Today's News and Commentary

Read today’s Kaiser Health News

In other news: Food Is Medicine In The US: A National Survey Of Public Perceptions Of Care, Practices, And Policies: We conducted the first national survey on knowledge, perceptions, and experiences around Food Is Medicine during February–April 2023. Fewer than half of respondents said that they received clear food- and nutrition-related advice from their primary health care providers, but a majority expressed interest in participating in Food Is Medicine interventions. More than two-thirds felt that Medicare and Medicaid should help pay for Food Is Medicine programs in health care, and more than half said that private insurance should do so. These results suggest a need for increased nutrition-related training of health care professionals, development of Food Is Medicine accreditation standards for health care organizations, and new regulatory incentives and contract requirements for Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care plans to encourage Food Is Medicine interventions in care delivery.

About health insurance/insurers

CMS deletes Medicare Advantage vision statement, signaling another shift from health equity: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) wiped away the agency’s stated intentions for the future of Medicare Advantage (MA), underlining new uncertainty for the future of health-related social needs, CMS Innovation Center models and the federal health program.

Healthcare billing fraud: 10 recent cases FYI 

About pharma

Telehealth platforms in senators’ crosshairs over relationship with Eli Lilly, Pfizer: On Tuesday, a group of senators sent letters to five telehealth companies that offer care through direct-to-consumer portals from pharmaceutical manufacturers Pfizer and Eli Lilly, interrogating their financial relationships. The questions seek to determine whether contracts between pharma and telehealth companies could violate the federal anti-kickback statute.  

Roche pays $1.4B to get in on Zealand's obesity candidate: Zealand Pharma's quest to find a partner for its long-acting amylin analogue petrelintide has come to an end, with an agreement announced Wednesday that will see Roche pay $1.4 billion to come on board. "We consider Roche the ideal partner," remarked Zealand CEO Adam Steensberg, adding that the Swiss pharma "has a strong history of… redefining disease care."

The pharma industry's 2025 revenue projections FYI

The Top 15 U.S. Pharmacies of 2024: Market Shares and Revenues at the Biggest Chains, PBMs, and Specialty Pharmacies FYI

About the public’s health

Free COVID-19 Test Program Stops Taking Orders:
Key Takeaways

  • The federal program providing free at-home COVID tests has stopped accepting orders

  • Orders that were placed before 8 PM ET on March 9 will still be shipped

  • COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been declining in the U.S. 

About healthcare IT

Ethics in Patient Preferences for Artificial Intelligence–Drafted Responses to Electronic Messages: This survey study of 1455 respondents showed that while overall satisfaction was high (>75%) regardless of author, respondents preferred responses written by AI over those written by a human (mean difference, 0.30 points on a 5-point Likert scale for satisfaction). However, when an AI author was disclosed, satisfaction was lower for AI compared with a human author (mean difference, 0.13 points). 

About healthcare personnel

Employee Leave Requests Are on the Rise: More than half of employers (57%) reported an increase in employees requesting leave in 2024, according to recent figures from AbsenceSoft, a leave and accommodation management solutions provider. Of the employers who reported an increase, more than half (53%) experienced an increase of 21% or more. The length of a typical leave varies depending on the type of leave, according to AbsenceSoft, while company-paid leave policies can also vary significantly.
Although the pace of employee leave requests has slowed — 62% of employers reported an increase in the number of leave requests in 2023, while a whopping 96% did in 2022 — employee conditions and employer availability are contributing to the continuing increase. The primary reasons for leave are recovering from injury and illness (57%), managing mental health challenges (47%), caring for an aging parent (37%), and taking parental leave (34%). The data highlights the growing responsibilities of the sandwich generation, as employees balance caregiving for both children and aging parents…

About health technology

New FDA pulse oximetry guidelines could stall under Trump: After years of concerns that pulse oximeters may provide less accurate results for people with dark skin pigmentation, the Food and Drug Administration issued a draft guidance in January clarifying requirements for the devices. However, experts are concerned the guidance may not move forward under the Trump administration.