About Covid-19
ICER panel finds Paxlovid evidence 'more persuasive' than for Lagevrio “The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) on Tuesday said its appraisal committee voted by a margin of 11-2 that currently available evidence is ‘not adequate’ to show Merck & Co.'s oral COVID-19 drug Lagevrio (molnupiravir) offers a net health benefit over symptomatic care alone. By contrast… ICER said all 13 appraisal committee members agreed that current evidence is adequate to demonstrate a net health benefit when Paxlovid is compared to symptomatic care alone…”
16 national healthcare organizations urge HHS to continue public health emergency ”The American Hospital Association and 15 other national healthcare organizations are calling on HHS to maintain the COVID-19 public health emergency.
In a May 10 letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, the organizations cited the continued risk from COVID-19 variants, as well as rising case rates in the U.S.”
About health insurance
Oscar Health leaves two states due to regulatory and commercial issues “Oscar Health will leave Colorado and Arkansas in pursuit of profitability, company executives said during their first-quarter earnings report…
The announcement comes as the insurance company continues to aim for its insurance division to be profitable by next year.
In the first quarter, Oscar Health reported a net loss of $77.3 million, down from $88.1 million in the same period last year. The company more than doubled its annual revenue to $972.7 million.”
Clover Health gears up for another $300M capital raise “The announcement that Clover Health is seeking outside investment comes after the startup posted a $578.8 million loss last year. In 2021, the company lost over $4,500 per member, the most among commercial public insurance companies…
During the first quarter, Clover Health spent all premiums received by members on medical expenses, with a medical loss ratio reaching 100.”
Calif. Health Care Workers Convicted In $18.5M Billing Scheme “A California jury has convicted three health care workers for their roles in an $18. 5 million scheme to defraud the state's Medicaid program by seeking reimbursement for bogus drug counseling for middle and high schoolers, the U. S. Department of Justice announced.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Advocate Aurora to merge with North Carolina hospital chain in blockbuster deal, relocate HQ “Chicago’s largest health care provider Advocate Aurora Health has agreed to merge with a Charlotte-based hospital chain in a deal that will create the fifth-largest hospital chain by revenue in the country and, in the process, relocate Advocate Aurora’s headquarters to Charlotte, N.C…
The combined entity would be named Advocate Health but each provider will continue to be known by their current names in their respective markets. Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., will be Advocate Health’s affiliated academic institution.”
AdventHealth posts $417.7M loss in Q1 “Although revenue was up, so were AdventHealth's expenses. In the first quarter of 2022, AdventHealth saw its expenses grow to $3.72 billion, up from $3.23 billion recorded in the same period in 2021…
’The increased expense is primarily a result of elevated premium and contract labor costs and wage inflation resulting from workforce shortages,’ AdventHealth stated in its financial report. ‘The system continues to implement workforce stabilization plans to reduce turnover and temporary labor utilization.’”
The Financial Effects of Hospital Workforce Dislocation: A Fact Base A special report from KaufmanHall:
”Following are some of our key findings:
◾ Nationally, hospital labor expenses increased by more than one-third from pre-pandemic levels
◾ The largest increases were in the South and West, while the highest expense levels consistently were in the West and Northeast/Mid-Atlantic
◾ Contract labor as a percentage of total labor expenses increased more than five times the rate from pre- pandemic levels
◾ As of March 2022, the median wage rate for contract nurses had risen to more than three times that of employed nurses
◾ In the first three months of 2022, hospitals saw dramatic declines in YTD operating margin in a perfect storm of expense, volume, and revenue pressures attributable largely to the effects of COVID”
About pharma
Takeda swings to loss in fourth quarter “Takeda explained that the loss in the quarter was partly due to higher cost of sales and R&D expenses, while the year-earlier figure was boosted by gains from the sale of its consumer-healthcare business. In the three-month period, cost of sales rose 21.7% to JPY 308.4 billion ($2.4 billion), with R&D expenses climbing 26.8% to JPY 143.6 billion ($1.1 billion).
Revenue: JPY 873.3 billion ($6.7 billion), up 13.4%
Loss: JPY 11.4 billion ($88 million), versus profit of JPY 197.1 billion ($1.5 billion) in the prior year”
Product details are also mentioned.
Cerebral changes online ads in the midst of overprescribing allegations The saga continues…”Telehealth startup Cerebral adjusted its marketing and advertising strategies to reflect the suspension of controlled substance prescriptions for new patients after allegations of overprescribing by providers surfaced…
Cerebral said it will update the language on its advertisements, review its existing promotional efforts and form a committee — composed of clinical and brand team members — to review paid social media ads.
According to a social media tracking firm PranifyRx, the company posted 110 Facebook ads and 220 Instagram ads on May 9.”
