From the Centers for Disease Control front —
Roll Call informs us
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday asked the Justice Department to appeal a federal judge’s ruling overturning the federal mask mandate for airlines and other forms of public transportation, setting up a legal battle that could permanently impact the CDC’s ability to weigh in on public health issues.
The Wall Street Journal adds
The judge’s ruling was the latest in a series of court decisions that have left the Biden administration with dwindling legal options for mandates to combat Covid-19. And it came amid a shift away from mask mandates in the U.S., even in Democratic-controlled states along the East and West coasts. An appeal gives the Biden administration the opportunity to persuade a higher court to wipe the Florida ruling off the books, which could prove useful to the White House if it chooses to pursue a mask mandate in the future.
The AP reports
A new U.S. government center [residing within the CDC] aims to become the National Weather Service for infectious diseases — an early warning system to help guide the response to COVID-19 and future pandemics.
The new Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics launched Tuesday. Its leaders say predicting the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. has been hampered by data-collection problems.
In contrast, the United Kingdom uses regular population sampling with swab tests and blood draws to get a clearer picture of who’s been infected, said Marc Lipsitch, the new center’s science director. He said similar sampling should be considered in the U.S.
And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention needs to have better access to data from state governments and hospitals, said Caitlin Rivers, the center’s associate director.
From the Omicron front, STAT News discusses six Covid mysteries that scientists are beginning to unravel.
“1. How will the virus evolve next?
“2. What will future waves look like?
“3. If you’ve never had Covid, how worried should you be right now?
“4. How, exactly, does the virus transmit from person to person?
“5. Will we get a new, better generation of vaccines, therapeutics, and tests?
“6. How long before we understand long Covid?“
“The eventual answers will determine our relationship with Covid and how we’ll fight a future pandemic.”
Reuters reports
Hospitalization rates for unvaccinated children ages 5 to 11 were twice as high as among those who were vaccinated during the record COVID-19 surge caused by the Omicron variant, according to a U.S. study released on Tuesday.
For every 100,000 unvaccinated children in the age group, 19.1 per were hospitalized with COVID-19 between mid-December and late February, compared with 9.2 per 100,000 vaccinated kids, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
From the Social Determinants of Health front,
The Center for Medicare Services “outlined an action plan that demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to provide high-quality, affordable health care for all people, regardless of their background, and to drive health equity across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).”
“The goals of CMS’ action plan include:
- Promoting culturally and linguistically appropriate services in organizations;
- Enrolling more people in Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Health Insurance Marketplace; and
- Incorporating screening for and promoting broader access to health-related social needs.”
“For more information, please visit: www.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2022-04/Health%20Equity%20Pillar%20Fact%20Sheet_1.pdf“
The CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation called attention to its new website on improving health equity
From the No Surprises Act front, the American Medical Association offers an article on how doctors can use the NSA to resolve billing disputes. It’s always helpful to take a peek at the other sides’s strategies.
Cigna announced
Beginning in August, Kaiser Permanente commercial HMO and exclusive provider organization (EPO) members who need urgent care when they are traveling outside of areas served by Kaiser Permanente will have access to Cigna’s national PPO network of more than one million physicians and other providers. This will significantly expand Kaiser Permanente’s ability to provide more affordable and convenient access to valuable, high-quality health care and services for current and future members.
This is a smart move by KP to reduce its exposure to NSA emergency department billing disputes.
From the healthcare business front —
Cigna’s press release adds
In the area of specialty pharmacy services, the agreement seeks to deliver overall value and savings to Kaiser Permanente and its commercial plan members. Accredo, Evernorth’s specialty pharmacy, will become Kaiser Permanente’s preferred external pharmacy for limited distribution drugs, and Evernorth’s CuraScript SD will be a preferred distributor for purchasing certain other specialty products.
The broad agreement between Evernorth and Kaiser Permanente is effective immediately.
Forbes reports
Anthem’s first-quarter profits reached $1.8 billion thanks to strong enrollment in its Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans.
Anthem, which operates an array of government and commercial health insurance including Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states, Wednesday reported first-quarter profits rose 8.4% to $1.8 billion, or $7.39 per share, compared to $1.67 billion, or $6.71 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose nearly 17.6% to $38 billion compared to $32,4 billion a year ago.
Anthem’s membership grew by 3.3 million, or 7.5%, to 46.8 million as of March 31, 2022, compared to a year ago.
Beckers Payer Issues offers 11 takeaways from Anthem’s first-quarter 2022 earnings report.
The American Hospital Association reports
The Department of Health and Human Services today released a report and public data on 2016-2022 ownership changes for hospitals and nursing homes enrolled in Medicare.
According to the report, only 4.6% of hospitals were sold over the period. Small hospitals with 26-64 beds were more likely to be acquired than larger hospitals, and hospitals with the greatest negative margins were over twice as likely as those with the highest positive margins to be acquired (8.6% versus 3.0%). Only one critical access hospital was acquired during the study period, and urban hospitals were more likely to be acquired than rural hospitals (5.6% versus 3.3%). Long-term care hospitals were the most likely to be acquired, while psychiatric and “other” hospitals were the least likely.
The agency plans to update the data on a quarterly basis.
In telehealth news, mHealth Intelligence tells us
When comparing the use of telehealth among different pediatric subspecialties, a JAMA Network Open study found that pediatric telehealth use was inconsistent across subspecialties, with genetics and behavioral health subspecialists using the care modality the most.
The study included 549,306 patients, representing a total of 1.8 million visits from eight pediatric medical groups from the Children’s Specialty Care Coalition (CSCC). There were 11 different subspecialties, including cardiology, orthopedics, urology, nephrology, dermatology, genetics, behavioral health, pulmonology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, and neurology. The study period began Jan. 1, 2019, and ended Dec. 31, 2021.