About Covid-19
WHO says independent panel of experts is evaluating evidence on new COVID variants to determine whether vaccines need to be updated “Members of the agency’s Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition, an independent group of experts, outlined the process in a commentary in Nature Medicine journal, in which they agreed the vaccines are still offering a high level of protection against severe disease caused by all of the variants, including omicron, which is dominant globally.”
Veklury (Remdesivir) Reduced Risk of Mortality in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients Across all Variant Time Periods in a Real World Study of More than 500,000 Hospitalized Patients “Two studies analyzed clinical practice information from the U.S. Premier Healthcare databases of more than 500,000 adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The overall analysis examined all-cause inpatient mortality rates at 14- and 28- days and demonstrated that initiation of Veklury within the first two days of hospital admission was associated with a statistically significant lower risk for mortality in all oxygen levels compared to matched controls that did not receive Veklury during their hospitalization for COVID-19. For patients with no documented use of supplemental oxygen at baseline, treatment with Veklury was associated with a 19% (p<0.001) lower risk of mortality at Day 28. Patients on low-flow or high-flow oxygen also had a 21% (p<0.001) and 12% (p<0.001) lower risk of mortality at Day 28, respectively. Patients on invasive mechanical ventilation/ECMO at baseline had a 26% (p<0.001) reduced risk for mortality at Day 28. These findings were observed throughout all variant time periods, including Omicron, in patients who did not require supplemental oxygen and across all levels of supplemental oxygen use, including those on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV)/ECMO.”
About health insurance/insurers
CMS data: Medicare Advantage enrollment now more than 31M “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its latest look at enrollment in the MA program, which showed that nearly 30.9 million people had enrolled in MA plans, with most choosing plans that have prescription drug coverage. In addition, 308,881 people are enrolled in commercial Medicare-Medicaid plans, according to the data.
By comparison, about 29.1 million people had such coverage in February 2022, for a year-over-year increase of 7.1%. The 2023 data represent 776 MA contracts, up from 740 a year ago.
Enrollment in standalone prescription drug plans was 22.5 million, bringing total enrollment in private Medicare coverage to 54 million.”
See, also, this Chartis report: In a Shifting Market, Medicare Advantage Shows Continued—but Decelerating—Growth
CMS now accepting applications for extended bundled payment program “CMS began accepting applications Feb. 21 for its Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced model.
Through May 31, acute care hospitals, physician groups and Medicare ACOs can apply to participate in the value-based program for two years beginning in January.”
About the public’s health
Pfizer RSV vaccine that protects infants could receive FDA approval this summer “KEY POINTS
The FDA is reviewing Pfizer’s RSV vaccine on an expedited basis and will make a decision on whether to clear the shot by August.
The single-dose vaccine is administered to expectant mothers in the late second to third trimester of their pregnancy.
The antibodies triggered by the shot are passed to the fetus, and they protect the infant from RSV after birth.”
About healthcare IT
Hospital Price Transparency: Progress And Commitment To Achieving Its Potential A great review of the topic by authors from CMS. One highlight to show the current program status: “As of January 2023, CMS had issued nearly 500 warning notices and over 230 requests for corrective action plans since the initial implementing regulation went into effect in 2021. Nearly 300 hospitals have addressed problems and have become compliant with the regulations, leading to closure of their cases. While it was necessary to issue penalties to two hospitals in 2022 for noncompliance (posted on the CMS website), every other hospital that was reviewed has corrected its deficiencies.”
A multi-site randomized trial of a clinical decision support intervention to improve problem list completeness “The CDS [clinical decision support] was highly effective at improving problem list completeness. However, the improvement in problem list utilization was not associated with improvement in the quality measures. The lack of effect on quality measures suggests that problem list documentation is not directly associated with improvements in quality measured by National Committee for Quality Assurance Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (NCQA HEDIS) quality measures. However, improved problem list accuracy has other benefits, including clinical care, patient comprehension of health conditions, accurate CDS and population health, and for research.”
About healthcare personnel
Board Rules that Employers May Not Offer Severance Agreements Requiring Employees to Broadly Waive Labor Law Rights The NLRB “issued a decision in McLaren Macomb, returning to longstanding precedent holding that employers may not offer employees severance agreements that require employees to broadly waive their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The decision involved severance agreements offered to furloughed employees that prohibited them from making statements that could disparage the employer and from disclosing the terms of the agreement itself.”
About health technology
White House opts not to veto ITC ruling in favor of AliveCor in ECG patent battle with Apple “A potential import ban on the Apple Watch is still on the table as an International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling against the technology cleared presidential review this month.
Rulings such as the late December one between Apple and AliveCor—which determined the built-in ECG technology within some Apple Watches infringes on AliveCor’s own patented portable ECG devices—can be vetoed by the White House within 60 days. In this case, the Biden administration has allowed the ruling to stand, AliveCor announced this week.”
Philips Sees Another Ventilator Recall Deemed Class I “The FDA has identified a recall for certain reworked Philips Trilogy and Garbin ventilators as Class I, the most serious type of recall, as use of these devices can cause serious injuries or death…
This recall is for two potential issues. The adhesive used to attach the silicone sound abatement foam installed to replace PE-PUR foam may fail and potentially block the airpath. Philips also found some residual PE-PUR sound abatement foam in some reworked ventilators, which poses potential health risks.”
About healthcare finance
Amazon says it has completed $3.49 billion deal for One Medical “ Amazon.com Inc. says it has completed its purchase of One Medical parent 1Life Healthcare Inc., sealing the $3.49 billion acquisition after the US Federal Trade Commission declined to challenge it.
The deal gives the e-commerce giant a network of primary-care doctors, Amazon’s biggest move to date into the health care industry. One Medical operates more than 200 medical offices in 26 markets in the US. Customers pay a subscription fee for access to its physicians and digital health services.”