Read today’s Kaiser Health News
In other news:
What Health Care Provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Mean for States Excellent summary
About health insurance/insurers
Centene faces potential junk rating: S&P Global Ratings is considering downgrading Centene’s credit rating to junk status.
In a July 1 news release, the agency cited Centene withdrawing its 2025 earnings guidance as the driver for the potential downgrade. Centene’s Medicare, Medicaid and ACA businesses are underperforming relative to their target margins, according to S&P.
10 states where people spend the most, least on health insurance FYI
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Days cash on hand at 40 health systems FYI. More downs than ups.
About pharma
The looming ‘patent cliff’ facing Big Pharma: The pharmaceutical industry is facing some of its steepest patent cliffs to date. Drugs worth about $180bn of revenue a year are going off patent in 2027 and 2028, according to research firm Evaluate Pharma, representing almost 12 per cent of the global market.
Comment: An excellent article on the patent cliff issue.
AbbVie inks another billion-dollar oncology drug deal: AbbVie has entered into a $1 billion licensing agreement with IGI Therapeutics SA, for IGI's lead investigational drug for oncology and autoimmune diseases.
Merck & Co. to buy Verona for $10B, gaining fast-launching COPD therapy: Merck & Co. agreed to buy Verona Pharma for $107 per American depository share, or approximately $10 billion, as it continues to seek ways to plug the looming revenue hole from upcoming patent expiration on its key cancer drug Keytruda (pembrolizumab). The deal — announced Wednesday — gives Merck the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) medicine Ohtuvayre (ensifentrine), which since FDA approval last year has gotten off to a strong launch.
Budesonide-Formoterol Metered-Dose Inhaler vs Fluticasone-Salmeterol Dry-Powder Inhaler: In this primary self-controlled case series and secondary matched cohort study of 260 268 and 258 577 US veterans, respectively, transition to fluticasone-salmeterol dry-powder inhaler therapy under a national formulary change was associated with higher rates of prednisone use and increased all-cause and respiratory-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations.
Comment: Cheaper does not always translate to lower total cost.
About the public’s health
Prediabetes in US Adolescents: In 2023, an estimated 8.4 million adolescents aged 12-17 years, or 32.7% of the US adolescent population, had prediabetes.
FDA grants full approval to Moderna’s Covid vaccine for children but limits eligibility: Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for children has been given full Food and Drug Administration approval, making it the first Covid vaccine for kids in the United States that will no longer be administered under an emergency use authorization.
But the approval comes with a proviso: It is for use in children who have at least one medical condition that puts them at increased risk of severe illness from Covid…
About healthcare personnel
29 physician specialties ranked by pay FYI. No surprises—surgical specialties at the top, cognitive at the bottom.