About health insurance/insurers/costs
2023 retiree health care cost estimate: Expected to ‘stay flat’ from 2022 “Limits to out-of-pocket prescription drug costs outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will temporarily offset the overall inflationary trend of health care costs for retirees for the first time in nearly a decade. According to Fidelity Investments’ 2023 Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate, a 65-year-old retiring this year can expect to spend an average of $157,500, or $315,000 per couple, in health care and medical expenses throughout retirement, unchanged from the firm’s 2022 estimate. That estimate is nearly double the firm’s 2002 estimate of $80,000 in health care expenses per retiree.”
Centene posts $1.06B profit in Q2 “Centene recorded $1.06 billion in net income in the second quarter of 2023 after recording a $172 million loss over the same period last year, according to the company's earnings report released July 28.”
Authority of Medicare to Limit Coverage of FDA-Approved Products Conservatives have recently challenged regulatory bodies’ legality to carry out laws. One recent case they successfully prosecuted before the US Supreme Court death with the EPA. This article deals with CMS’ regulatory rights. The discussion is expanded in the accompanying editorial: Statutory Authority for Medicare Coverage Decisions—CMS Is an Independent Federal Agency
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Essentia, Marshfield Clinic to form 25-hospital system in Midwest Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health and Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic Health System have signed an integration agreement to form a 25-hospital regional health system across four states.
The health systems announced the integration agreement July 27. In October 2022, the systems said they were in merger discussions and had signed a memorandum of understanding.”
Sanford, Fairview halt merger “Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health and Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services have hit the breaks on their merger after multiple delays.
The merger, which would have created a 50-hospital health system with around 78,000 employees, has faced challenges since it was announced in November 2022. The two systems hoped to finalize the merger in March, but the transaction was extended while the Minnesota Attorney General reviewed the plan. Sanford aimed to invest $500 million in Fairview, which owns the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis.
The university, state government, nurses unions and taxpayers have opposed the merger, wanting assurance the move would keep the local community's best interest in mind.
About pharma
Weight loss drug market will reach $77B by 2030: Morgan Stanley “Morgan Stanley analysts predict the weight loss drug market will hit $77 billion by 2030, MarketScreener reported July 21.
The financial services firm had previously estimated the market size by 2030 would be $54 billion, but surging demand for the medications led it to raise its forecast.
According to the report, Novo Nordisk's Wegovy may have already hit $7 billion in sales this year if there were no supply shortages for the drug.”
About the public’s health
Tick-linked meat allergy may be far more common than previously known “Up to 450,000 people in the United States may have developed a rare and potentially life-threatening tick-associated allergic condition that is triggered when eating red meat, according to federal health data released Thursday.
Alpha-gal syndrome, sometimes known as red-meat allergy, is caused when a tick bites a person and injects a sugar molecule found in its saliva. In some people, that sugar causes an allergic reaction, which can be further triggered by eating red meat, including beef, pork and lamb, because the meat also contains the sugar, known as alpha-gal. Other food products from mammals, such as cow’s milk, other dairy products and gelatin, can also cause allergic reactions. The reactions range from mild, such as hives and itchy rash, to more severe, including difficulty breathing and drops in blood pressure. (Alpha-gal is not found in fish, reptiles, birds or people).”
Congress authorizes overhaul of troubled organ transplant system “Congress approved a thorough revamp of the troubled U.S. organ transplant system Thursday, providing health officials with the authority to break monopoly control of the way kidneys, livers, lungs and other organs are delivered to sick patients.
For 37 years, one nonprofit organization, the United Network for Organ Sharing, has held the federal contract to run the system, relying on a 1986 law that blocked almost all competition. With a unanimous vote Thursday night, the Senate rewrote the law to let the federal Health Resources and Services Administration break that stranglehold and solicit bids from other for-profit and nonprofit groups.
The House approved the same measure Tuesday. President Biden is expected to sign it.”
CDC Provisional Data: Gun Suicides Reach All-time High in 2022, Gun Homicides Down Slightly from 2021 “Newly released provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that gun death rates in 2022 remained near highs not seen since the mid-90s and, in addition, rates have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Guns remained the leading cause of death for children and teens in 2022. The rate of gun deaths among this group climbed 87% in the last decade (2013-2022). The data also showed gun violence continuing to have a disproportionate impact on Black children and teens, who have a gun homicide rate 20 times higher than their white counterparts. Additionally, the nation’s overall gun suicide rate increased 1.6%, reaching an all-time high, and for the first time, the gun suicide rate among Black teens surpassed the rate among white teens.”
About healthcare IT
New SEC rule requires public companies to disclose 'material' data breaches in 4 days “The Securities and Exchange Commission has pulled back the curtain on a new final rule that requires public companies to disclose within four days all cybersecurity breaches that could impact their bottom lines.
The final rule adopted Wednesday starts the clock once “a registrant determines that a cybersecurity incident is material,” but can be bumped back should the U.S. Attorney General determine that immediately disclosing the breach “would pose a substantial risk to national security or public safety,” the SEC wrote in its announcement.
Also included is a new annual disclosure in which public companies must describe their cybersecurity processes, directors’ and management’s oversight of such risks and the impacts of previous cybersecurity incidents. Similar disclosures will be required for foreign private insurers.”
Preparing for the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11) in the US Health Care System A really good update on the ICD.
About health technology
White House launches precision surgery initiative as part of ‘cancer moonshot’ effort “The Biden administration is launching a new initiative aimed at helping surgeons to distinguish and remove cancer cells without damaging surrounding tissue, in an effort to improve health outcomes for cancer patients.
The initiative is the first cancer-focused program under the administration’s multi-billion-dollar Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), and just its second program overall. It’s paired with the administration’s “cancer moonshot,” which aims to cut the cancer death rate in half by 2047.”
About healthcare finance
Biogen to acquire Reata Pharmaceuticals for $7.3 billion “Biogen has agreed to acquire Reata Pharmaceuticals for $7.3 billion, it was announced on Friday. The acquisition is the largest in Biogen's history and first since Christopher Viehbacher was appointed as CEO late last year with a mandate to return the company to growth. Biogen will pay a 59% premium over Reata's closing share price on Thursday.
In February, Reata secured FDA approval for Skyclarys (omaveloxolone), the first and only treatment for Friedreich’s ataxia in the US and regulatory review of the drug in the European Union is ongoing.
Commercial launch of Skyclarys in the US market is ongoing having previously been delayed by a number of months due to a manufacturing issue, Reata said in May.”
7 Healthcare Private Equity Trends to Know An excellent overview by BDO. I was especially interested in one finding: “ESG assessments are integral to getting deals done. PE firms are evaluating ESG risk before making investment decisions. Eighty-four percent of respondents investing in healthcare say they have declined an investment opportunity because of ESG concerns. Surprisingly, respondents were more likely to report turning down an investment opportunity for environmental (33%) or governance (33%) reasons than for social reasons (26%). This may be due to the healthcare industry’s focus on the “S” in ESG via improving health equity, making them more advanced in social areas than governance and environmental. Overall, healthcare leaders need to recognize that private equity investors are looking for evidence of sound ESG practices as part of their criteria for evaluating investment opportunities.”