About Covid-19
COVID DATA TRACKER WEEKLY REVIEW “As of August 17, 2022, the current 7-day moving average of daily new cases (95,652) decreased 9.9% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (106,116). A total of 93,124,238 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States as of August 17, 2022.”
About health insurance
CMS approves first measures to track social determinants at federal level “The measure set, proposed by the Physicians Foundation, was adopted for use earlier this month in the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System rule, effective 2023…
These measures are based on the foundation’s framework for addressing SDOH, published last year. An optional set is also being considered for physicians separately by CMS, the nonprofit organization told Fierce Healthcare.”
See, also, Meaningful Measures 2.0: Moving from Measure Reduction to Modernization
Judge rules CMS unfairly overturned Georgia's Medicaid work requirements program “A federal judge has sided with Georgia that the Biden administration unfairly struck down the state’s Medicaid work requirements program.
The ruling, issued late Friday, overturns the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS') decision to a controversial program first approved by the Trump administration.”
If upheld, this ruling could have major implications in other states that implemented such requirements.
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Advocate Aurora reports $600.8M loss in first half of year “Advocate Aurora Health… reported revenue of $7.1 billion in the first two quarters of this year, up from $6.7 billion in the same period a year earlier.
The health system's expenses were also up. Expenses climbed 9 percent year over year to $7 billion in the first six months of this year. Expenses increased across all categories, including salaries, wages and benefits…
After factoring in nonoperating items, the health system reported a net loss of $600.8 million in the first half of this year, compared to net income of $1.1 billion in the same period a year earlier.”
About pharma
Therapeutic Value of Drugs Granted Accelerated Approval or Conditional Marketing Authorization in the US and Europe From 2007 to 2021 “ In this cohort study, among new drug indications approved through the accelerated approval or conditional marketing authorization pathways in the US and Europe from 2007 to 2021, 38.9% and 37.5%, respectively, demonstrated high therapeutic value. A substantially lower proportion of cancer indications than noncancer indications were rated as having high therapeutic value. Policy makers and regulators should increase enforcement of timely postapproval study completion for drugs qualifying for these pathways.”
About the public’s health
1 in 3 American women have already lost abortion access. More restrictive laws are coming. “Two months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, about 20.9 million women have lost access to nearly all elective abortions in their home states, and a slate of strict new trigger laws expected to take effect in the coming days will shut out even more.
Texas, Tennessee and Idaho all have existing restrictions on abortion, but the laws slated to begin Thursday will either outlaw the procedure entirely or heighten penalties for doctors who perform an abortion, contributing to a seismic shift in who can access abortion in their home states.”
Wyoming confirms 1st monkeypox case; outbreak reaches all 50 states “With its confirmation, Wyoming becomes the 50th state to diagnose at least one monkeypox infection in the current outbreak, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., have also reported infections, it said.”
Statin Use for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Adults “The USPSTF recommends that clinicians prescribe a statin for the primary prevention of CVD for adults aged 40 to 75 years who have 1 or more CVD risk factors (ie, dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, or smoking) and an estimated 10-year CVD risk of 10% or greater. (B recommendation) The USPSTF recommends that clinicians selectively offer a statin for the primary prevention of CVD for adults aged 40 to 75 years who have 1 or more of these CVD risk factors and an estimated 10-year CVD risk of 7.5% to less than 10%. The likelihood of benefit is smaller in this group than in persons with a 10-year risk of 10% or greater. (C recommendation) The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of initiating a statin for the primary prevention of CVD events and mortality in adults 76 years or older. (I statement).”
Read one of the accompanying editorials: Statin Usage in Primary Prevention—Comparing the USPSTF Recommendations With the AHA/ACC/Multisociety Guidelines