Justice Breyer helped the Supreme Court save most of Obamacare: With Justice Breyer’s announcement that he is stepping down from the Supreme Court, this article is a great summary of his contributions to healthcare jurisprudence.
About Covid-19
Development and Validation of a Treatment Benefit Index to Identify Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 Who May Benefit From Convalescent Plasma: “This prognostic study of 2287 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 identified a combination of baseline characteristics that predict a gradation of benefit from CCP compared with treatment without CCP. Preexisting health conditions (diabetes, cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases), blood type A or AB, and earlier stage of COVID-19 were associated with a larger treatment benefit.” And in a related article: Association of Convalescent Plasma Treatment With Clinical Status in Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19A Meta-analysis: “This meta-analysis found no association of CCP [COVID-19 convalescent plasma] with better clinical outcomes for the typical patient.”
Federal vaccination mandate begins for healthcare workers in 25 states: “Healthcare workers in 25 states face their first deadline Jan. 27 to comply with the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
Per CMS, providers in the District of Columbia, the U.S. territories and 25 states must ensure staff have received at least one shot, have a pending request for an exemption, have been granted a qualifying exemption, or have been identified as having a temporary delay as recommended by the CDC, by Jan. 27. They also must ensure their employees are fully vaccinated by Feb. 28.”
3rd dose of Pfizer kids’ COVID-19 vaccine gets CPT code: Important not only for billing but also tracking number of doses given:
”0073A—Immunization administration by intramuscular injection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (coronavirus disease [COVID-19]) vaccine, mRNA-LNP, spike protein, preservative free, 10 mcg/0.2 mL dosage, diluent reconstituted, tris-sucrose formulation; third dose”
Another Major COVID Testing Company — Which Got $186 Million From The Feds — Is Under Investigation As Complaints Pile Up: “O’Hare Clinical Lab has been reimbursed more than $186 million from the federal government for testing and treatments since the start of the pandemic. The company is based in Chicago and its suburbs, and it has more than 100 locations across the United States.”
U.S. vaccine donations have now topped 400 million, White House to announce: “The latest donations will begin shipping Thursday through the Covax global vaccine sharing program, with nearly 3.2 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine going to Bangladesh and nearly 4.7 million doses going to Pakistan, according to the official. With the latest shipment, more than 47.4 million doses will have been sent to Pakistan, more than any other country in the U.S. donation program, the official said.”
Some Americans are hesitant about Covid vaccines. But they’re all-in on unproven treatments: “Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has refused to say whether he’s received a booster shot. He’s suggested, misleadingly, that Covid-19 vaccines cause infertility. He hired a surgeon general who has questioned the data surrounding vaccines and called those who refuse to be immunized ‘brave.’
But when it comes to experimental Covid therapeutics, DeSantis and his government are all-in — even when outside researchers, the Food and Drug Administration, and the medicines’ own manufacturers say they don’t work…
The Florida controversy underscores a bizarre phenomenon: That while largely baseless vaccine hesitancy has hindered the U.S. pandemic response, Americans are tripping over themselves to take therapeutics that are experimental, expensive, and ineffective — precisely the characteristics that anti-vaccine advocates falsely ascribe to Covid immunizations, which are proven, free, and effective.”
About health insurance
Sign-ups in Affordable Care Act marketplaces reach record 14.5 million: “About 14.5 million Americans have signed up to get health coverage this year through Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces, eclipsing the previous record enrollment by nearly 2 million…
Five state-run marketplaces plus the District’s are still open for consumers to buy health coverage for 2022. And three states and the District have created special enrollment periods that will allow uninsured residents longer to sign up for ACA coverage.”
HHS TO AUDIT PRF-FUNDED HOSPITALS FOR BALANCED BILLING COMPLIANCE: “Healthcare providers and hospitals that received funding from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) will be audited for their compliance of the balanced billing requirement (or "surprise billing"), a requirement they must follow to receive the funds.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
HCA posts $7B annual profit, plans to add 8 hospitals : “The 182-hospital system reported revenue of $15.1 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, up from $14.3 billion in the same period of 2020. The for-profit hospital operator said same-facility admissions, emergency room visits and outpatient surgeries increased year over year, while inpatient surgeries declined.
