Five Things to Know: Healthcare and the U.S. Election A great summary from Gallup. One takeaway is that 2/3 of all Americans think healthcare should get more attention in the election.
About pharma
Prescription Medication Use, Coverage, and Nonadherence Among Adults Age 65 and Older: United States, 2021–2022 “In 2021–2022, 88.6% of older adults took prescription medication,
82.7% had prescription drug coverage, 3.6% did not get needed prescription medication due to cost, and 3.4% did not take medication as prescribed due to cost. Older adults with no prescription drug coverage were more likely to not get prescription medication and to not take needed medication as prescribed than older adults with private or public prescription drug coverage. For both measures, cost-related nonadherence was six times higher among older adults who were food insecure compared with those who were food secure, and more than twice as likely among older adults reporting fair or poor health or with disabilities compared with those in excellent, very good, or good health, or without disabilities.”
CVS board conducting strategic review, mulling breakup: report “CVS Health is conducting a strategic review of options, including possibly breaking up the company, as it faces headwinds to its retail business and its insurance operation, Aetna, sources told the The Wall Street Journal on Monday.
The healthcare company's board of directors retained bankers to facilitate the review, WSJ reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. No decision is imminent and it's possible there won't be changes to CVS' business, the sources said.”
About the public’s health
Outbreak of Whooping Cough Hitting Vaccinated Kids and Parents “The US is in the midst of the biggest pertussis outbreak in a decade, with 15,661 cases and two deaths reported this year through the middle of September. That rate is five times higher than a year ago, when cases were already on the rise following the end of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions that suppressed transmission of all respiratory infections.”