About COVID-19
U.S. new COVID cases down 21% in past week, deaths fall from peak: “The United States reported a 21% drop in new cases of COVID-19 last week, as all but one state reported declines in new infections, and the number of coronavirus patients in hospitals also fell.
The country reported 1.2 million new cases in the week ended Jan. 24, down from 1.5 million new cases in the previous week. It was the biggest decline on both a percentage and absolute basis in the past year, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports.”
Disgraced COVID-19 studies are still routinely cited: “In June 2020, in the biggest research scandal of the pandemic so far, two of the most important medical journals each retracted a high-profile study of COVID-19 patients. Thousands of news articles, tweets, and scholarly commentaries highlighted the scandal, yet many researchers apparently failed to notice. In an examination of the most recent 200 academic articles published in 2020 that cite those papers, Science found that more than half—including many in leading journals—used the disgraced papers to support scientific findings and failed to note the retractions…
Both of the retracted COVID-19 papers, one in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and the other in The Lancet, were based on what appeared to be a huge database of patient records compiled from hospitals worldwide by Surgisphere, a small company operated by vascular surgeon Sapan Desai, who was a co-author on each article. The 22 May 2020 Lancet paper ostensibly showed that hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug promoted by former President Donald Trump and others, could harm rather than help COVID-19 patients. Its publication led to a temporary halt in a major clinical trial and inflamed an already-divisive debate over the drug, which has proved to be useless against COVID-19. The 1 May NEJM article corroborated other evidence that people already taking certain blood pressure medicines did not face a greater risk of death if they developed COVID-19.”
White House expected to tell governors they will get more coronavirus vaccine starting next week: “The weekly allocation is forecast to go from about 8.6 million doses to about 10 million doses. The vaccine is distributed on a population basis among 64 jurisdictions, including 50 states, eight territories and six major cities.” And in a related story: Biden says 100-day goal on vaccinations may rise to 150 million instead of 100 million
Johnson & Johnson is 'comfortable' meeting coronavirus vaccine delivery promises, CFO says: “J&J expects to report phase 3 data for its one-dose vaccine by early next week, execs said Tuesday.”
Amid Covid Health Worker Shortage, Foreign-Trained Professionals Sit on Sidelines:”Yet a large, highly skilled workforce of foreign-educated doctors, nurses and other health practitioners is going largely untapped due to licensing and credentialing barriers. According to the Migration Policy Institute think tank in Washington, D.C., some 165,000 foreign-trained immigrants in the U.S. hold degrees in health-related fields but are unemployed or underemployed in the midst of the health crisis.”
Study shows vaccine nationalism could cost rich countries US$4.5 trillion: “A new study commissioned by the ICC [International Chamber of Commerce] Foundation has found that the global economy stands to lose as much as $9.2 trillion if governments fail to ensure developing economy access to COVID-19 vaccines, as much as half of which would fall on advanced economies.
The study clearly demonstrates the economic case to invest in the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, the global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.
While other analyses have highlighted the economic costs of vaccine nationalism, this new study is the first to incorporate both supply and demand shocks, domestic and foreign, at the sector level, for an open economy operating within global supply chains.”
About the public’s health
Supreme Court wipes out lower court rulings in Texas abortion battle: “The Supreme Court handed a victory to advocates of abortion rights Monday, wiping off the books lower court rulings that had upheld a Texas order banning nearly all abortions in the state during the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a halt to nonessential medical procedures in late March to conserve hospital resources and personal protective equipment. Attorney General Ken Paxton then said the order applied to ‘any type of abortions,’ including medication abortions that do not involve surgery.”
About health insurance
Five New Guilty Pleas In Nationwide Telemedicine Pharmacy Health Care Fraud Conspiracy: “[Yesterday,] Larry Everett Smith, 50, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty before Senior District Judge Ronnie Greer to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud… Smith faces a term of up to 10 years in prison.
The First Superseding Indictment, returned December 1, 2020, charged Smith and others with a nationwide conspiracy to defraud pharmacy benefit managers out of $174,202,105 by submitting $931,356,936 in bills to the pharmacy benefit managers for fraudulent prescriptions purchased from a telemarketing company. The indictment alleges the conspiracy began in mid-2015 and lasted through the first months of 2018.”
Blues plans' high-performance network [HPN] saving 11% on care compared to PPO: ”BCBSA said 45 companies have signed on to offer the Blue HPN plan to employees, reaching 55 markets and 340,000 potential members.
The plan is the only HPN available in the 10 largest U.S. cities, BCBSA said.”
Biden admin has more than $1B in unspent funds to help bolster ACA exchanges: “The Trump administration may have accumulated more than $1 billion in unspent user fee funds that can be used to bolster the Affordable Care Act (ACA) if President Joe Biden starts a special enrollment period, a new analysis finds.
The analysis, released Monday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, outlined ways the Biden administration could improve sign-ups for the ACA’s insurance exchanges, especially as job losses from the COVID-19 pandemic have spurred interest in the exchanges.
Biden is reportedly going to sign an executive order Thursday that will initiate a new open enrollment for the ACA…”
About hospitals and health systems
Most Hospitals Expanding ASC [Ambulatory Surgery Center] Investments: “In two years, the number of hospitals owning or affiliating with more than one ASC jumped 17 percentage points. In 2020, 75% of hospitals with 200-plus beds have more than one ASC. Payer pressures and other market forces have softened hospitals’ historically defensive posture toward ASCs, paving the way for overall growth, lower operating costs and heightened patient satisfaction.”
The Cost of Quarantine: Projecting the Financial Impact of Canceled Elective Surgery on the Nation's Hospitals: The latest study of COVID-19 related hospital losses:
“National revenue loss due to major elective surgery cessation was estimated to be $22.3 billion (B). Recovery to market equilibrium was conserved across strata and influenced by pre- and post-COVID capacity utilization. Median recovery time was 12-22 months across all strata. Lower pre-COVID utilization was associated with fewer months to recovery.”
Through a $500 Million Partnership with the State of Ohio, JobsOhio and Ohio Development Services Agency, Cleveland Clinic Forms Global Center for Pathogen Research & Human Health: “Headquartered in Cleveland and spanning Cleveland Clinic’s international footprint in Florida, London and Abu Dhabi, the Global Center for Pathogen Research & Human Health will bring together a research team focused on broadening understanding of viral pathogens, virus-induced cancers, genomics, immunology and immunotherapies. It will expand upon Cleveland Clinic’s existing programs and expertise, with newly recruited world leaders in immunology, cancer biology, immune-oncology and pathogen research as well as technology development and education. Researchers will expand critical work on studying, preparing and protecting against public health threats such as HIV/AIDS, Dengue fever, Zika and COVID-19.”