About Covid-19
Nanoparticle Vaccine Protects Against a Spectrum of COVID-19-causing variants and Related Viruses “Betacoronaviruses, including those that caused the SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 pandemics, are a subset of coronaviruses that infect humans and animals. The vaccine works by presenting the immune system with pieces of the spike proteins from SARS-CoV-2 and seven other SARS-like betacoronaviruses, attached to a protein nanoparticle structure, to induce the production of a broad spectrum of cross-reactive antibodies. Notably, when vaccinated with this so-called mosaic nanoparticle, animal models were protected from an additional coronavirus, SARS-CoV, that was not one of the eight represented on the nanoparticle vaccine.”
COVID-19 Vaccination Activates Antibodies Targeting Parts of Virus Spike Protein Shared Between Coronaviruses “Could the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine reawaken previous antibody responses and point the way to a universal coronavirus vaccine? A new analysis of the antibody response to a COVID-19 vaccine suggests the immune system’s history with other coronaviruses, including those behind the common cold, shapes the patient’s response, according to a study published today in Cell Reports.
Led by scientists at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), part of City of Hope, and Northern Arizona University (NAU), a research team found that the vaccine generates antibodies that target regions of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that are unique to the new virus, while also targeting regions of the protein that are shared or conserved among many coronaviruses.
What’s more, the antibody response to these different coronaviruses appears to follow different paths. Over the course of 140 days following vaccination, the response to common cold coronaviruses started early but diminished over time. The response to SARS-CoV-2 continued to get stronger and stronger over time.”
About health insurance
Claims Denials and Appeals in ACA Marketplace Plans in 2020 “We find that, across HealthCare.gov insurers with complete data, about 18% of in-network claims were denied in 2020. Insurer denial rates varied widely around this average, ranging from less than 1% to more than 80%.
CMS requires insurers to report the reasons for claims denials at the plan level. Of denials with a reason other than being out-of-network, about 16% were denied because the claim was for an excluded service, 10% due to lack of preauthorization or referral, and only about 2% based on medical necessity. Among 2% of claims identified as medical necessity denials, 1 in 5 were for behavioral health services. Most plan-reported denials (72%) were classified as ‘all other reasons’, without a specific reason.
As in our previous analysis of claims denials, we find that consumers rarely appeal denied claims and when they do, insurers usually uphold their original decision. In 2020, HealthCare.gov consumers appealed just over one-tenth of 1% of denied in-network claims, and insurers upheld most (63%) of denials on appeal.”
Children's Uninsurance Fell between 2019 and 2021, but Progress Could Stall When Pandemic Protections Expire From The Urban Institute: “We find the following:
Children’s uninsurance rates were relatively stable between early 2019 and early 2021, according to both the NHIS and the CPS [National Health Interview Survey and the Current Population Survey]. Recent NHIS data suggest a decline in uninsurance among children between early and late 2021; no data are yet available for this period from the CPS.
Overall, the NHIS indicates a decline in the annual uninsurance rate among children from 5.1 percent in 2019 to 4.1 percent in 2021, which translates to about 700,000 fewer uninsured children.
Both survey and administrative data sources suggest public coverage increased among children between early 2019 and early 2021.
The NHIS indicates a significant 4.9 percentage-point increase in public coverage and a roughly corresponding decline in private coverage over the period.
Changes in coverage on the CPS are much smaller in magnitude and not statistically significant but suggest offsetting public coverage gains and private coverage losses between March 2019 and March 2021.
Administrative data show that approximately 4 million more children were enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP in March 2021 than in March 2019.
Administrative data indicate further gains in Medicaid/CHIP and Marketplace enrollment among children between early 2021 and early 2022.”
