanding claim of over $209.9 million.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection typically provides for the liquidation of a business’ assets to satisfy creditor claims…
The company filed for an initial public offering in 2015 and debuted at $22 a share. Within a year, the stock price hit $100 and Adeptus’ market cap neared $1 billion, according to a story in The Texas Lawbook.
In April 2017, however, the ER operator filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Northern District of Texas.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals have been hurting because of a decrease in elective procedures and ancillary charges. Physicians’ offices are likewise hurting because patients are not coming in for followup visits and minor illnesses. However, why should urgent care centers be failing? They are alternatives to hospital ERs for non-emergent illnesses. Details behind the bankruptcy filing would be interesting for a case study.
CommonSpirit to sell 14 hospitals to Essentia Health: “Fourteen hospitals owned by Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health could join Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health as early as this summer.
Under a letter of intent announced Jan. 8, CommonSpirit-owned facilities operating under the CHI Health brand in North Dakota and Minnesota would join Essentia Health. The deal includes a full-service tertiary hospital in Bismarck, N.D., and 13 critical access hospitals. Additionally, all CHI Health associated clinics and living communities would join Essentia Health.”