About Covid-19
CDC Data: New Weekly COVID Hospitalizations Climb 9% “Coronavirus hospital admissions increased nearly 9% during the week ending in Sept. 2, according to the data. With over 18,800 new hospitalizations recorded that week, the latest COVID-19 wave is no doubt still rising.
But it’s a notably smaller percentage increase from the week prior, when hospitalizations jumped nearly 16%. It could be a sign that the latest increase is starting to plateau.”
FDA signs off on updated COVID vaccines “Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna on Monday obtained an FDA nod for their updated COVID-19 vaccines, which target the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant, amid an uptick in hospitalisations and concern about the spread of several new strains. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to follow up on Tuesday with an advisory meeting to discuss who should get the new shots, and once a final decision is made by the CDC's director, millions of doses will be shipped to pharmacies, clinics and health systems nationwide within days.”
C.D.C. Recommends New Covid Vaccines for All Americans “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended on Tuesday that all Americans 6 months and older receive at least one dose of the latest Covid shots, the last of a trifecta of vaccines intended to prevent another surge in respiratory infections this fall and winter.”
US pharmacy chains gear up to administer updated COVID shots “U.S. drugstore chains CVS Health and Walgreens Boots Alliance said on Wednesday that updated COVID-19 vaccines would be available at their stores as soon as this week.”
US CDC says existing antibodies can work against new COVID variant The headline is the story.
Fraudsters may have stolen $1 of every $7 in covid jobless aid, watchdog finds “Fraudsters may have stolen as much as $135 billion in federal unemployment aid during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report released Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office, which found the theft encompassed roughly one out of every seven dollars set aside for jobless Americans during the public health crisis.”
About health insurance/insurers
This Obamacare disaster had a surprising turnaround “Obamacare’s co-ops were once arguably the landmark health care law’s biggest failure.
The federal government pumped $2.4 billion into 24 nonprofit insurers in an effort to stoke competition in the nascent health care markets. Within four years, almost all had collapsed, hemorrhaging red ink and leaving tens of thousands of patients in the lurch.
But a decade after the tumultuous launch of the Obamacare markets, there are three unlikely survivors with robust enrollment growth, providing much-needed competition in sparsely populated parts of the country with older demographics that aren’t particularly attractive to commercial insurers.”
Comment: The article is worth reading in its entirety.
National gym chain to limit hours for Medicare members “In a statement shared with Becker's, a Life Time spokesperson said the changes were implemented after reimbursement rate negotiations with Medicare fitness benefit administrators.
Beginning in January 2024, Life Time members who receive their memberships through Medicare benefits will be able to use the clubs from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays, after 2 p.m. on Saturdays, and all day on Sundays.”
Comment: Many Medicare eligibles also work. How does this change benefit their health?
About hospitals and healthcare systems
World's Best Specialized Hospitals 2024 FYI (From US News)
Ascension reports $3B annual operating loss St.Louis-based Ascension, one of the largest health systems in the country, has reported a full-year operating loss of $3 billion on revenue of $28.35 billion, compared with an $879.2 million loss on $27.98 billion in revenue last year, according to recently released financial documents.
The $3 billion figure includes $1.5 billion of nonrecurring losses and impairment in the fiscal year ending June 30. That $1.5 billion figure compares with a gain of $26 million in 2022.
Expenses rose 4.1 percent over the previous year to total $29.9 billion. Salaries and wages decreased 2.5 percent to total $11.8 billion.”
Fitch: Healthcare's runaway labor costs slow down, allowing hospitals to ease off contract labor “Citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data and conversations with its rated nonprofit systems, the report highlights three and four consecutive months of decelerating year-over-year hourly earnings growth for the hospital and ambulatory sub-sectors.
For hospitals specifically, the measure has dropped from a pandemic high of 8.4% and a 2023 high of 5.15% to July’s 3.75%—all of which are still above the 2.3% average of the past decade…”
2023 Perspectives on Value-Based Care Interesting report from the Terry Group. One of the many findings is: “Healthcare system participants worry that significant obstacles are holding back VBC. Sixty-one percent of respondents say that reluctance to assume downside risk is a very significant factor in slowing VBC’s growth, 51 percent say that the requirement to prove near-term ROI is, and 47 percent say that ongoing administrative costs are.”
