About Covid-19
EU body endorses Pfizer, BioNTech's updated COVID booster “The European Medicines Agency's (EMA) drug advisory panel has recommended Pfizer and BioNTech's updated COVID-19 vaccine, which is tailored to the new Omicron XBB.1.5 variant. The endorsement by the EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) puts the Comirnaty jab on track to become the third adapted shot by the two companies to be approved in the EU bloc.
The recommendation is for the updated vaccine to be given as a single dose to those who are at least five years old, regardless of COVID vaccination history. In addition, children from six months to four years of age may have one or three doses depending on whether they have completed a primary vaccination course or have had COVID-19.”
About health insurance/insurers
Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker Update from KFF. Highlights:
— “At least 5,504,000 Medicaid enrollees have been disenrolled as of August 29, 2023, based on the most current data from 47 states and the District of Columbia. Overall, 38% of people with a completed renewal were disenrolled in reporting states while 62%, or 9.0 million enrollees, had their coverage renewed (three of the reporting states do not provide data on renewed enrollees). Because not all states have publicly available data on total disenrollments, the data reported here undercount the actual number of disenrollments.
—There is wide variation in disenrollment rates across reporting states, ranging from 72% in Texas to 8% in Wyoming
—Across all states with available data, 74% of all people disenrolled had their coverage terminated for procedural reasons”
Healthcare billing fraud: 10 recent cases FYI. All involve federal payers.
About pharma
Providers can now see patients' insurance coverage in GoodRx's cost comparison tool “GoodRx has launched a new feature to allow healthcare professionals to see the cost of a patient’s prescription with their insurance.
The real-time benefit check (RTBC) feature was developed in collaboration with AssistRx, a specialty therapy initiation and patient solutions provider. The RTBC surfaces a patient’s coverage and benefits at the point of care with the goal of increasing price transparency and access to drugs. It also includes whether a prior authorization is required.”
About the public’s health
Opioid overdose antidote Narcan will be available over the counter in coming days “The opioid overdose antidote Narcan will be available to purchase over the counter in a few days, making it the first treatment of its kind available to the public without a prescription.
In a statement Wednesday, Narcan manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions announced the first batch of the nasal spray has ‘officially’ shipped to leading drug stores, pharmacies, groceries and online retailers.
The original version of the prescription-strength naloxone 4-milligram nasal spray, whose brand name is Narcan, will be available beginning in September. The suggested retail price for the two-dose package of Narcan is $44.99.”
Emerging group of synthetic opioids may be more potent than fentanyl, study warns “A group of novel synthetic opioids emerging in illicit drugs in the United States may be more powerful than fentanyl, 1,000 times more potent than morphine, and may even require more doses of the medication naloxone to reverse an overdose, a new study suggests.
Nitazenes are a synthetic opioid, like fentanyl, although the two drugs are not structurally related. In the small study published Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open most of the patients who overdosed on nitazenes received two or more doses of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, whereas most patients who overdosed on fentanyl received only a single dose of naloxone.”
US health officials look to move marijuana to lower-risk drug category “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended easing restrictions on marijuana, a department spokesperson said on Wednesday, following a review request from the Biden Administration last year.
Nearly 40 U.S. states have legalized marijuana use in some form, but it remains completely illegal in some states and at the federal level. Reclassifying marijuana as less harmful than drugs like heroin would be a first step toward wider legalization, a move backed by a majority of Americans.”
Blood and Urinary Metal Levels among Exclusive Marijuana Users in NHANES (2005–2018) “Our results suggest marijuana is a source of cadmium and lead exposure. Research regarding cannabis use and cannabis contaminants, particularly metals, should be conducted to address public health concerns related to the growing number of cannabis users.”