About pharma
NIAID-led trial shows Gilead's remdesivir speeds up recovery in advanced COVID-19: “Early data from the Phase III ACTT trial led by the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) indicate that hospitalised patients with advanced COVID-19 given Gilead Sciences' remdesivir had a 31% faster time to recovery than those on placebo.”
Top 15 specialty pharmacies by revenue: FYI: Here are the top 4- revenue drops considerably after.
CVS Specialty — $43.9 billion
Accredo/ Freedom Fertility — $32.1 billion
AllianceRx Walgreens Prime/ Walgreens stores — $21.2 billion
Optum Specialty Pharmacy — $17.8 billion
California fines more than a dozen drug makers for not providing drug pricing data: “Over the past six months, California state authorities fined more than a dozen drug makers a total of $17.5 million for failing to report price hikes as required by law, and more than half of the penalties were levied since the beginning of the year…”
About the public’s health
Leaving Off Mask At Mayo Clinic, Pence Said He Wanted To Look Workers 'In The Eye': A few things are very wrong here:
1. If the excuse for not wearing a mask was that he couldn’t look workers in the eye, then he is putting his mask on the wrong part of his head.
2. He also said he is tested regularly and so he knows he is not infected. Guess the words “role model” do not apply.
3. The Mayo Clinic informed him before his visit of their masking policy. I wonder when he visits foreign countries as a US representative if he ignores their local customs.
Quest Diagnostics rolls out direct-to-consumer coronavirus antibody tests: Quest will screen “patients online to determine whether or not an antibody test is appropriate and then sends them to have their blood drawn at one of the company’s 2,200 laboratories…The test costs $119, according to Quest’s website.” Since no physician order is needed, it is unclear if insurance will pick up the cost.
Wolters Kluwer Launches MediRegs COVID-19 Regulatory Search for Federal and State Regulations: “ Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. today launched the MediRegs COVID-19 Regulatory Search, the first free resource of its kind that offers quick access to state and federal regulations related to the pandemic. The digital resource is available on the open web to support coding, reimbursement and compliance professionals.”
Profile of RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2: a preliminary study from 56 COVID-19 patients:In 56 patients with mild to moderate disease (none required ICU care), the majority tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 “within 3 weeks after the onset of symptoms.” The negative results started substantially to decline “from week 4 after onset of symptoms and by the end of follow-up (6 weeks), all results of RT-PCR test were negative… According to the results in our study, we suggested prolonged observation and repeat confirmation of RT-PCR test from respiratory specimens for safe discharges and discontinuation of quarantine.”
Aerodynamic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in two Wuhan hospitals:“The concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in aerosols detected in isolation wards and ventilated patient rooms was very low, but it was elevated in the patients’ toilet areas. Levels of airborne SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the majority of public areas was undetectable except in two areas prone to crowding, possibly due to infected carriers in the crowd…Although we have not established the infectivity of the virus detected in these hospital areas, we propose that SARS-CoV-2 may have the potential to be transmitted via aerosols. Our results indicate that room ventilation, open space, sanitization of protective apparel, and proper use and disinfection of toilet areas can effectively limit the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in aerosols. Future work should explore the infectivity of aerosolized virus.”
About healthcare systems
Advocate Aurora offers bonuses to more than 60,000 workers: While many systems are cutting pay, even for those in the “front lines,” this system is honoring its bonus system by “providing $15 million in award payments to more than 60,000 eligible employees in recognition of their work during 2019.”
About health insurance
COVID-19 Claims Reimbursement to Health Care Providers and Facilities for Testing and Treatment of the Uninsured: Here is the website providers can consult for reimbursement for COVID-19 treatment delivered to uninsured patients.
CMS Announcement May Create More Medicare Advantage Opportunities for Home Care Providers: CMS announced that Medicare Advantage plans can enhance benefits mid-year to accommodate problems caused by COVID-19. Usually the benefits need to be locked-in at the beginning of the contract year.
Health insurers prosper as COVID-19 deflates demand for elective treatments: “…credit rating agency Moody’s… looked at a range of pandemic scenarios—from mild to severe—and concluded that ‘U.S. health insurers will nonetheless remain profitable under the most likely scenarios.’”
Assessment of Completeness of Hospital Readmission Rates Reported in Medicare Advantage Contracts’ Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set [HEDIS]: “…the readmission rates of underreported admissions were approximately 2 times greater than the readmission rates of those included in HEDIS data. The proportion of underreported index admissions in HEDIS varied widely across MA contracts. Medicare Advantage contracts with the most complete reporting were penalized in rankings compared with contracts with less-complete HEDIS data [emphasis added]…Because HEDIS performance affects star ratings, bonus payments, and patients’ plan choices, CMS should consider rigorous audits of HEDIS data, particularly their denominators.”