About pharma
Another round of Medicare Part B drugs capped by inflation rebates “A third set of Medicare Part B prescription drugs will cost up to $618 less per average dose beginning Oct. 1, announced the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The policy, which applies to 34 drugs until Dec. 31, is possible through the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It works through reducing coinsurance for beneficiaries with Part B coverage and discouraging drug companies from increasing prices faster than inflation, according to a release.”
New York Attorney General Signs Deal With Novo Nordisk to Cap Insulin Prices for Uninsured “New York Attorney General Letitia James has secured a five-year agreement with Novo Nordisk to cap the price of insulin at $35 per month for uninsured New Yorkers, as reported in Morningstar.
The agreement comes four months after James' office secured the same deal with Eli Lilly and Sanofi.
In March, Novo Nordisk said it would cut the US list prices for several insulin drugs by up to 75% amid pressure to curb diabetes-treatment costs.
A provision from earlier this year under the Inflation Reduction Act capped Medicare patients' copays or other out-of-pocket spending on insulin at $35 a month.”
Venous thromboembolism with use of hormonal contraception and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs]: nationwide cohort study “NSAID use was positively associated with the development of venous thromboembolism in women of reproductive age. The number of extra venous thromboembolic events with NSAID use compared with non-use was significantly larger with concomitant use of high/medium risk hormonal contraception compared with concomitant use of low/no risk hormonal contraception. Women needing both hormonal contraception and regular use of NSAIDs should be advised accordingly.”
Walgreens inks deal with startup Pearl Health on value-based care for doctors “Walgreens and Pearl will help doctors manage value-based care in traditional Medicare’s accountable care organization program, called ACO REACH, starting in 2024. The two plan to eventually expand to Medicare Advantage and potentially commercial payers and Medicaid down the line.”
Comment: My guess is that this deal was in the works before Roz Brewer stepped down. It does continue the direction of Walgreens getting into direct patient care, which the company should be re-evaluating.
This one makes more sense:
GoodRx, Walgreens team to lower prices for 200 drugs “The new program will reduce prices on these products by 40% on average, and there are greater savings possible on select medications, according to an announcement.”
After initial stumbles, Moderna finally gains clean phase 3 win for mRNA flu shot “An updated version of mRNA-1010 has met all primary endpoints in a phase 3 trial, Moderna said in an announcement Wednesday as part of its annual R&D day. Compared to GSK's Fluarix, Moderna's vaccine showed higher antibody levels for all four influenza strains (two each for influenza A and B) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as higher seroconversion rates. Seroconversion is the development of specific antibodies against a virus.”
25th drugmaker imposes restriction on 340B participants “Jazz Pharmaceuticals is the latest drugmaker to impose pricing restrictions for 340B participants, according to a Sept. 11 news release from the 340B Health organization. Its decision makes it the 25th drugmaker to impose the restrictions since 2020.
The drugmaker will no longer facilitate orders from 340B hospitals or pharmacies for the childhood epilepsy drug Epidiolex, according to the release.”
Generic Drugs Should Be Cheap, but Insurers Are Charging Thousands of Dollars for Them “Across a selection of 20 generic drugs carried by the Cuban pharmacy, Cigna’s prices were 27.4 times higher than Cuban’s on average for the 19 drugs for which data was available.
CVS’s prices were 24.2 times higher on average for 17 drugs for which data was available. UnitedHealth’s prices were 3.5 times higher than Cuban’s on average for the 19 drugs with available data.”
Comment: If you can access this Wall Street Journal article, it is worth reading in its entirety.
US FTC warns drugmakers that improper patent listings may be illegal “The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned brand-name drugmakers that they could face legal action if they improperly list patents in the FDA’s ‘Orange Book.’ Lina Khan, chair of the FTC, said the regulator is ‘making clear that improper…listings may be an unfair method of competition,’ and could constitute illegal monopolisation.”
