About Covid-19
There's a New Set of COVID Variants Called FLiRT: What You Need to Know “Key Takeaways
New COVID-19 variants dubbed FLiRT have fast become the dominant strains in the United States, the CDC says
Symptoms appear to be similar those of the prior dominant variant, JN.1
There's concern that FLiRT may not be as susceptible to the last updated COVID-19 vaccine”
About health insurance/insurers
Cigna, Oscar Health to shutter small group business “Oscar Health and Cigna will discontinue their co-branded Cigna + Oscar business at the end of 2024.
On a May 7 call with investors, Oscar CEO Mark Bertolini said it chose not to renew the offering in 2025 as part of its strategy to focus on the individual market.”
CMS proposes new mandatory organ transplant model for end-stage renal disease “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unveiled a new mandatory model proposal it says will improve access for individuals needing kidney transplants, reduce disparities and help selected hospitals better perform transplants.
The proposed Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Model, announced Wednesday afternoon, is a six-year model to be carried out by the CMS Innovation Center beginning Jan. 1, 2025.
The proposed model will also help reduce Medicare spending and pinpoint living donors, according to a CMS fact sheet.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Nonprofit hospitals aren't immune to FTC's noncompete ban, lawyers, Fitch analysts warn “The FTC’s jurisdiction extends to corporations that are organized to carry out business for their own profit or for those of its members—a limitation that puts it at odds with an industry in which more than half of all acute care hospitals are classified as nonprofits. These organizations would ostensibly be the source of a substantial portion of the noncompete clauses that, per the American Medical Association, bind an estimated 35% to 45% of physicians.
During last week’s open hearing and vote on the final rule, Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter acknowledged that there are numerous healthcare workers with noncompetes ‘that our rule will struggle to reach.’”
Ascension reports systems, clinical operations disrupted amid apparent 'cybersecurity event' “St. Louis-based Ascension’s statement did not describe the scale of the interruptions nor whether any of its data have been compromised, writing that it is still assessing an ongoing situation. The system said it has also notified the ‘appropriate authorities’ and will provide further updates as they are made available.”
About pharma
Drug supplies for millions would be jeopardized by U.S. crackdown on China biopharma industry, trade group says “U.S. legislation that would sever ties with Chinese drugmakers would jeopardize the drug supply for millions of American patients if it’s passed, the biotechnology industry’s main trade group has told Congress.
Congress is considering legislation, called the BIOSECURE Act, that would make it difficult for Chinese contract development and manufacturing organizations to do business with biotechnology companies that work with the U.S. federal government. Biotechs hire Chinese CDMOs, as they’re often called, for services that include product manufacturing, development, formulation, packaging, and distribution.”
About the public’s health
A meta-analysis on global change drivers and the risk of infectious disease “Specifically, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, managing ecosystem health, and preventing biological invasions and biodiversity loss could help to reduce the burden of plant, animal and human diseases, especially when coupled with improvements to social and economic determinants of health.”
About healthcare finance
'We have not seen anything similar': Novo Nordisk pens $600M obesity pact with Flagship's Metaphore “In its ongoing mission to find the next Wegovy, Novo Nordisk has penned another partnership to seek out next-gen obesity treatments. This time, it's a $600 million biobucks pact with Flagship-founded Metaphore Biotechnologies to develop up to two candidates.
The latest agreement is part of a broader partnership between Flagship Pioneering and Novo that takes aim at cardiometabolic and rare diseases.”