The 2022 Axios Harris Poll 100 reputation rankings The only pure-play healthcare organization in the top 25 is The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (#13).
About Covid-19
Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 527.28 million, death toll at 6,703,868 “Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.”
For Reuter’s interactive global tracker, click: tmsnrt.rs/2FThSv7.
Risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in households with asthmatic and allergic children. A prospective surveillance study [Preprint] “In a multi-center SARS-CoV-2 surveillance study, conducted among asthmatic/allergic disease cohorts, participants with self-reported asthma were not at increased
risk for infection. However, self-reported food allergy and increasing BMI were associated with decreased and increased risk for infection, respectively.”
Cross-reactive immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is low in pediatric patients with prior COVID-19 or MIS-C “Overall, children and adolescents show some loss of cross-neutralization against all variants, with the most pronounced loss against Omicron. In contrast to SARS-CoV-2 infection, children vaccinated twice demonstrated higher titers against Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron. These findings can influence transmission, re-infection and the clinical disease outcome from emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and supports the need for vaccination in children.”
Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine lawsuit is based on bogus patent “Pfizer and BioNTech told a Delaware federal court that Alnylam filed the lawsuit despite knowing that their vaccine did not infringe its patent on lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology for transporting genetic material.
They argued the patent was invalid and unenforceable…
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Alnylam separately sued Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc in Delaware over their vaccines in March, seeking royalties for the LNP technology the shots use to deliver genetic material known as mRNA.”
J&J, BMS arthritis drugs lowered death risk among hospitalized COVID patients in federal study “The National Institutes of Health (NIH) led a large clinical trial on rheumatoid arthritis drugs in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. While researchers found that the treatments did not significantly shorten recovery time, they did improve clinical status and reduce deaths.”
Read the article for examples. The absolute percentage advantages were small.
Pfizer's Paxlovid reduces COVID risk in seniors regardless of vaccine status -study “Pfizer Inc's antiviral treatment Paxlovid reduces COVID-19 hospitalization and death rates in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients 65 years and older, according to a new study in Israel conducted during the rise of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The treatment, however, was not found to prevent severe illness among younger adults, according to research from Clalit Health Services, Israel's largest healthcare provider.”
About health insurance
Traditional Medicare Spending Fell Almost 6% in 2020 as Service Use Declined Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic From the KFF:
Highlights:
Total spending on Part A and Part B services for traditional Medicare beneficiaries was $348.0 billion in 2020, a decrease of 5.8% ($21.4 billion) from 2019.
Spending per traditional Medicare beneficiary for Part A and Part B services fell 3.6%, or $402, to $10,739 per person in 2020, compared to $11,142 per person in 2019.
The decline in traditional Medicare spending reflects decreases in spending for most types of services, ranging from 0.1% less for durable medical equipment to 13.1% less for procedures, compared to 2019. Only spending on skilled nursing facilities, Part B drugs, and hospice increased in 2020
Use of nearly all types of services by traditional Medicare beneficiaries was lower in 2020 compared to 2019. Only three types of services had increases across all measures of utilization: hospice, dialysis, and Part B drugs. Skilled nursing facilities had lower use but higher spending”
A SUMMARY OF THE 2022 ANNUAL REPORTS from the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees
Based on our best estimates, the 2022 reports determine:
• The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which pays retirement and survivors benefits, will be able to pay scheduled benefits on a timely basis until 2034, one year later than reported last year. At that time, the fund's reserves will become depleted and continuing tax income will be sufficient to pay 77 percent of scheduled benefits.
• The Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund, which pays disability benefits, is no longer projected to be depleted within the 75-year projection period. By comparison, last year's report projected that it would be able to pay scheduled benefits only until 2057.
• The OASI and DI funds are separate entities under law. The report also presents information that combines the reserves of these two funds in order to illustrate the actuarial status of the Social Security program as a whole. The hypothetical combined OASI and DI funds would be able to pay scheduled benefits on a timely basis until 2035, one year later than reported last year. At that time, the combined funds' reserves will become depleted and continuing tax income will be sufficient to pay 80 percent of scheduled benefits.
• The Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund, or Medicare Part A, which helps pay for services such as inpatient hospital care, will be able to pay scheduled benefits until 2028, two years later than reported last year. At that time, the fund's reserves will become depleted and continuing total program income will be sufficient to pay 90 percent of total scheduled benefits.