AbbVie unit, Teva poised to pay $5 billion to resolve opioid suits ”Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Allergan Plc are willing to pay more than $5 billion combined to resolve more than 3,500 lawsuits filed against them over highly addictive opioid painkillers, according to three people familiar with settlement talks….
While Teva and Allergan indicated a willingness to settle, no formal offer has been made or finalized, and talks are continuing, according to the people.”
Israel sues Teva for $100m Copaxone royalties “The State of Israel today filed a lawsuit in the Lod District Court for $100 million against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. claiming that the company violated the statre's rights by not paying royalties for multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone.
Copaxone was developed by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, while its marketing rights belong to Teva. Initially Teva marketed the drug in daily doses but close to the expiration of the patent of the active ingredient, the company filed a patent request for a longer interval dosage. The state clams that the longer interval dosage was developed by breakthrough research by Weizmann institute researchers who are neurologists at government hospitals, and therefore rights for the research belong to the state.”
About the public’s health
U.S. surpasses record 100,000 overdose deaths in 2021 “More Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021 than any previous year, a grim milestone in an epidemic that has now claimed 1 million lives in the 21st century, according to federal data released Wednesday.
More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, up 15 percent from the previous year, according to figures released Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics. The soberingtally reflects challenges exacerbated by the pandemic: lost access to treatment, social isolation and a more potent drug supply.”
Vital Signs: Changes in Firearm Homicide and Suicide Rates — United States, 2019–2020 From the CDC: “The firearm homicide rate in 2020 was the highest recorded since 1994 (1). However, the increase in firearm homicides was not equally distributed. Young persons, males, and Black persons consistently have the highest firearm homicide rates, and these groups experienced the largest increases in 2020. These increases represent the widening of long-standing disparities in firearm homicide rates. For example, the firearm homicide rate among Black males aged 10–24 years was 20.6 times as high as the rate among White males of the same age in 2019, and this ratio increased to 21.6 in 2020. Although the overall firearm suicide rate remained relatively unchanged between 2019 and 2020, young persons and some racial/ethnic minority groups experienced increases in firearm suicide. Notably, the largest increase occurred among AI/AN persons, resulting in this group having the highest firearm suicide rate as of 2020…
The findings of this study do not support causal inferences, and reasons for increasing rates and widening inequities are unclear and potentially complex.”
Screening for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary DiseaseUS Preventive Services Task Force Reaffirmation Recommendation Statement “The USPSTF recommends against screening for COPD in asymptomatic adults. (D recommendation)”
The unhealthiest county in each US state | 2022 And The healthiest county in each US state | 2022 Both FYI
Fertility Rates: Declined for Younger Women, Increased for Older Women “The analysis, which looked at Census Bureau and National Center for Health Statistics data, shows fertility rates of women ages 20-24 declined by 43%, while those of women ages 35-39 increased by 67% during the roughly 30-year period.”
About healthcare IT
HHS doles out $16.3M in telehealth funding for Title X family planning program “The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) doled out $16.3 million in new grant funding to help support an expansion of telehealth for Title X family planning clinics…
The funding, passed as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, will go toward 31 stakeholders that will help improve telehealth capacity across family planning clinics in 26 states, HHS said in a release. The funding will run for a 12-month period and is part of a larger goal by the Biden administration to improve maternal health and the family planning safety net.”
Consumer telehealth and wellness brand Hims & Hers ups 2022 revenue outlook driven by strong Q1 growth “Business is booming for consumer telehealth and wellness brand Hims & Hers as the company charted 94% revenue growth in the first quarter, surpassing $100 million during one quarter for the first time…”
After more rosy reporting, 10 paragraphs later the article notes:
”But the digital health company is still not profitable and reported a net loss of $16 million for the first quarter of 2022 compared to a loss of $51 million for the same period a year ago…
For 2022, the company also maintains its projection of adjusted EBITDA for the year in the range of a loss $30 million to a loss of $20 million.”
HHS IDs 5 most prolific cybergangs targeting healthcare FYI
About health technology
Mirvie’s Preeclampsia Test Designated an FDA Breakthrough Device “The test is based on the company’s RNA screening platform, which is designed to predict the risk of complications by revealing the underlying biology of each pregnancy.
Preliminary research showed that the Mirvie RNA platform can identify 75 percent of women who go on to develop preeclampsia, months before symptoms occur, the company said.”
FTC orders Medtronic to sell off Intersect ENT subsidiary in antitrust review “Staying true to its pledge to crack down on potentially anticompetitive megamergers in the healthcare industry, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has ordered Medtronic and Intersect ENT to adjust the terms of their acquisition deal before finally tying it off.
According to this week’s order (PDF), while Medtronic is now cleared to proceed with its purchase of Intersect, it must sell off Fiagon, the latter's subsidiary, within 10 days of closing the acquisition.”