After factoring in expenses and nonoperating items, HCA's net income in the fourth quarter of 2021 totaled $1.8 billion, up from $1.4 billion in the same quarter a year earlier….
HCA has 47 hospitals in Florida and plans to start building three more this year. The company announced in November that it is building a 90-bed hospital in Gainesville, a 100-bed hospital in Fort Myers and a 60-bed hospital near the Villages. The three hospitals will be part of HCA Florida Healthcare.
The company plans to expand its 45-hospital footprint in Texas by buildingfive more.”
About pharma
Prescription Drugs: Spending, Use, and Prices: The latest update from the CBO (even though data only goes to 2018). Too many findings to summarize, but if you have been keeping track of the sector, no real surprises. The summary statement:
”Nationwide spending on prescription drugs increased from $30 billion in 1980 to $335 billion in 2018. (All estimates of drug spending and prices in this report are expressed in 2018 dollars.) Over that period, real per capita spending on prescription drugs increased more than sevenfold: from $140 to $1,073. That increase in spending was driven by the development and use of many types of drugs that have yielded myriad health benefits. Because of those health benefits, some drugs, such as those that treat cardiovascular conditions, are associated with reductions in spending on services provided by hospitals and physicians. Other types of drugs, such as those that treat multiple sclerosis or cancer, may not offer such compensating savings, but they have improved the lives of those with chronic conditions and have also extended life.”
About the public’s health
National Diabetes Statistics Report: These latest statistics from the CDC are staggering:
“Diabetes
Total: 37.3 million people have diabetes (11.3% of the US population)
Diagnosed: 28.7 million people, including 28.5 million adults
Undiagnosed: 8.5 million people (23.0% of adults are undiagnosed)
Prediabetes
Total: 96 million people aged 18 years or older have prediabetes (38.0% of the adult US population)
65 years or older: 26.4 million people aged 65 years or older (48.8%) have prediabetes”
About healthcare IT
Venture capital firm launches $75M telehealth-focused fund: Venture capital firm Swiftarc Ventures launched Swiftarc Telehealth, a $75 million fund that will focus on telehealth and digital health…
The fund is set to work collaboratively with medical experts on its advisory board to focus on obesity, mental and behavioral health, and pediatrics.”
Maker Of $295 Prescription Video Game For Kids With ADHD To Go Public In Palihapitiya-Led SPAC Deal: “The deal, expected to close in mid-2022, values the 10-year old company around $1 billion, and will bring Akili public through a merger with blank check company Social Capital Suvretta Holdings Corp. I. Akili is the second target company identified for a series of four biotechnology-focused SPACs launched in June 2021 by former Facebook executive and “SPAC King” Palihapitiya and Kishen Mehta, a portfolio manager at Suvretta Capital Management. The first, ProKidney, which is developing a cell therapy for chronic kidney disease, was announced last week.”
About healthcare personnel
New report calls for global action plan to address nursing workforce crisis and prevent an avoidable healthcare disaster: “A new report has revealed how the COVID-19 pandemic has made the fragile state of the global nursing workforce much worse, putting the World Health Organization’s (WHO) aim of Universal Health Coverage at serious risk. It suggests up to 13 million more nurses will be required over the next decade, the equivalent of almost half of the world’s current 28 million-strong workforce.”
About health technology
GSK kicks off trials of pioneering ‘bioelectronic’ disease treatment: “GlaxoSmithKline has treated the first patient with a bioelectronic implant that modifies nerve signals to organs in the body’s core, as part of a joint venture to treat chronic diseases with Google sister company Verily. The UK drugmaker and US life sciences company formed Galvani Bioelectronics in 2016 to create implants that can precisely target nerves to specific organs and can stay inside a patient for the rest of their life. A Scottish patient was the first to receive an implant as part of two early stage trials to treat rheumatoid arthritis in the UK and the US. In keyhole surgery lasting just under an hour, a small device was placed in the torso via the navel. The device is attached to the inside of the body wall, where it can be controlled wirelessly by an app.”