About Covid-19
Oral Simnotrelvir for Adult Patients with Mild-to-Moderate Covid-19 “Early administration of simnotrelvir plus ritonavir shortened the time to the resolution of symptoms among adult patients with Covid-19, without evident safety concerns.”
Comment: This combination is available in China.
About health insurance/insurers
MedPAC: Medicare Advantage will receive estimated $88B in overpayments in 2024 “Coding intensity and the types of enrollees who select Medicare Advantage plans will drive an additional $88 billion in payments to the program in 2024 compared with what traditional Medicare would receive, according to estimates from the Medicare Payment and Advisory Commission. ..
The advisory group estimated that risk scores in Medicare Advantage will be 20.1% higher for patients than if they were enrolled in traditional Medicare. These higher risk scores will account for $54 billion in additional payments to Medicare Advantage plans in 2024, according to MedPACs estimates.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Hospitals Are Back to the Muni Market With Labor Costs Easing “So far this year, hospitals are tapping the market with more than $1.7 billion to expand and upgrade facilities, according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of Jan. 12. That figure outpaces $390.7 million of issuance by hospitals last January.
It’s cheaper to tap the muni market at the moment, with the yield on the 10-year AAA benchmark down 127 basis points since Nov. 1. Financial pressures on hospitals have also started to ease. Staffing costs — by far their heftiest expense — have steadied and operating margins have been improving.”
15 most common reasons for hospital citations in 2023 FYI
About pharma
Drug cost trends in 2024 are 'nearly unprecedented,' research finds “Drugmakers aren't raising prices like they used to, according to data from 46brooklyn Research.
On Jan. 1, 453 branded drugs increased in cost — a similar figure to the start of 2023, which saw 452 pricier brand-name drugs. Drugmakers typically make the most drug price changes in January, and in 2023 and 2024, there seems to be a downward trend.”
Comment: The graphics in the linked site are very helpful.
Trends in Retail Prices of Prescription Drugs Widely Used by Older Americans, 2006 to 2020
“Key Findings
Average price increases for prescription drugs widely used by older Americans, including Medicare beneficiaries, outstripped the price increases for other consumer goods and services between 2006 and 2020.
In 2020, the average annual cost for widely used prescription drugs used to treat chronic conditions was more than $26,000 per drug per year. This cost was:
More than 40 percent higher than the average Social Security retirement benefit ($18,034),
Nearly 90 percent of the median income for Medicare beneficiaries ($29,650), and
More than one-third of the median US household income ($69,639).
The average annual cost of drug therapy for one drug used on a chronic basis would have been more than $14,000 lower in 2020 (i.e., $12,112 v. $26,393) if retail price changes had been limited to the rate of general inflation between 2006 and 2020.
The average price of therapy for the AARP combined market basket greatly exceeded the average price of therapy for the brand name and generic market baskets. The higher price of therapy for the combined market basket is due to the markedly higher price level of specialty drug products. In 2020:
The average annual cost of therapy for widely used generic drug products was $679,
The average annual cost of therapy for widely used brand name drug products was $6,604, and
The average annual cost of therapy for widely used specialty drug products was $84,442.”
About the public’s health
Cancer statistics, 2024 “In 2024, 2,001,140 new cancer cases and 611,720 cancer deaths are projected to occur in the United States. Cancer mortality continued to decline through 2021, averting over 4 million deaths since 1991 because of reductions in smoking, earlier detection for some cancers, and improved treatment options in both the adjuvant and metastatic settings. However, these gains are threatened by increasing incidence for 6 of the top 10 cancers. Incidence rates increased during 2015–2019 by 0.6%–1% annually for breast, pancreas, and uterine corpus cancers and by 2%–3% annually for prostate, liver (female), kidney, and human papillomavirus-associated oral cancers and for melanoma. Incidence rates also increased by 1%–2% annually for cervical (ages 30–44 years) and colorectal cancers (ages <55 years) in young adults. Colorectal cancer was the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in both men and women younger than 50 years in the late-1990s but is now first in men and second in women. Progress is also hampered by wide persistent cancer disparities; compared to White people, mortality rates are two-fold higher for prostate, stomach and uterine corpus cancers in Black people and for liver, stomach, and kidney cancers in Native American people.”
Citing Harms, Momentum Grows to Remove Race From Clinical Algorithms A really good article that summarizes what professional organizations are doing to remove harmful racial inputs into algorithms.
About healthcare IT
Apple begins selling pulse ox-free Apple Watches after reinstated import ban “Apple began selling the new versions of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 on its website and in Apple stores on Thursday, the company confirmed to Fierce Medtech.
To comply with the import ban, the smartwatches will not offer the blood oxygen measurement feature that the original versions of those models did; though the pulse oximetry app icon will still appear on the devices, the app itself will not be available for use, and tapping it will direct users to the Health app on a connected iPhone for more information.”