• The Supplemental Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund is adequately financed into the indefinite future because current law provides financing from general revenues and beneficiary premiums each year to meet the next year's expected costs. Due to these funding provisions and the rapid growth of its costs, SMI will place steadily increasing demands on both taxpayers and beneficiaries.
• For the sixth consecutive year, the Trustees are issuing a determination of projected excess general revenue Medicare funding, as is required by law whenever annual tax and premium revenues of the combined Medicare funds will be below 55 percent of projected combined annual outlays within the next 7 fiscal years. Under the law, two such consecutive determinations of projected excess general revenue consitute a ‘Medicare funding warning.’ Under current law and the Trustees' projections, such determinations and warnings will recur every year through the 75-year projection period.”
Look at Table 6 for some interesting financial dates.
About pharma
Bristol Myers strikes up Roche rivalry with $4.1B Turning Point buy “Eyeing a rivalry with Roche and a new cancer asset slated to hit the markets next year, Bristol Myers Squibb is picking up Turning Point Therapeutics in a $4.1 billion acquisition.
BMS will gain access to repotrectinib, a midstage candidate in testing for first-line lung cancer as a potential competitor to Roche’s Rozlytrek. The Big Pharma landed Turning Point for $76 per share, with both companies’ boards approving the transaction that is slated to close in the third quarter.
About the public’s health
Trends in Annual Sales and Pack Price of Cigarettes in the US, 2015-2021 “From February 1, 2015, to December 26, 2021, the annual number of cigarette packs sold decreased by 27.2%, from 12.5 billion packs to 9.1 billion packs... During this period, dollar sales decreased overall by 6.0%, from $69.8 billion to $65.6 billion…, while prices increased by 29.5%, from $5.57 to $7.22 per pack (AAPC, 4.3%; 95% CI, 4.1% to 4.6%). Menthol cigarettes accounted for 33.0% of total sales in 2021; there was no significant change in this percentage from 2015 to 2021.
From January 26, 2020, to December 26, 2021, annual cigarette pack sales decreased by 7.6% (9.8 billion to 9.1 billion packs); dollar sales decreased by 1.4% ($66.5 billion to $65.6 billion), while prices increased by 6.8% ($6.76 to $7.22 per pack). Menthol share remained stable at 33.0%.”
Bariatric Surgery and Cancer Risk [Editorial] “In summary, bariatric surgery appears to be associated with a decreased risk of incident cancer and cancer mortality. More work needs to be done through large, well-designed studies that would include data on cancer screening, data from tumor registries, more detailed individual patient data, and investigations of the basic mechanisms of effect. If this association is further validated, it would extend the benefits of bariatric surgery to another important area of long-term health and prevention. This additional information could then further guide for whom bariatric surgery is most beneficial.”
Gen Z wants health providers to ask about food, housing, safety and more “More than 1,000 youth aged 14 to 24 answered five open-ended questions via text message in March 2021. Nearly 39% of respondents came from families whose income levels qualified them for free or reduced-price school lunch under national criteria.
The poll asked about housing, food, education, safety and discrimination – all factors that can affect a person’s health in the short and long term, and their ability to seek care and keep up with treatments.
In all, 81% of youth said providers should ask about such factors. Nearly a third said that embarrassment might keep them from seeking help for such issues if they were experiencing them.
In addition, a quarter said they would want providers to offer resources for people with social needs, and a nearly equal percentage said providers should offer information about resources that could assist people with such needs.”
Genetic data indicate at least two separate monkeypox outbreaks underway, suggesting wider spread “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that new genetic sequencing data indicate there are at least two distinct monkeypox outbreaks underway outside Africa — a surprise finding that one official said suggests international spread is wider, and has been occurring for longer than has been previously realized.
Three of 10 viruses the CDC has sequenced from recent U.S. monkeypox cases — two from 2021 and eight from 2022 — are different from the viruses that have been sequenced by several countries involved in the large outbreak that is spreading in and from Europe. That outbreak is currently being driven by infections in gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men.”
About health technology
Abbott plans new wearable sensor for catching diabetic ketoacidosis “Abbott’s proposed new biowearable would continuously track both glucose and ketone levels in a single sensor, helping users catch rising ketones as early as possible, well before it develops into diabetic ketoacidosis.
The sensor—still in development—will be the same size as the FreeStyle Libre 3 device, which boasts a small and thin form factor measuring in with a width of just two stacked pennies.”