About the public’s health
US CDC expects 'tripledemic' hospitalizations to remain high this year vs pre-pandemic levels “The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday it expects the total number of hospitalizations from COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus infections and flu this year to be similar to last year, higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The government health agency also said it expects flu and RSV infections to increase over the fall and winter seasons.
Vaccines for all three major respiratory viruses – COVID-19, flu, and RSV – will be available this fall, the CDC said.”
US Supreme Court freezes order curbing Biden administration social media contacts “The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday temporarily put on hold an order restricting the ability of President Joe Biden's administration to encourage social media companies to remove content it considers misleading, including about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito, acting for the court, issued an order freezing a lower court's decision finding that federal officials had likely violated the free speech protections of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment by coercing social media platforms into censoring certain posts.”
Poverty Rate Soared in 2022 as Aid Ended and Prices Rose “The poverty rate rose to 12.4 percent in 2022 from 7.8 percent in 2021, the largest one-year jump on record, the Census Bureau said Tuesday. Poverty among children more than doubled, to 12.4 percent, from a record low of 5.2 percent the year before. Those figures are according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which factors in the impact of government assistance and geographical differences in the cost of living.
The increases followed two years of historically large declines in poverty, driven primarily by safety net programs that were created or expanded during the pandemic.”
Imagine a World: Where innovations could save the lives of 2 million more mothers and babies An excellent article from the Gates foundation is worth reading in its entirety. The four measures that are the focus of interventions are: Postpartum hemorrhage identification and management, anemia identification and management, use of azithromycin to reduce sepsis, and AI-enabled ultrasound.
White House announces $240 million investment to fight cancer The White House announced a $240 million investment Wednesday to fight cancer, along with a slew of new health resources to further the administration's "Cancer Moonshot" initiative.
The money — awarded through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, which was created last year based on a proposal by President Joe Biden — will go to researchers working on cancer prevention, detection, treatment and survival projects, including initiatives to detect cancers earlier, better visualize cancer cells during surgery and ‘design devices that could deliver treatments directly to cancer cells to treat tumors more effectively, the White House said.”
And in a related article:
AACR CANCER PROGRESS REPORT Brief summary:
”In the United States, the overall cancer death rate has been steadily declining since the 1990s, with the reductions between 1991 and 2020 translating into more than 3.8 million cancer deaths avoided.
The decline in overall U.S. cancer death rates is driven by steady declines in mortality from cancers of the breast, colon and rectum, lung, and prostate.
More than 18 million cancer survivors were living in the United States as of January 1, 2022.
Progress has not been uniform against all cancer types or all subtypes and stages of a given cancer type.
There are stark inequities in the cancer burden among many sociodemographic groups within the United States; these inequities occur across the cancer continuum and are driven largely by social factors.
The economic burden of cancer both on individuals and the U.S. health care system is expected to rise in the coming decades, highlighting the urgent need for more research to accelerate the pace of progress against cancer.”
Cleveland Clinic Survey Examines the Current State of Men’s Health in America “In the survey, 81% of American men said they believe they are leading a healthy lifestyle. However, the survey results show the habits and behaviors of many men tell a different story.
Almost half of men (44%) do not get a yearly physical
44% do not take care of their mental health
Only half of men said they keep a healthy diet (51%)
83% have experienced stress in the last six months
About a quarter of U.S. men (27%) watch TV for more than five hours per day on average”
Red Cross: Weather, travel contributing to blood shortage “The American Red Cross has declared a national blood supply emergency, citing weather and travel as reasons for the shortfall.
The organization said that national blood supply levels have fallen by nearly 25 percent since early August, which potentially threatens those who need emergency blood and those who rely on blood transfusions for conditions like cancer and sickle cell disease.”
