About Covid-19
Covid is still a leading cause of death as the virus recedes “Federal health officials say that covid-19 remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States, tied to about 250 deaths daily, on average, mostly among the old and immunocompromised.
Few Americans are treating it as a leading killer, however — in part because they are not hearing about those numbers, don’t trust them or don’t see them as relevant to their own lives.”
About health insurance/insurers
Health insurance CEOs set another record for pay in 2022 “In 2022, the CEOs of the seven major publicly traded health insurance and services conglomerates — CVS Health, UnitedHealth Group, Cigna, Elevance Health, Centene, Humana, and Molina Healthcare — combined to make more than $335 million, according to a STAT analysis of annual financial disclosures. That was 18% more than the record from 2021. High-flying stock prices again fueled a vast majority of the gains.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Hospital Price Transparency Enforcement Updates CMS is no longer offering amnesty and grace periods for hospitals that are not in compliance. See Updates to Enforcement Processes at the bottom of the announcement.
Atrium Health reports $105M operating loss in 2022 “ Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health reported a $105.2 million 2022 operating loss — compared with a $311 million gain in 2021.
The system, with 27 acute care facilities, reported 2022 operating expenses of $7.8 billion, 8.3 percent higher than 2021. Of that total, personnel costs accounted for $4.6 billion, 7.3 percent higher than 2021.
Overall, the system reported a $1.1 billion loss in 2022, largely mirroring a 2021 net income of $1.1 billion.”
About pharma
FDA Approves First Orally Administered Fecal Microbiota Product for the Prevention of Recurrence of Clostridioides difficile Infection “Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Vowst, the first fecal microbiota product that is taken orally. Vowst is approved for the prevention of recurrence of Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) infection (CDI) in individuals 18 years of age and older, following antibacterial treatment for recurrent CDI.”
Efficacy and Safety of Low-Dose Triple and Quadruple Combination Pills vs Monotherapy, Usual Care, or Placebo for the Initial Management of Hypertension “This systematic review and meta-analysis of 7 trials enrolling 1918 patients found that low-dose combination antihypertensives were more efficacious than monotherapy, usual care, or placebo in terms of mean blood pressure reduction and achieving blood pressure target. Low-dose combinations were also well tolerated but were associated with higher rates of dizziness than monotherapy or usual care.”
Comment: The “old teaching” was that single doses should be titrated up before adding a second medication or switching to a different chemical class. A more approach is based on the finding that low doses of multiple medications may work better and have fewer side effects. However, insurance companies that often operate by algorithms would question this approach.
Alzheimer’s: Medicare will cover Leqembi for all patients if FDA approves drug, CMS chief says This decision is important because it can have a significant effect on Medicare premiums.
Earnings reports released today: Merck, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, AbbVie, Sanofi, Bristol Myers, and Baxter International.
And in a related article: Drugmakers scout for deals, ramp up research spending
EU publishes proposed drug laws overhaul, setting up tussle with industry “Brussels on Wednesday published a long-awaited draft of its proposed overhaul of laws governing the European Union's pharmaceuticals industry, setting up a tussle with drugmakers which warn they will invest and innovate elsewhere.
The biggest overhaul of existing medical laws in two decades is aimed at ensuring all Europeans have access to both innovative new treatments and generic drugs, and ending huge divergences in access and price between countries…
The Commission proposes to cut the length of basic market exclusivity that drugmakers get before generics can enter the market to eight from 10 years.
But it also offers a sweetener for companies: they get two more years of protection if they launch their new medicines in all 27 member states within two years.”
Comment: As is the case in the US, drugmakers claim the changes will stifle innovation and threaten to “invest and innovate elsewhere.” If the US, EU and UK are of similar minds, where do these companies think they will go? Some possibilities: Ireland, Israel and South Korea.
About the public’s health
Interactive US Maps of Noise Exposure See the interactive map. Rates of exposure vary by state, age and sex.
Cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections “This update adds a further 26 studies taking the total number of studies to 50 with 8857 participants. These data support the use of cranberry products to reduce the risk of symptomatic, culture‐verified UTIs in women with recurrent UTIs, in children, and in people susceptible to UTIs following interventions. The evidence currently available does not support its use in the elderly, patients with bladder emptying problems, or pregnant women.”
About healthcare IT
Teladoc posts $69M net loss for Q1 “Telehealth company Teladoc reported a net loss of $69.2 million for the first quarter of 2023.
The company's first-quarter revenue reached $629 million, up 11 percent from the first quarter of 2022, according to an April 26 news release from Teladoc.”
Amazon killing off its Halo fitness and health tracking devices“Amazon is scrapping its Halo fitness tracker device, a setback for a company long known for having its finger on the pulse of what consumers desire. The e-commerce company said on Wednesday it will stop supporting the devices effective July 31...
Amazon is winding down its fitness and health tracking brand just three years after launching it. At the time, the company billed the products and services as "AI-powered health tools" that that could monitor activity and sleep, measure body fat, and provide users with information about their health.
But Amazon faced significant competition in the fitness and health tracking segment from companies including Apple, Garmin and Google-owned Fitbit.”
About healthcare finance
Quest Diagnostics pens $450M deal for cancer detection startup Haystack Oncology “The clinical testing giant plans to acquire Baltimore-based Haystack for its technology to detect minimal residual disease by catching the early signs of a solid tumor’s recurrence by sifting out small pieces of cancer DNA floating in the bloodstream.
The deal includes $300 million in upfront cash, plus an additional $150 million should Haystack’s tests achieve certain performance milestones. Quest said it expects the deal to close by the end of June.”