NIH’s Role in Sustaining the U.S. Economy “In Fiscal Year 2023, the $37.81 billion NIH awarded to researchers in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia supported 412,041 jobs and $92.89 billion in economic activity.”
About Covid-19
The new COVID-19 drug “The medication, Pemgarda, is a monoclonal antibody that targets the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and it is indicated for patients 12 and older. The authorization is not an approval, meaning the FDA greenlit the medicine ‘based on a reasonable belief that the product may be effective based on the best evidence available at the time,’ its website says, ‘without waiting for all the information that would be needed for an FDA approval.’”
About health insurance/insurers
Medicare Spending on Ozempic and Other GLP-1s Is Skyrocketing “KFF’s analysis of newly released Medicare Part D spending data from CMS shows that total gross Medicare spending on these medications has skyrocketed in recent years, rising from $57 million in 2018 to $5.7 billion in 2022 (Figure 1). (Gross spending does not account for rebates that would result in lower net spending.) As of 2022, Part D covered three GLP-1s for diabetes: Ozempic (semaglutide injection), approved in December 2017; Rybelsus (semaglutide tablets), approved in September 2019; and Mounjaro (tirzepatide) approved in May 2022.”
Medicaid disenrollments surpass 18M, exceeding HHS projections “The Families First Coronavirus Response Act required Medicaid to provide continuous coverage for beneficiaries throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. With disenrollments paused, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment grew by over 23 million beneficiaries.
The continuous coverage policy ended with the public health emergency, and states could begin coverage redeterminations on April 1, 2023. HHS had projected that 15 million beneficiaries would lose Medicaid coverage. However, as of March 20, 2024, more than 18 million people have been disenrolled. What’s more, 35 million beneficiaries’ eligibility redeterminations have either still not been completed or have not been reported.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
FAIR SHARE SPENDING Are hospitals giving back as much as they take? “KEY TAKEAWAYS
Of 2,425 nonprofit hospitals evaluated, 80% spent less on financial assistance and community investment than the estimated value of their tax breaks (what we call a fair share deficit).
The combined fair share deficit for all hospitals studied is $25.7 billion for 2021. That’s enough to erase 29% of the country’s medical debt (as reported on the CFPB’s Consumer Credit Panel).
The ten hospitals with the largest fair share deficits also reported at least one hundred million dollars in net income in 2021.
Hospitals spent 3.87% of their budget on community investments, on average, but this proportion varied widely. For example, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (0.25%) would have spent $248 million more in community investments had it spent at the rate of North Shore University Hospital (8.84%).
Five Catholic health systems are among the ten systems with the greatest fair share deficits: Providence, CommonSpirit, Trinity, Ascension, and Bon Secours Mercy.
There are only five states in which a majority of hospitals have a fair share surplus: Delaware, Montana, Maryland, Texas, and Utah.
These five states have 97% or more hospitals with a fair share deficit: Michigan, West Virginia, Louisiana, Washington, Rhode Island.”
About pharma
Pharmaceutical company Amgen sues Colorado over price-setting prescription drug board “Amgen, the multinational pharmaceutical company that makes the blockbuster arthritis drug Enbrel, has sued Colorado over a state board’s efforts to possibly cap the price of the drug.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Denver, Amgen argues that the actions of Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board are unconstitutional because they conflict with federal laws and because they violate rights to due process. The company is seeking not just to overturn the board’s recent decisions about Enbrel but also to strike down major parts of the law creating the board.”
Other drugs are being considered as well. For more analysis, see: Colorado is pushing to cap drug prices. It’s likely to be in for a fight.
Association of State Insulin Out-of-Pocket [OOP] Caps With Insulin Cost-Sharing and Use Among Commercially Insured Patients With Diabetes “State insulin caps were not associated with changes in insulin use in the overall population (relative change in fills per month, 1.8% [95% CI, −3.2% to 6.9%]). Insulin users in intervention states saw a 17.4% (CI, −23.9% to −10.9%) relative reduction in insulin OOP costs, largely driven by reductions among HSA enrollees; there was no difference in OOP costs among nonaccount plan members. More generous ($25 to $30) state insulin OOP caps were associated with insulin OOP cost reductions of 40.0% (CI, −62.5% to −17.6%), again primarily driven by a larger reduction in the subgroup with HSA plans.”
Merck & Co.’s Winrevair nabs highly-anticipated approval in PAH “After Merck & Co. posted data last year showing the extent to which Winrevair (sotatercept-csrk) can boost exercise capacity and prolong survival, the FDA's approval Tuesday of the first-in-class activin signalling inhibitor to treat adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) took few by surprise. The outstanding question, however, is how and when the disease-modifying therapy gets incorporated into PAH treatment regimens that haven’t seen a drug with a novel mechanism of action in years.”
About the public’s health
Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use — United States, 2016–2021 “Average annual number of deaths from excessive alcohol use, including partially and fully alcohol-attributable conditions, increased approximately 29% from 137,927 during 2016–2017 to 178,307 during 2020–2021, and age-standardized death rates increased from approximately 38 to 48 per 100,000 population. During this time, deaths from excessive drinking among males increased approximately 27%, from 94,362 per year to 119,606, and among females increased approximately 35%, from 43,565 per year to 58,701.”