Read today’s Kaiser Health News
In other news:
23andMe founder says Fortune 500 company backs new buyout offer: The founder of 23andMe has asked a federal bankruptcy court judge to reopen an auction for the genetic testing company, saying she has the fresh financial backing of a Fortune 500 company. Anne Wojcicki said in court filings on Saturday that she has secured the support of a “Fortune 500 company with a current market capitalisation of more than $400bn and $17bn of cash on hand”. Last month, 23andMe announced that the upstate New York-based biotech company Regeneron had won the bidding for the company with a $256mn all-cash deal. In her court papers, Wojcicki alleged that the debtor and its advisers had unfairly tilted the auction to Regeneron, a claim the company denied in its own court filings.
HHS faces $31B cuts in proposed FY ’26 budget: 6 notes A good review of the proposed changes. Hint: most have nothing to do with withdrawal of DEI activities.
About Covid-19
RFK Jr. Says Healthy Pregnant Women Don’t Need Covid Boosters. What the Science Says. Read this article! Despite what the governmental “experts” are saying, the actual science contradicts them.
FDA approves Moderna’s new lower-dose COVID-19 vaccine: The U.S. approved a new COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna late Friday but with limits on who can use it — not a replacement for the company’s existing shot, but a second option.
The new vaccine, mNexspike, is a step toward next-generation coronavirus vaccines. It’s made in a way that allows for a lower dose — a fifth of the dose of its current COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax — by refining its immune target.
About health insurance/insurers
Medicare Advantage Plan Disenrollment: Beneficiaries Cite Access, Cost, And Quality Among Reasons For Leaving: Enrollees’ self-reported inability to access and receive high-quality care, more than perceived burdens of out-of-pocket costs, was associated with MA plan disenrollment, as was an objective measure of plan generosity. Difficulty accessing needed medical care was more strongly associated with MA-to–traditional Medicare exits than MA-to-MA plan switching. Dissatisfaction with access, cost, and quality was much more common for enrollees in poor health. These findings renew concerns about access to high-quality care for high-risk and other MA enrollees.
Medicare Advantage Denies 17 Percent Of Initial Claims; Most Denials Are Reversed, But Provider Payouts Dip 7 Percent:[Using data from] 2019, our study found claim denial rates of 17 percent as a share of initial claim submissions. We also found that 57 percent of all claim denials were ultimately overturned. We calculated that denials resulted in a 7 percent net reduction in provider MA revenue, based on the dollar-weighted share of claim denials that were not overturned. However, the indirect impact of denials could be even greater than this direct effect that we measured. This article points to the important role that claim denials play in reducing MA spending and in driving outcome differences between MA and traditional Medicare. However, our analysis did not weigh the cost-saving benefits of claim denials against potential downsides.
Blue Shield of California posts $103M profit in 2024: Blue Shield of California reported a net income of $103 million in 2024, down more than 20% from $130 million in 2023.
In 2024, the company’s total revenue was $27.4 billion, up 8.2% year over year.
The company’s operating expenses rose more than 8% to $27.3 billion in 2024.
Exclusive: HHS watchdog finds more than $16B in health savings: The report was sent to Congress late Friday.
By the numbers:
—The HHS Office of Inspector General identified $16.6 billion in real and potential savings from October 2024 through March of this year.
—The office's investigations identified $3.5 billion in funds due back to the federal government, and its audits found another $451 million that the government will recoup.
—More than $12 billion in potential cost savings were identified if HHS makes recommended policy changes. The office issued 165 recommendations over the six months.
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Advocate Health’s operating income up 217% in Q1: Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health recorded an operating income of $329.1 million (3.6% operating margin) in the first quarter of 2025, up from $103.7 million (1.3% margin) during the same period last year, according to its May 30 financial report.
About pharma
Sanofi to buy Blueprint Medicines in deal worth more than $9 billion: Sanofi said Monday it plans to buy Blueprint Medicines in a deal worth more than $9 billion, as the French pharma firm expands its immunology pipeline, a key focus for the company.
FDA Launches Agency-Wide AI Tool to Optimize Performance for the American People [An FDA release]: Built within a high-security GovCloud environment, Elsa offers a secure platform for FDA employees to access internal documents while ensuring all information remains within the agency. The models do not train on data submitted by regulated industry, safeguarding the sensitive research and data handled by FDA staff.
Trends In Authorized Generic Drug Launches And Their Effects On Competition In Oral-Solid Drug Markets In The US, 2016–23: With data on 146 oral-solid drugs experiencing first generic entry during the period 2016–23, we found evidence for both positive and negative effects of authorized generics on competition. On-invoice prices that pharmacies paid for new generics were 13–18 percent lower when an authorized generic was available. However, authorized generic launches, which were once common, declined markedly in more recent years, which may be partly explained by no-authorized-generic agreements in brand-generic patent litigation settlements. Curtailing these agreements could greatly benefit drug purchasers.
About health technology
Clinical Validation of a Circulating Tumor DNA–Based Blood Test to Screen for Colorectal Cancer: This prospective, population-based, observational study enrolled 48 995 participants aged 45 to 85 years at average risk of colorectal cancer. In a cohort of 27 010 evaluable participants, the blood test demonstrated 79.2% sensitivity for colorectal cancer and 91.5% specificity for advanced colorectal neoplasia using colonoscopy as the reference standard.
Comment: This test is not yet available but is getting a lot of attention in the public press. Please see the editorial comment below:
Blood-Based Colorectal Cancer ScreeningThe Illusion of Simplicity and the Cancer Prevention Paradox: …However, the illusion of simplicity is deceptive: the new test may paradoxically result in inferior outcomes if substituted for currently recommended tests or if follow-up colonoscopy is not completed in those with abnormal results. A blood test could be very effective if detection of early-stage cancer and advanced cancer precursors can be improved, and if individuals with an abnormal test finding are successfully navigated to colonoscopy. We believe that these should be the goals for future blood tests. But until such time, clinicians should educate their patients about the effectiveness of colonoscopy and stool-based screening, and should reserve offers of cell-free DNA blood tests for those who clearly refuse these strategies.