About Covid-19
BB variant's arrival won't cause a new deadly COVID surge, officials hope “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed Friday it is now tracking a new COVID-19 variant of concern around the U.S. known as XBB, which has grown to make up an estimated 3.1% of new infections nationwide.
The strain's prevalence has grown furthest so far in the Northeast, according to the agency's weekly estimates. More than 5% of infections in the regions spanning New Jersey through Maine are linked to XBB…”
Twitter ends its ban on covid misinformation “Twitter will no longer enforce its policy against coronavirus misinformation, worrying experts who say the move could have serious consequences in the midst of a still-deadly pandemic.”
About health insurance/insurers
AHIP says Medicare Advantage audit reports 'fail to provide context' “AHIP is pushing back on claims that Medicare Advantage plans are overcharging the government.
In a Nov. 28 press release, the trade association rebutted a Nov. 21 story from Kaiser Health News detailing CMS audits of Medicare Advantage plans conducted between 2011 and 2013.
The audits showed some plans overbilled an average of more than $1,000 per patient per year…
In the release, AHIP said the CMS audit process relies on physician records and suggested the agency create an ‘open, transparent and collaborative’ process for oversight.”
Humana shuttering most SeniorBridge home care locations “SeniorBridge offers services at 23 centers in nine states. The facilities in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Virginia will close, while seven sites in New York will remain in operation ‘until further notice,’ the Humana spokesperson wrote in an email.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
How Elevance Health is working with NCQA and Harvard to advance its health equity work “Elevance Health, formerly Anthem, announced that 21 of its affiliated Medicaid plans earned full three-year accreditation for health equity from NCQA. The health equity accreditation provides an actionable framework to guide and evaluate organizations' health equity work, according to the nonprofit organization.
The accreditation was earned by Elevance Health affiliates in 20 U.S. states.”
The Health Equity accreditation is a relatively new NCQA process.
Cleveland Clinic's net losses reach $1.5B so far in 2022 “Cleveland Clinic has reported a more than $1 billion loss for the first nine months of 2022 as salaries increase and inflationary pressures mount.
The 20-hospital health system reported $469.2 million in third quarter net losses, a significant drop from $422.2 million net income last year. Cleveland Clinic's investment returns were nearly $682 million lower for the third quarter this year than last due to ‘unfavorable financial markets,’ according to the health system's financial report.
For the nine month's end, Cleveland Clinic reported $1.5 billion net loss compared to nearly $1.7 billion net income over the same period last year.”
About the public’s health
Meal Skipping and Shorter Meal Intervals Are Associated with Increased Risk of All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality among US Adults “In this large, prospective study of US adults aged 40 years or older, eating one meal per day was associated with an increased risk of all-cause and CVD mortality. Skipping breakfast was associated with increased risk of CVD mortality, whereas skipping lunch or dinner was associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality. Among participant with three meals per day, a meal interval of ≤4.5 hours in two adjacent meals was associated with higher all-cause mortality.”
CDC awards over $3 bln to strengthen U.S. public health infrastructure “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday it is awarding more than $3 billion to help strengthen public health workforce and infrastructure across the United States after the COVID-19 pandemic put severe stress on them.
The public health agency's funding includes $3 billion from the American Rescue Plan announced by President Joe Biden's administration last year, and would cover all state, local and territorial health departments across the country.
It also includes $140 million from a new appropriation to those jurisdictions and an award of $65 million to three public health entities to help provide training and technical assistance.”
Trends and Disparities in Firearm Fatalities in the United States, 1990-2021 “In this cross-sectional study of 1 110 421 firearm fatalities, all-intent firearm fatality rates declined to a low in 2004, then increased 45.5% by 2021. Firearm homicides were highest among Black non-Hispanic males, and firearm suicide rates were highest among White non-Hispanic men ages 70 years and older.”
Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report “Five influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported this week, for a total of 12 pediatric flu deaths reported so far this season.
CDC estimates that, so far this season, there have been at least 6.2 million illnesses, 53,000 hospitalizations, and 2,900 deaths from flu.
The cumulative hospitalization rate in the FluSurv-NET system is higher than the rate observed in week 46 during every previous season since 2010-2011.”
Trends in Stage I Lung Cancer “Highlights:
The percentage of patients diagnosed with stage I lung cancer is increasing
This trend is observed in non-small cell lung cancer but not in small cell lung cancer
The staging shift may be due to lung cancer screening and a higher detection of incidental lung nodules
There are significant imbalances in the percentages of stage I lung cancer according to demographic characteristic”
About health technology
THE BEST INVENTIONS OF 2022 From Time magazine. Many of the inventions are healthcare relayed.