From Capitol Hill —
Govexec reports that earlier today the House of Representatives passed the Postal Reform bill (HR 3706) by a bipartisan 342 to 92 vote. The bill now heads over the the Senate. Govexec adds “Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and authored the companion legislation in the Senate, sounded an optimistic note for the bill’s fate in his chamber. ”
The bill would create a Postal Service Health Benefits Program within the FEHB Program beginning in 2025. The PSHBP would feature tightly integrated coverage with Medicare for its annuitants over age 65.
Roll Call informs us that
The House passed a stopgap appropriations bill Tuesday evening to extend current federal agency funding rates through March 11 as Democrats and Republicans continue to trade offers on topline spending levels for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
Both sides claim they’re “close” to a framework deal on the fiscal 2022 omnibus and predict this latest continuing resolution, the third one this fiscal year, will be the last stopgap. The previous CR is set to expire Feb. 18.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said in floor remarks Tuesday morning that his chamber will take up the stopgap measure “quickly” after House passage, “in time before the Feb. 18 deadline.” The House vote was 272-162, indicating likely bipartisan support in the Senate as well.
Fierce Healthcare tells us
A bipartisan group of senators is crafting a package that tackles several barriers to mental health access, with a major emphasis on pay parity between behavioral and physical health and furthering telehealth use.
The Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, announced the contours of the mental health legislative package during a hearing Tuesday on youth mental health. Wyden said the goal is to get together a bipartisan bill by the summer.
The anticipated bill would be a gold mine for lawyers unless Congress also simplifies the existing parity standards.
From the Omicron front —
The Wall Street Journal advises
You’ve been exposed to Covid-19 more times than you can count. And yet somehow you’ve never tested positive. Could all these close encounters with Covid-19 be enhancing your immune response to it? The answer isn’t clear-cut, scientists say.
Your immune system probably benefits only if you get infected, many scientists say, because a near miss probably won’t have put enough virus in your body to meaningfully rev up your defenses. You can benefit from an asymptomatic infection that you didn’t realize you had, or a case that was too low-level to show up on a rapid test.
The only safe way to build immunity is vaccination, as any exposure to Covid-19 comes with a risk of serious illness, hospitalization or death. Avoiding infection is still important, but if you are exposed, there are circumstances where you might benefit if you already have antibodies, some scientists say.
Medscape reports
People who have had COVID-19 have an increased risk for and 12-month burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) that is substantial and spans an array of cardiovascular disorders, a deep dive into federal data suggests.
“I went into this thinking that this is most likely happening in people to start with who have a higher risk of cardiovascular disorders, smokers, people with high BMI, diabetes, but what we found is something different,” Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, told theheart.org | Medscape Cardiology. “It’s evident in people at high risk, but it was also as clear as the sun even in people who have no cardiovascular risk whatsoever.”
Rates were increased in younger adults, never smokers, White and Black people, males and females, he said. “So the risk confirmed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus seems to spare almost no one.”
Ruh roh.
From the synthetic opioid epidemic front, AP reports
The U.S. needs a nimble, multipronged strategy and Cabinet-level leadership to counter its festering overdose epidemic, a bipartisan congressional commission advises.
With vastly powerful synthetic drugs like fentanyl driving record overdose deaths, the scourge of opioids awaits after the COVID-19 pandemic finally recedes, a shift that public health experts expect in the months ahead.
“This is one of our most pressing national security, law enforcement and public health challenges, and we must do more as a nation and a government to protect our most precious resource — American lives,” the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking said in a 70-page report released Tuesday.
The report envisions a dynamic strategy. It would rely on law enforcement and diplomacy to shut down sources of chemicals used to make synthetic opioids. It would offer treatment and support for people who become addicted, creating pathways that can lead back to productive lives. And it would invest in research to better understand addiction’s grip on the human brain and to develop treatments for opioid use disorder.
From the telehealth front —
According to mHealth Intelligence
Most [77%] infectious disease (ID) patients were open to using virtual care after they were informed about the toll in-person care took in terms of time, money, and travel, according to a survey conducted by Washington University and published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.
Although patients are typically accustomed to the setting in which they receive care, information provided about virtual care can change their perspective, the new research shows.
The survey polled patients 18 years old and older who reside 25 or more miles away from their ID clinic. The goal was to acquire information regarding travel distance and time, money spent, and carbon dioxide emissions.
Beckers Hospital Review adds “Amazon Care’s virtual health services are now available nationwide, and its in-person services will be rolled out in more than 20 new cities in 2022, Amazon said Feb. 8 in a post on its website.” Amazon Care also offers in-person care in “Seattle, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C, Austin, Texas, and Arlington, Virginia. This year, the company plans to bring in-person care services to more than 20 additional cities including New York City, Chicago, Miami and San Francisco, according to the post.”
From the healthcare business front
- Biopharma Dive reports on Pfizer’s zesty 4th quarter 2021 financial report
- Becker’s Payer Issues reports on health insurer Centene’s positive 4th quarter 2021 results.
From the rankings department, Beckers Hospital Review notes
“Healthgrades has recognized 250 hospitals nationwide for exceptional care via its America’s Best Hospitals awards released Feb. 8. Three lists feature America’s 50, 100 and 250 best hospitals, which represent the top 1 percent, 2 percent and 5 percent of hospitals in the nation, respectively.”
Three companies dominate the pharmacy benefit manager market, accounting for 79 percent of all prescription claims in 2020, according to data from Health Industries Research Companies, an independent, non-partisan market research firm. A breakdown of PBM market share, by total adjusted prescription claims managed in 2020:
1. CVS Caremark: 34 percent
2. Express Scripts: 24 percent
3. OptumRx (UnitedHealth): 21 percent
4. Humana Pharmacy Solutions: 8 percent
5. Prime Therapeutics: 6 percent
6. MedImpact Healthcare Systems: 5 percent
7. All other PBMs: 3 percent
Finally, from the good news department, the Wall Street Journal reports
The [CDC’s] new births data, released Monday along with final data for 2020, show the pandemic has had a more muted impact on childbearing than expected. The economists Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine in December released calculations showing the pandemic led to 60,000 missing births from October 2020 through February 2021. Earlier in the pandemic, they predicted the health crisis and economic uncertainty would lead to 300,000 to a half million fewer births last year.