Thursday Miscellany

David Ermer–ACA, AHRQ, CDC, COVID-19, FDA, Telehealth, U.S. Healthcare–

From Washington, DC —

  • Medscape tells us
    • “The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [on July 31] cleared an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted colonoscopy device called the MAGENTIQ-COLO, according to the Israeli-based manufacturer of the same name.
    • “The device helps identify lesions in real time, and is associated with a significant increase in the adenoma detection rate (ADR), according to the press release.”
  • MedPage Today lets us know,
    • “The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously — 10 to 0 — in favor of nirsevimab (Beyfortus) for protecting a wide swath of at-risk infants from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
    • “At a meeting on Thursday, ACIP recommended that all infants younger than 8 months who are born during or approaching their first RSV season receive one dose of nirsevimab.
    • “The advisory committee also voted 10-0 to recommend that children 8 to 19 months who are at increased risk of severe RSV and approaching their second RSV season receive one dose of the monoclonal antibody against RSV.
    • As a result of this action, FEHB plans and health plans generally must cover the preventive service with no cost sharing when delivered in-network.
  • The Labor Departments Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced
    • “a final rule titled “Pre-enforcement Notice and Conciliation Procedures.”
    • “The final rule modifies the agency’s earlier rule, “Nondiscrimination Obligations of Federal Contractors and Subcontractors: Procedures to Resolve Potential Employment Discrimination” which took effect on December 10, 2020. * * *
    • “To learn more, read Acting Director Michele Hodge’s blog about the final rule here. You can also read the Final Rule here.  
    • “The final rule will take effect on September 5, 2023.”

From the public health front —

  • UPI reports, “In examining real-world data on the long-term health of elderly patients who received the COVID-19 vaccine, researchers at Brown University and Boston-based Hebrew SeniorLife determined that the Moderna variety was the safest and most effective for older adults.”
  • The Washington University School of Medicine announced,
    • “Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a breath test that quickly identifies those who are infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. The device requires only one or two breaths and provides results in less than a minute.
    • “The study is available online in the journal ACS Sensors. The same group of researchers recently published a paper in the journal Nature Communications about an air monitor they had built to detect airborne SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — within about five minutes in hospitals, schools and other public places.”
  • MedPage Today informs us
    • “Thymectomy carried a substantially increased risk of all-cause mortality and cancer for adults, a “landmark” study showed.
    • “Adults who had undergone thymectomy had at least double the risk of all-cause mortality and cancer at 5 years post-surgery compared with matched patients who had undergone cardiothoracic surgery without thymectomy * * *.
    • “Incidental thymectomy is common during cardiothoracic surgery due to the pyramid-shaped organ’s location in the chest in front of the heart where surgeons need to access the surgical field.
    • “While the thymus plays a critical role in normal immune system development, it was thought to be safe to remove in adulthood, “particularly since the thymus naturally involutes with age,” the researchers noted.
    • “Their conclusion from the study was that the thymus continues to be functionally important for human health in adulthood.”
  • HHS’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has made available a
    • “Toolkit for Improving Perinatal Safety, a second bundle of AHRQ tools is available to improve the safety culture of labor and delivery (L&D) units. The second bundle provides resources that align the toolkit’s adaptive care processes with the clinical care processes recommended in the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) program.
    • “The new tools are designed to help L&D units reduce obstetric hemorrhage and severe hypertension in pregnancy, two leading known causes of preventable maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity in the United States.”
  • On a related note, Fierce Healthcare reports
    • “To improve maternal and infant healthcare, Health Care Service Corporation announced the launch of a program that will rely in part on the cooperation of local groups to ensure its success.”To improve maternal and infant healthcare, Health Care Service Corporation announced the launch of a program that will rely in part on the cooperation of local groups to ensure its success.
    • “HCSC said it wants to increase access to providers and reduce gaps in healthcare as well as engage and educate residents about maternal and infant well-being. The customer-owned health insurer plans to install the program in the states in which it operates: Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
    • “The initiative will first launch in the Lone Star State, HCSC said.
    • “We’re collaborating with trusted community organizations and partners, leveraging their knowledge, experience and talents on a local level,” HCSC Chief Clinical Officer Monica Berner, M.D., said in a press release. “We seek to build healthier communities by using our resources to respond to societal needs.”
  • KFF News points out that “Doctors Sound Alarm About Child Nicotine Poisoning as Vapes Flood the US Market.”

From the U.S. healthcare business front —

  • Beckers Payers Issues notes
    • “The Cigna Group raised its year-end revenue projections to $190 billion and reported a 6 percent decrease in shareholders’ net income, according to the company’s second quarter earnings published Aug. 3.
    • “Total revenues in the second quarter were $48.6 billion, up 7 percent year over year.
    • “In the second quarter, net income was nearly $1.5 billion, down 6 percent from $1.6 billion year over year. The company cited an absence of income from recently divested businesses, including the sale of businesses to Chubb in six countries and divestiture from a joint venture in Turkey.
    • “Evernorth pharmacy revenues rose 7 percent year over year to $35.2 billion. The insurance side of the business, Cigna Healthcare, reported second-quarter revenues of $12.7 billion, up 11 percent from the previous year.
    • “The company’s medical loss ratio was 81.2 percent in the second quarter, compared to 80.7 percent during the same period last year.”
  • Healthcare Dive adds
    • “Investors were concerned about medical cost trends coming into the second quarter, but health insurers have largely bucked the worst of rising expenses. Cigna, one of the last major payers to report earnings, was no different.
    • “We planned and priced for more normalized levels of utilization this year. Our year-to-date claims experience has been broadly in line with this expectation,” Cigna CFO Brian Evanko said in a Thursday morning call with investors.”
    • Cigna’s medical loss ratio, or how much of the premium dollar is spent on patient care, was 81.2% in the second quarter, according to new financial results — better than analysts expected.
  • Healthcare Dive also reports
    • “Telehealth company Amwell lowered its 2023 revenue outlook after missing analyst expectations and racking up another non-cash goodwill impairment charge in the second quarter.
    • “The company now expects to bring in revenue between $257 million and $263 million for the year, compared with earlier guidance of $275 million to $285 million, Amwell said in second-quarter results released Wednesday. 
    • “Amwell’s revenue declined 3% year over year to $62.4 million in the quarter. The telehealth vendor posted a net loss of $93.5 million, which included a $27.3 million goodwill impairment charge to make up for the “sustained decrease” in Amwell’s stock and market capitalization, according to an SEC filing.”
  • Fierce Healthcare lets us know
    • “UnitedHealthcare tapped 66 not-for-profit organizations spread over 12 states to receive grant funding to help expand access to care.
    • “The $11.1 million in grant funding, which falls under UnitedHealthcare’s Empowering Health program, aims to help improve the healthcare options of individuals living in underserved communities by addressing the social determinants of health, the insurance giant said. Specifically, it’ll target food insecurity, social isolation, behavioral health issues and health literacy efforts.
    • “Some of the organizations to receive funds include the Upstate Foundation in Syracuse, New York, CHRIS 180 in Atlanta and Trellis in Minneapolis and Saint Paul.”