About health insurance
Health Care Sharing Ministries: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: John Oliver discusses how these Ministries are NOT insurance.
Impact of High-Deductible Health Plans on Emergency Department Patients With Nonspecific Chest Pain and Their Subsequent Care: The finding of reduced visit rates with these plans contrasts with older data that said copays do not dissuade emergency visits for heart attacks. Perhaps study differences are due to population selection or perceived severity of illness. Also, in the past, many plans waived out-of-pocket expenses if the patient was admitted.
CMS expanding home health value-based purchasing model nationwide in January 2022: “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule Monday that accelerates the shift from paying for home health services based on volume to a system that gives incentives to home health agencies for higher quality care.The CY 2022 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) proposed rule outlines nationwide expansion of the home health value-based purchasing (HHVBP) model, which was
developed as a pilot by CMS' innovation arm and began in January 2016.”
About Covid-19
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines induce persistent human germinal centre responses: Another research article that provides evidence of long-lasting immunity from the MRNA vaccines.
Three in 10 Americans Think Pandemic Is Over in U.S.: From Gallup:
“29% say pandemic is done; 71% say it is not
62% say lives "somewhat" back to normal; 54% say lives not disrupted now
40% do not expect their lives will ever be normal again”
Masks upgrade cuts infection risk, research finds: “The quality of face masks healthcare workers wear makes a huge difference to their risk of coronavirus infection, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust research has found.
Wearing a high grade mask known as an FFP3 can provide up to 100% protection.
By contrast, there is a far greater chance of staff wearing standard issue surgical masks catching the virus.”
New face mask prototype can detect Covid-19 infection: “Engineers at MIT and Harvard University have designed a novel face mask that can diagnose the wearer with Covid-19 within about 90 minutes. The masks are embedded with tiny, disposable sensors that can be fitted into other face masks and could also be adapted to detect other viruses.
The sensors are based on freeze-dried cellular machinery that the research team has previously developed for use in paper diagnostics for viruses such as Ebola and Zika. In a new study, the researchers showed that the sensors could be incorporated into not only face masks but also clothing such as lab coats, potentially offering a new way to monitor health care workers’ exposure to a variety of pathogens or other threats.”
Mixing Pfizer, AstraZeneca vaccines generates strong immune response against COVID-19: study: “Efficacy findings released Monday from the University of Oxford-led Com-COV trial suggest that mixed COVID-19 vaccine schedules using Pfizer/BioNTech's Comirnaty (BNT162b2) and AstraZeneca's Vaxzevria induced ‘high concentrations of antibodies’ against the SARS-CoV-2 spike IgG protein when given four weeks apart. ‘This means all possible vaccination schedules involving [these two] vaccines could potentially be used against COVID-19,’ the authors said after the results were published on The Lancet pre-print server.”
About pharma
: “Available exclusively through Walmart’s private ReliOn brand, the new offering includes analog insulin vials ($72.88) and FlexPen® ($85.88). These products will save customers between 58% to 75% off the cash price of branded analog insulin products, which translates to a savings of up to $101 per branded vial or $251 per package of branded FlexPens®.
The new private label ReliOn™ NovoLog® Insulin (insulin aspart) injection, manufactured by Novo Nordisk, is available in Walmart pharmacies this week, and Sam’s Club pharmacies in mid-July across the United States. ReliOn™ NovoLog® is a rapid-acting insulin analog used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes. Customers will need a prescription in order to purchase the products and should always consult with their doctor regarding their diabetes management.”
Four biotech companies are forming a coalition to advocate for manufacturing pharmaceutical products within the United States: “The Securing America’s Medicines and Supply coalition (SAMS) is composed of Coherus BioSciences, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Zymergen and iRemedy Healthcare Companies. The group aims to boost the U.S. supply chain while also fostering cooperation with U.S. allies to ‘near shore’ pharmaceuticals and medical supplies.”
About healthcare IT
How to Measure the Value of Virtual Health Care: “…the American Medical Association (AMA) and Manatt Health, a legal and consulting firm, have developed a framework for assessing the value of digitally enabled care…
The framework describes several environmental variables that impact distinct value streams, which collectively seek to capture the overall value derived from a specific digitally-enabled model. The environmental variables include practice type, payment arrangement, patient population, clinical use case, and virtual care modality…
Next, the framework includes six value streams: clinical outcomes, quality and safety; access to care; patient and family experience; clinician experience; financial and operational impact; and health equity. The impact of a digitally-enabled-care model should be measured on all these value streams — a Balanced Scorecard approach, if you will, to measuring and realizing the full potential of virtual care.”
About the public’s health
Current Gaps in Breast Cancer Screening Among Asian and Asian American Women in the United States: ”In the United States, recent data demonstrate that the burden of breast cancer among Asian women has increased each year over the past decade. We aim to characterize challenges faced by Asian and Asian American women in the United States related to cultural stigma, socio-economic status, and overall access to breast cancer care. An increased understanding of barriers to breast cancer prevention and treatment efforts is needed to develop more effective strategies aimed at reducing disparities in care among segments of this heterogenous population.'“
About physicians
COVID-19’s Impact On Acquisitions of Physician Practices and Physician Employment 2019-2020: This report, prepared by Avalere, confirms the continued trend of corporate acquisition of physician practices. Among the findings:
—48,400 additional physicians left independent practice and became employees of hospitals or other corporate entities – 22,700 of that shift occurred after the onset of COVID-19
—This represents a 12% increase in the percentage of employed physicians over the two-year study period
—Hospital and other corporate entities acquired 20,900 additional physician practices over the two-year period, resulting in a 25% increase in corporate-owned practices”
At the end of 2020, 69.3% of physicians were employed by hospitals or other corporate entities.