About Covid-19
‘The more you submit, the more we get paid’: How fintech fueled covid aid fraud A great piece of investigative journalism.
About health insurance/insurers
Assessment of Churn in Coverage Among California’s Health Insurance Marketplace Enrollees “Findings In this cross-sectional study of 5.4 million enrollees in California’s health insurance marketplace, from 2014 through 2021, many had short enrollment tenures, with a median tenure of 14 months. Survey data from 6474 members who terminated coverage in 2018, 2019, or 2021 indicated that most churn was associated with changes in eligibility; most disenrolled individuals took up other types of coverage (46% through an employer and 24% through Medicaid), with only 14% going uninsured.
Meaning This study found that health insurance marketplace churn was largely the result of changes in eligibility to other sources of coverage rather than enrollees taking up coverage only when they needed care, suggesting that marketplaces should adopt policies to smooth the high volume of coverage transitions among its enrollees.”
Trends in and Factors Contributing to the Slowdown in Medicare Spending Growth, 2007-2018 “Findings In this analysis of individual-level Medicare spending data of more than 30 million beneficiaries, 44% of the decline in per-beneficiary spending growth from 2012 to 2015 and 63% from 2016 to 2018 could be attributed to lower increases in payment rates, sequestration measures, and shifts in beneficiary characteristics.
Meaning Continued attention to Medicare payment policies and how to target them appropriately will be needed to maintain slow spending growth and extend the Medicare program’s sustainability.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Trinity Health weathers $565M net loss, -2.9% operating margin to start its 2023 fiscal year “Revenue growth from Trinity Health’s recent MercyOne acquisition wasn’t enough to outpace volume struggles and rising expenses during the Catholic health giant’s first fiscal quarter of 2023.
Thursday, the 88-hospital system reported a $146.3 million operating loss (-2.9% operating margin) and a $565 million net loss for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2022. The organization had notched a $106.3 million operating gain and a $378.8 million net profit at this time last year.”
About pharma
Comparison of Uptake and Prices of Biosimilars in the US, Germany, and Switzerland “Findings This cohort study found that fewer biosimilars entered the market in the US between 2011 and 2020 compared with Germany and Switzerland and on average, the biosimilar market share at launch was highest in Germany yet increased at the fastest rate in the US. Monthly treatment costs of biosimilars were substantially higher in the US compared with Germany and Switzerland.
Meaning These findings suggest that policies aimed against anticompetitive practices could allow biosimilars to enter the US market more quickly and could result in overall lower costs and that awareness of biosimilars should be promoted to increase uptake of biosimilars globally.”
About the public’s health
Biden administration poised to lift monkeypox emergency declaration “The Biden administration plans to end the public health emergency for monkeypox, officials said Friday, as new cases of the viral disease plummet.
Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services issued a 60-day notice to lift the emergency declaration, which had gone into effect in August.”
On World AIDS Day, Biden administration releases new global strategy to end HIV/AIDS by 2030 “On World AIDS Day, the Biden administration renewed its focus on ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030, releasing a new five-year strategy for the United States’ global response.
The administration said Thursday it is accelerating its response to HIV/AIDS with new global goals including reaching key treatment targets across ages, genders and population groups; supporting UNAIDS targets to reduce new HIV infections; and closing equity gaps for certain groups, including adolescent girls, young women and children.
About healthcare IT
Telehealth department dissolving, Marshfield Clinic Health System facing financial difficulties “Another department within the Marshfield Clinic Health System has been dissolved as of Thursday. The Telehealth team of 18 employees was told in a meeting Oct. 27 that their positions were being eliminated due to “business reasons,” effective Dec. 1.”