About pharma
Exclusive: AmerisourceBergen eyes Walgreens' drug distribution business: “AmerisourceBergen Corp, one of the largest U.S. drug distributors, has approached Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc to explore a deal for its pharmaceutical wholesaling division, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Walgreens owns about 27% of AmerisourceBergen and is its biggest customer.”
About hospitals
Dramatic GDP Reduction Reflects Unprecedented Financial Stress on U.S. Hospitals: From the Federation of American Hospitals: “According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), this drop in health care spending is a driving force behind the estimated 4.8% decrease in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2020. The decline in hospital revenues during this period represents the most drastic reduction in recorded history …”
About the public’s health
French hospital discovers country's first known Covid-19 case, from December: “Yves Cohen, head of resuscitation at the Avicenne and Jean Verdier hospitals in the northern suburbs of Paris, told French media that scientists had retested samples from 24 patients treated in December and January who tested negative for the flu.
’Of the 24, we had one who was positive for Covid-19 on Dec. 27," he told the news channel on Sunday.”
Latest epidemiology seems to show that the US was exposed not only from China but from Europe as well. See the next story.
A mutant coronavirus has emerged, even more contagious than the original: “The new strain appeared in February in Europe, migrated quickly to the East Coast of the United States and has been the dominant strain across the world since mid-March…” It may be a different strain than the one in Wuhan, which is worrisome since current treatments and vaccine development are based on a stable virus.
'It makes no sense': Feds consider relaxing infection control in US nursing homes:”The federal government is considering rolling back infection control requirements in U.S. nursing homes – even as the long-term-care industry's residents and workers are overwhelmed by the coronavirus… The regulation has not been finalized, but CMS last week defended its proposal, saying it aims to reduce regulatory burden and strengthen infection control.” How smart is that????
About health insurance
How the COVID-19 Recession Could Affect Health Insurance Coverage: This report from the Urban Institute projects the health insurance consequences of a 20% unemployment rate: “Findings include:
An estimated 25-43 million people could lose their employer-sponsored health insurance coverage.
More than half of the newly jobless will obtain Medicaid coverage in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), while only about one-third will receive Medicaid coverage in the 15 states that have not expanded the program.
Less than a quarter of these workers and their dependents in expansion states will become uninsured, while about 40 percent in non-expansion states will become uninsured.”