See: https://kffhealthnews.org
Other news:
Freeze on Federal Funds Rescinded, and Trump Signs Law Easing Deportation for Migrants “The White House on Wednesday rescinded a directive that froze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans after the order led to mass confusion and legal challenges that accused the Trump administration of violating the law.
The order, issued Monday night, was an attempt to purge the government of what President Trump has called a ‘woke’ ideology. A federal judge in the District of Columbia temporarily blocked it Tuesday afternoon, but the lack of clarity sent schools, hospitals, nonprofits and other organizations scrambling to understand if they had lost their financial support from the government.
On Wednesday, Matthew J. Vaeth, the acting director for the Office of Management and Budget, told federal agencies that the memo freezing aid had been ‘rescinded.’”
RFK Jr. grilled about his views on vaccines and abortion at first confirmation hearing
Three key takeaways from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Senate confirmation hearing
About health insurance
Plans on Healthcare.gov denied 20% of claims in 2023 “Plans available through Healthcare.gov denied an average of 20% of claims in 2023, according to a new analysis from KFF.
Researchers found that exchange plans denied 19% of in-network claims and 37% of out-of-network claims, averaging out to 20%. There was notable variation between payers and states, according to the study, with denial rates ranging from 1% to 54%.
Insurers cited multiple reasons for denials, including 18% that were denied for administrative reasons, 16% for excluded services and 9% for lack of prior authorization or referral. Just 6% of denied claims cited a lack of medical necessity, according to the report.”
About pharma
GLP1Ra-based therapies and DXA-acquired musculoskeletal health outcomes: a focused meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials “Approximately 30% of body weight lost with GLP1Ra-based therapy is LM [lean body mass].”
Independent pharmacies weigh stocking drugs under Medicare price negotiation “The National Community Pharmacists Association (NPCA) is warning the feds that independent pharmacists are likely to face significant financial hardship due to Medicare drug price negotiations.
In comments submitted on the latest Medicare advance notice, the organization says it conducted a survey of 8,000 pharmacy owners and managers about the drug price negotiation program and found that 93.2% have either decided not to stock drugs under negotiation or are considering not stocking these products.
The survey found that 32.8% of independent pharmacists have already made the decision to not stock one or more of the 10 drugs in the first round of negotiations. In addition, 60.4% of those surveyed said they are considering similar steps.
The NCPA said this is because they're concerned about ‘financial losses’ through the program.”
About the public’s health
Dangerous Virus’: Bird Flu Enters a New Phase “A human pandemic is not inevitable, even now, more than a dozen experts said in interviews. But a series of developments over the past few weeks indicates that the possibility is no longer remote.
Toothless guidelines, inadequate testing and long delays in releasing data — echoes of the missteps during the Covid-19 pandemic — have squandered opportunities for containing the outbreak, the experts said.”
Overview of President Trump’s Executive Actions on Global Health FYI