Drivers of 2023 Health Insurance Premium Changes From the American Academy of Actuaries: “Key Points
Although COVID-19-related costs may be more predictable and
the worst days of the pandemic appear to be over, there is still uncertainty regarding whether new variants will evade immunity and cause a resumption in more serious health problems.The expiration of the ARPA enhanced premium subsidies will likely cause a decline in enrollment and a worsening of the risk pool, leading to higher premiums.
Medicaid redeterminations could cause an influx of people into the individual market, potentially improving the risk pool and lowering the premiums somewhat. Any effects would
be less than those caused by the expiration of ARPA subsidies.
Inflation may have some effect on provider costs, but because provider payments lag inflation, real effects might not occur until later plan years. Nevertheless, workforce shortages could put upward pressure on provider payment rates.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
The Best Hospitals in America Yet another ranking. This one from Money magazine and the Leapfrog Group.
About pharma
AstraZeneca to shell out $1.27B for biotech company TeneoTwo “Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has offered up to $1.265 billion to acquire TeneoTwo and the biotech company's lymphoma research currently in a phase 1 trial.
In a July 5 press release, AstraZeneca said TeneoTwo's ‘promising" T-cell engager is designed to redirect the immune system to "recognize and kill cancer cells.’”
After its own vaccine flop, CureVac sues Pfizer partner BioNTech for patent infringement “A year after a high-profile flop with its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CureVac is still trying to get a piece of the action.
On Monday, the company revealed that it is suing fellow German mRNA pioneer BioNTech for infringement of its intellectual property by developing the Pfizer-partnered COVID shot Comirnaty.
CureVac said it has no intention of disrupting the production, sale or distribution of BioNTech's megablockbuster vaccine with an injunction. Instead, the Tubingen-based company wants recognition and compensation for the technology it developed—beginning with work more than two decades ago—which it says was essential in BioNTech’s creation of its successful shot.”
About the public’s health
Labcorp launches monkeypox PCR tests through CDC initiative “…Labcorp announced Wednesday that it will begin testing for the viral disease using the CDC’s orthopoxvirus test, which Labcorp helped validate for the agency. The PCR test is designed to detect all non-smallpox-related orthopoxviruses, a group that includes cowpox, horsepox and camelpox, along with monkeypox.”
FDA temporarily suspends order banning Juul cigarettes “The Food and Drug Administration issued an administrative stay Tuesday on the order it issued last month for vaping company Juul to pull its electronic cigarettes from the market.
The agency said on Twitter that the stay temporarily suspends the marketing denial order while it conducts further review, but does not rescind it.”
Trends and Disparities in Cardiometabolic Health Among U.S. Adults, 1999-2018 Between 1999 and 2000 and 2017 and 2018, U.S. cardiometabolic health has been poor and worsening, with only 6.8% of adults having optimal cardiometabolic health, and disparities by age, sex, education, and race/ethnicity. These novel findings inform the need for nationwide clinical and public health interventions to improve cardiometabolic health and health equity.”
About healthcare IT
Watson Health, under new investment firm ownership, is reborn as Merative “Investment firm Francisco Partners celebrated the close of its IBM Watson Health assets acquisition by announcing the launch of a new standalone data analytics company.
Called Merative, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based business aims to offer its health data services to clients ranging from providers, health plans and employers to life sciences firms, imaging companies and government entities, according to the announcement.”
Machine Learning–Based Models Incorporating Social Determinants of Health vs Traditional Models for Predicting In-Hospital Mortality in Patients With Heart Failure “In this cohort study, ML models developed in the Get With The Guidelines–Heart Failure (GWTG-HF) registry using race-specific and race-agnostic approaches were associated with an improvement in the prediction of in-hospital mortality after hospitalization for HF compared with the existing and rederived logistic regression models. The addition of SDOH was associated with an improvement in the performance and prognostic utility of the ML models in Black patients but not in non-Black patients.”
About healthcare personnel
HHS awards more than $155M for primary care training expansion “The HHS announced more than $155 million in awards for primary care and dental residency programs through the Health Resources and Services Administration, or HRSA.”