About Covid-19
How Accurate Are At-Home Covid Tests?: A good summary that answers the headline question.
NETWORK OF RIGHT-WING HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS IS MAKING MILLIONS OFF HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE AND IVERMECTIN, HACKED DATA REVEALS: “America’s Frontline Doctors, a right-wing group founded last year to promote pro-Trump doctors during the coronavirus pandemic, is working in tandem with a small network of health care companies to sow distrust in the Covid-19 vaccine, dupe tens of thousands of people into seeking ineffective treatments for the disease, and then sell consultations and millions of dollars’ worth of those medications. The data indicate patients spent at least $15 million — and potentially much more — on consultations and medications combined.”
Merck says research shows its COVID-19 pill works against variants: “ Laboratory studies show that Merck & Co's experimental oral COVID-19 antiviral drug, molnupiravir, is likely to be effective against known variants of the coronavirus, including the dominant, highly transmissible Delta, the company said on Wednesday.
Since molnupiravir does not target the spike protein of the virus - the target of all current COVID-19 vaccines - which defines the differences between the variants, the drug should be equally effective as the virus continues to evolve, said Jay Grobler, head of infectious disease and vaccines at Merck.
Molnupiravir instead targets the viral polymerase, an enzyme needed for the virus to make copies of itself.”
Avanos medical to pay $22 million to resolve criminal charge for fraudulent misbranding of PPE: “Avanos Medical Inc, which as its U.S. headquarters in Alpharetta, Georgia, is charged with one count of introducing misbranded surgical gowns into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead.
According to the Department of Justice, the company knowingly falsely labeled its MicroCool surgical gowns as providing AAMI Level 4 protection (the highest level) against fluid and virus penetration. Under the standards set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), the highest protection level for surgical gowns is reserved for gowns intended to be used in surgeries and other high-risk medical procedures on patients suspected of having infectious diseases.
Avanos admitted to selling hundreds of thousands of MicroCool gowns that were falsely labeled as AAMI Level 4 between late 2014 and early 2015, as well as directly lying to customers about the gowns’ protective capacities. In total, Avanos sold almost $9 million of misbranded MicroCool gowns.”
About health insurance
Medicare Advantage premiums are $2 lower per month in 2022: “The average premium for Medicare Advantage plans will be lower in 2022 at $19 per month, compared to $21.22 in 2021, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
However, Part D coverage is rising to $33 per month, compared to $31.47 in 2021.
The agency released the 2022 premiums, deductibles and other key information for Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans in advance of the annual Medicare open enrollment.”
Majority of U.S. voters approve of giving Medicare drug price negotiation authority: “The [Morning Consult and Politico] poll found that 56% of registered voters either strongly or somewhat supported a drug pricing proposal that would allow for Medicare to negotiate drug prices for some products but could result in fewer drugs being introduced to the market.”
Opt-Out Litigants Fight BCBS' $2.67B Antitrust Settlement: “Individuals who opted out of Blue Cross Blue Shield's $2. 67 billion antitrust settlement have filed their own suit in Florida federal court, saying the deal doesn't compensate health plan subscribers enough for the Sherman Act violations they've alleged. The BCBS Association and Blues plans in regional markets reached the landmark agreement last year to resolve a massive antitrust case in Alabama federal court, but the deal is still awaiting the final stamp of approval from a judge in that district.”
Physical Therapists And 2 Acupuncturists Charged In Over $20 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme: “U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: ‘As alleged, the defendants perpetrated a multimillion-dollar health care fraud scheme in which they billed Medicare and other insurers for physical therapy and acupuncture services that were either not rendered in the manner purported or not rendered at all…’”
ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting: From CMS for FY 2022
(October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2022). For those of you who are involved with billing/coding it is an essential document.
About healthcare quality
Low-Value Care at the Actionable Level of Individual Health Systems: ”This cohort study measured and reported the use of 41 individual low-value services and a composite measure of 28 services for 556 health systems serving a total of 11 637 763 Medicare beneficiaries across the US. Systems varied widely in the provision of low-value care; those with a smaller proportion of primary care physicians, without a major teaching hospital, serving a larger proportion of non-White patients, headquartered in the South and West, and serving areas with higher health care spending delivered more low-value care.”
About pharma
Eli Lilly Lowers Price of Insulin Again: “Eli Lilly has announced that it will drop the list price of its Insulin Lispro Injection by 40 percent in the U.S. as of Jan. 1, bringing the drug’s list price down to 2008 levels.
The move would bring down the price of Insulin Lispro Injection to $82.41 for individual vials and $159.12 for a pack of five pens. This, the company said, is 70 percent less than the Lispro injection’s Humalog U-100 competitors…
Lilly said most people using Insulin Lispro Injection are unlikely to see a change in what they pay for their monthly prescription because they have fixed insurance co-pays or already use one of Lilly’s affordability programs. The greatest benefit, the company said, will be seen by people who face higher out-of-pocket costs, such as those without insurance and those with high deductible plans or co-insurance.”
About healthcare IT
Individuals’ Access and Use of Patient Portals and Smartphone Health Apps, 2020: From the ONC report issued this month:
“HIGHLIGHTS:
About six in 10 individuals nationwide were offered access to their patient portal and nearly 40 percent accessed their record at least once in 2020.
Nearly four in 10 patient portal users accessed their portal through a smartphone health app in 2020.
Individuals encouraged by their health care provider to use their patient portal accessed and used their portal at higher rates compared to those not encouraged.
About a third of patient portal users downloaded their online medical record in 2020 – this proportion has nearly doubled since 2017.”