Vaping e-cigarettes can be as harmful to gum and oral health as smoking traditional cigarettes “The EFP (European Federation of Periodontology) warns that vaping electronic cigarettes can be as harmful to gum and oral health as smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes. Despite the fact that the vaping phenomenon is relatively new compared to smoking, meaning research details are still incomplete, evidence does show a clear link between e-cigarettes and poor gum and oral health…
One of the reasons behind vaping's unhealthy impact is nicotine, whether smoked or vaped, which restricts the blood flow to the gums. Other chemicals contained in the e-cig vapor (including formaldehyde, propylene glycol, and benzene) may aggressively increase the damage to the mouth, starting with a progressive destruction of the periodontium, the tissues supporting the teeth.”
About healthcare IT
Meta facing lawsuit over violation of medical privacy “Five anonymous plaintiffs have alleged that at least 664 medical providers have used pixel tracking technology on their websites and patient portals, which has allowed Meta to obtain patients' protected health information, Bloomberg Law reported Sept. 8.
In a consolidated lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that Meta collected health information of people with Facebook accounts by installing pixels on the patient portals of their healthcare providers.
The plaintiffs also say the tech giant was able to profit from the information by using it to deliver targeted ads, according to the publication.”
Comment: Many suits have been initiated agains different companies because of the pixel installation on patient portals; this consolidation was inevitable.
Geisinger doubles down on collaboration with Best Buy Health, Geek Squad to support tech-driven care in the home “By working with Best Buy and its Geek Squad, Geisinger was able to cut in half the time from admission into the chronic care at-home program to when device setup is completed for the patient. That process used to take 96 hours, and the program reduced that time to 48 hours, according to the health system. This makes it faster for Geisinger care teams to begin monitoring the patient remotely.
Results from the pilot program found a 19% improvement in how well patients follow their care plans by wearing and using their remote technology equipment more consistently. Patients in the program also reported fewer technical issues, down 18% compared to before the pilot with Best Buy.”
About healthcare personnel
The Shrinking Number of Primary Care Physicians Is Reaching a Tipping Point “The percentage of U.S. doctors in adult primary care has been declining for years and is now about 25% — a tipping point beyond which many Americans won’t be able to find a family doctor at all.
Already, more than 100 million Americans don’t have usual access to primary care, a number that has nearly doubled since 2014. One reason our coronavirus vaccination rates were low compared with those in countries such as China, France, and Japan could be because so many of us no longer regularly see a familiar doctor we trust.”
Comment: Well worth reading the entire article.
Companies Can’t Ask You to Shut up to Receive Severance, NLRB Rules “The National Labor Relations Board ruled Tuesday that employers can no longer demand laid-off employees avoid publicly disparaging the company as part of their severance agreements, nor can they stop affected employees from disclosing the terms of their exit packages. Doing so, the federal agency determined, would be a violation of the laid-off employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act.”
Comment: Along with recent restrictions on restrictive covenants, this measure opens up many problems for employers.
About health technology
Backed by space-age tech, MRI-compatible biopsy robot earns FDA clearance The dangers of introducing any extra objects to a strong, fluctuating magnetic field are obvious, and when combined with a cramped working space, the entire prospect poses significant obstacles.
But Insight Medbotics appears to have found a solution. It has secured an FDA clearance for what the company describes as the world’s first surgical robot to operate within the bore of an MRI machine.
The IGAR, or image-guided automated robot, is designed to assist in performing breast biopsies to investigate suspicious lesions for traces of cancer.
In order to not be tossed around the MRI suite, the system is constructed mostly of plastic and non-ferrous metals—with ceramic materials forming the piezoelectric motors that help align and insert the biopsy tools. At the same time, the device’s copper wiring is routed to prevent any loops that could interact with a magnetic field, while mechanical connections are fashioned out of brass or stainless steel.”
About healthcare finance
Moderna commits up to $1.8 billion in cancer therapeutics deal with Immatics “Moderna agreed to pay $120 million upfront as part of a collaboration that will pair its expertise in mRNA technology alongside Immatics' T-cell receptor (TCR) platform to develop cancer therapeutics, the companies announced Monday. The agreement, potentially worth over $1.8 billion, will tackle various therapeutic modalities including bispecifics, cell therapy and cancer vaccines.”