About Covid-19
CDC adds Covid-19 vaccinations to immunization schedules for children, adults “The CDC’s vaccination schedule, released Thursday, does not mandate vaccines. States and localities determine which vaccines schools require for students, and all 50 states have medical exemptions for vaccines. Some states also have nonmedical vaccination exemptions for religious or philosophical reasons.”
As the pandemic ebbs, an influential COVID tracker shuts down “The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center plans to cease operations March 10, officials told NPR.”
HHS secretary sends letter to state governors on what’s to come when Covid-19 public health emergency ends A good summary from CNN.
See, also: Fact Sheet: COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Transition Roadmap
About health insurance/insurers
Oscar posts $226M loss in Q4 “Oscar Health reported major gains in total membership but posted a net loss of $606 million in 2022, according to the company's fourth quarter earnings published Feb. 9.”
Twenty-Three Individuals Charged in $61.5 Million Medicare Fraud Schemes “According to court documents, Walid Jamil, 62, and Jalal Jamil, 69, both of Oakland County, owned and operated several home health agencies in the Detroit metropolitan area. They allegedly concealed their ownership interest in these agencies using straw owners – including family members and other associates – and submitted approximately $50 million in fraudulent home health care claims to Medicare. Specifically, Walid and Jalal Jamil allegedly paid bribes to other co-conspirators to recruit patients in violation of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute. These patients did not need home health care, did not qualify for home health care under Medicare rules, and in many instances were not actually provided the care for which Medicare was billed. Walid and Jalal Jamil allegedly entered into quid pro quo relationships with physician clinics to receive the necessary information to fraudulently bill Medicare. Based on their fraudulent claims, Walid and Jalal Jamil received more than $43 million from Medicare, which they misappropriated for their personal benefit.”
Big payers ranked by 2022 profit Yesterday, the payers were ranked by revenue. United tops both lists.
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Rural Health Safety Net Under Renewed Pressure as Pandemic Fades “Over the course of the last 13 years, 143 rural hospitals closed, and research conducted by Chartis indicates that another 453 are vulnerable to closure…”
Among the study’s findings: “Overall, 43% of America’s rural hospitals have a negative operating margin, while 51% of facilities located in states that have resisted or not yet implemented Medicaid expansion are in the red. Our analysis of rural hospital financial performance excludes the influence of measures and relief programs designed to ease the financial burden of the pandemic.”
About pharma
Vertex teases launch plans for first CRISPR gene editing therapy ahead of FDA decision “s Vertex Therapeutics nears completion of a historic FDA submission, the rare disease specialist has depicted a rosy launch picture for what could become the first CRISPR-based gene editing therapy.
Vertex believes a network of about 50 authorized treatments centers in the U.S., and 25 in Europe, should suffice for its sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia gene therapy candidate exagamglogene autotemcel, or exa-cel…”
U.S. government to start imposing inflation penalties on drugmakers in 2025 “Companies that raise prices higher than the inflation rate will be required to pay Medicare the difference in the form of a rebate. Those that fail to pay the rebate will face a penalty equaling 125% of the rebate amount.”
About the public’s health
SHEA/IDSA/APIC Practice Recommendation: Strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections through hand hygiene: 2022 Update Key on Table 1.
Recent Changes in Suicide Rates, by Race and Ethnicity and Age Group — United States, 2021 Latest subject report from the CDC: “After 2 consecutive years of declines in suicide (47,511 in 2019 and 45,979 in 2020), 2021 data indicate an increase in suicide to 48,183, nearly returning to the 2018 peak (48,344) with an age-adjusted rate of 14.1 suicides per 100,000 population (versus 14.2 in 2018).”
Read the rest of the report for more granular data.
The Public Health Fixes That Missed the Omnibus “At the national level, the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill that Congress passed in December 2022 reflects some of what the nation has learned from the pandemic. The legislation responds to several urgent needs, yet only narrowly addresses some of the critical determinants of pandemic preparedness.”
A good summary of what’s in the bill and its potential shortcomings.
About healthcare IT
Congress Told HHS to Set Up a Health Data Network in 2006. The Agency Still Hasn’t. “Public health officials, data specialists, and government auditors said the problems caused by these communications failures could have been minimized had federal health officials followed the order.
They said there are many reasons the system was never created: the complexity of the task and inadequate funding; a federal-first approach to health that deprives state and local agencies of resources; unclear ownership of the project within HHS; insufficient enforcement mechanisms to hold federal officials accountable; and little agreement on what data is even needed in an emergency.
And today, even after the lessons of the pandemic, experts worry that the ideal remains a pipe dream given the number of stakeholders, a lack of federal leadership, and a divided Congress.”
About healthcare finance
NuVasive, Globus Medical ink $3.1B orthopedic device merger, sending investors scrambling “Two long-standing makers of implants and surgical tools for orthopedic procedures are set to combine into a single musculoskeletal device powerhouse.
NuVasive and Globus Medical announced their plans to merge in a joint press release Thursday.”
Abbott to acquire Cardiovascular Systems for $837.6 mln “The deal will help Abbott gain access to CSI’s minimally invasive device to treat blocked arteries.”