About health insurance/insurers
Cigna writes off $1.8B of its investment in Walgreens' VillageMD “In late 2022, Cigna's Evernorth unit made a $2.5 billion investment in VillageMD, and gained a minority stake in the primary care business that was primarily owned by Walgreens.
In the first quarter of 2024, the company conducted a write-down of more than half of its investment in the provider, writing off about $1.8 billion of its stake in the company. Executives said that VillageMD has underwhelmed in growth as Walgreens shuts down large numbers of clinics.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
National Hospital Flash Report: April 2024 “Key Takeaways
1. Margins and other key performance indicators declined slightly in March. While
hospitals performed relatively well in the first quarter of 2024, declines in volume and
associated revenue in March may signal more challenges ahead.
2. Hospital outpatient revenue fell 5% in March, reflecting the competitive challenges of providing outpatient care.
3. Increases in bad debt and charity, along with increases in days A/R, pose challenges and opportunities for hospitals’ revenue cycles and overall collections.”
About pharma
Novo says 25K patients a week begin Wegovy, as US starter dose supplies quadruple “Novo Nordisk has managed to quadruple supplies of introductory doses of Wegovy in the US since the end of last year, meaning that around 25,000 patients per week are starting treatment with the weight-loss therapy, compared to about 5000 each week in December.”
Novartis drops $1B on buying radioligand therapy firm Mariana “Novartis is spending a further $1 billion to bolster its radioligand therapy (RLT) portfolio with the acquisition of Mariana Oncology, whose lead actinium-based candidate MC-339 is set to enter the clinic. The deal announced Thursday marks the second one this week for the Swiss drugmaker in the RLT space, following an agreement with PeptiDream.”
About the public’s health
Translational Research of the Acute Effects of Negative Emotions on Vascular Endothelial Health: Findings From a Randomized Controlled Study “In this randomized controlled experimental study, a brief provocation of anger adversely affected endothelial cell health by impairing endothelium‐dependent vasodilation.”
Comment: These finding may be elucidate one reason for an increase in heart attacks when someone is angry.
Pregnancy-related deaths are dropping. “The maternal mortality rate in 2022 was 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared with 32.9 per 100,000 in 2021, according to the new report.
‘It’s looking like it’s returning to a pre-pandemic level,’ said Donna Hoyert, the report’s author and an NCHS health scientist. The same appears to be true for preliminary 2023 data, she said.
Decreases were noted across all age groups and races, though Black women continue to be disproportionately affected. Their maternal mortality rate was 49.5 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2022. In 2021, it was 69.9 deaths per 100,000.”
About health technology
Medline to buy Ecolab’s surgical product unit for nearly $1 billion “Medline Industries, the Northfield-based medical products manufacturer and distributor, has agreed to acquire the surgical equipment segment of Ecolab for nearly $1 billion.
The deal, announced this week, will give Medline innovative sterile drape products for surgeons, patients and operating room equipment as well as a fluid temperature management system.”