About health insurance/insurers
‘Site-neutral’ payments for chemotherapy could save Medicare billions “At issue is how Medicare pays for drugs delivered by medical providers, such as chemotherapy for cancer or infusions used to treat autoimmune diseases. Under current law, Medicare pays two to three times as much for these treatments if they are given in a hospital rather than a doctor’s office. The medicines and the means of administering them are the same; only the price is different.”
The savings would be more than $3.7 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. And beneficiaries’ co-payments would go down, too — by $40 a visit. The next thing that needs to happen is for the Senate to follow [the House’s vote that passed the measure].”
About the public’s health
California lawmaker introduces bill to remove artificial dyes from cereals, baked goods and other foods served in school “Assembly Bill 2316 would prohibit school cafeterias from offering foods containing six artificial food dyes that have been linked to hyperactivity and behavioral issues in some children. It would also outlaw titanium dioxide, a whitening agent used in candies and other products that is banned by the European Union because of concerns that it is potentially genotoxic, meaning it may damage DNA and cause cancer.
The bill, which was first shared with NBC News, would affect certain cereals, condiments and baked goods, among other foods, and it would make California the first state to ban the additives from schools. It was introduced by Democratic Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel.”
Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 “Globally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.”
About healthcare IT
Why UnitedHealth, Change Healthcare were targeted by ransomware hackers, and more cybercrime will hit patients, doctors “Cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler said on the dark web, medical records sell for $60 compared to $15 for a Social Security number and $3 for a credit card. Compounding that is the fact that there’s a chronic shortage of staffing, and as the Change Healthcare uproar has shown, there’s tremendous pressure to restore access quickly.”
UnitedHealth: Change's Pharmacy Network is back online “The company said Wednesday that all of its major pharmacy and payment systems are up again and "99% of pre-incident claim volume is flowing." The cyberattack was first announced on Feb. 21, and has caused major disruption in claims processing nationwide over the past three weeks.”