From Washington, DC,

• STAT News informs us,
  • “The Senate health care committee will consider a sweeping bill next week meant to combat the opioid epidemic, according to four lobbyists and a congressional aide familiar with the legislation. 
  • “The proposal would reauthorize a number of programs first created by the SUPPORT Act, an addiction-focused bill that Congress first passed in 2018. Many of those programs’ authorizations expired earlier this year, however, leading addiction treatment advocates to fret that lawmakers — and specifically the committee’s chairman, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — no longer view the issue as a priority.    
  • “If passed, the legislation would mark Capitol Hill’s first major action this year on the addiction crisis. Current data shows that roughly 110,000 Americans are dying of drug overdoses each year. Roughly 85,000 of those overdoses involve opioids.” 

• The Department of Health and Human Services announced,
  • “Today, United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is launching the 5-for-5 Connection Challenge, calling on Americans to take five actions over five days to build more connection in their lives. Dr. Murthy recently issued this challenge to students across the country on his “We Are Made to Connect” College Tour, which concluded just last week. Now, as we enter the holiday season, the 5-for-5 Connection Challenge aims to inspire people of all ages to build, strengthen, and prioritize their relationships.
  • “For the next two weeks, from December 4th – December 15th, the Surgeon General will encourage people to take five actions over five days that express gratitude, offer support to, or ask for help from people in their lives. These types of actions are outlined in the Surgeon General’s Advisory on Our Epidemic of Loneliness – PDF as some of the ways that people can catalyze social connection. As outlined in the Advisory, social connection can advance physical, mental, and cognitive health, and it is even associated with a decreased risk of mortality.”

• MedTech Dive tells us,
  • “The Food and Drug Administration is evaluating the potential for plastic syringes made in China to suffer problems such as leaks and breakages.
  • “Officials began the investigation after receiving information about quality issues associated with “several Chinese manufacturers of syringes” that made them concerned that some devices “may not provide consistent and adequate quality or performance.”
  • “The FDA is advising consumers and healthcare providers to check where syringes are made and “consider using syringes not manufactured in China, if possible.” The advice applies to plastic syringes used for injecting fluids into, or withdrawing fluids from, the body.”

In FEHB Open Season news, Govexec offers helpful, last-minute advice from Kevin Moss.

From the public health and medicare research front,

• U.S. News and World Report points out,
  • “After a period of limited change, COVID-19 activity is increasing again especially in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions,” the CDC said in a report published Friday.
  • “Federal health officials are likely watching the increase given that they expect a “moderate” winter wave of coronavirus and this could be the start of it. Holiday gatherings and travel are also typically followed by an increase in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.
  • “COVID-19 vaccination rates, meanwhile, have been disappointing for many.
  • “CDC Director Mandy Cohen told Congress this week that about 16% of Americans have gotten the updated COVID-19 vaccine.
  • “That’s not enough,” Cohen said.”

• Beckers Hospital Review notes,
  • “So far this year, the CDC estimates there have been at least 1.8 million illnesses, 17,000 hospitalizations, and 1,100 deaths from flu in the U.S. 
  • “Influenza A continues to be the dominant strain in circulation, making up around 82% of cases, while influenza B is only accounting for around 18%. 
  • “Louisiana and South Carolina are still reporting the highest levels of flu activity in the country. 
  • “Nine states are experiencing high activity levels, but less than the two states above, including: California, New Mexico, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Colorado, Florida and Tennessee. 
  • “Cases are also high in New York City and Puerto Rico.”

• The Journal of the American Medical Association presented the following study results:
  • “Question  Is smoking still decreasing among US adults and do the trends vary by age, income, and race and ethnicity?
  • “Findings  In this cross-sectional study of 353 555 adults responding to the 2011 to 2022 National Health Interview Surveys, adults younger than 40 years had dramatic declines in smoking prevalence during the last decade, especially among those with higher incomes. In contrast, relatively slow declines were observed among adults aged 40 to 64 years, with no decrease in smoking among those 65 years or older.
  • “Meaning  These findings suggest that the precipitous decline in smoking among younger adults should be maintained, but that additional efforts are required to further reduce smoking in older adults.”

• The American Medical Association explains “What doctors wish patients knew to improve their mental health.”

• Per Endocrinology Advisor, “Decreased mortality risk is associated with concomitant reductions in glycated hemoglobin (HbA_1c) and body weight among patients with type 2 diabetes, according to study results published in Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism.”

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

• Fierce Healthcare profiles ten women of influence in U.S. healthcare. Check it out.

• BioPharma Dive reports
  • “Roche on Monday agreed to acquire biotechnology company Carmot Therapeutics in a deal that bulks up the Swiss pharmaceutical giant’s pipeline with a group of weight loss drugs in early clinical testing.
  • “Roche will pay $2.7 billion upfront for the Berkeley, California-based Carmot. Roche could owe as much as $400 million more in future payments to Carmot shareholders, among them The Column Group and RA Capital, if certain milestones are met. The companies expect the acquisition to close next year.
  • “The deal hands Roche a trio of drugs in human testing for obesity, an area of pharmaceutical research that has been catalyzed by the success of weight loss medicines like Wegovy and Zepbound. Their progress has fueled a gold rush among large drugmakers, a number of which are either advancing in-house medicines or inking deals to acquire new prospects.”
• and
  • “The Food and Drug Administration granted conditional approval to Eli Lilly’s oral cancer drug Jaypirca in two types of blood cancer, expanding its use from a rare type of lymphoma to people with leukemia and lymphoma patients who have previously received two other treatments, the company said Friday.
  • “Jaypirca is the fourth of a group of drugs called BTK inhibitors, a class that includes AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson’s Imbruvica and AstraZeneca’s Calquence. It gained approval earlier this year and posted $42 million in sales through Sept. 30.
  • “With this approval, Jaypirca can now be used in chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma after patients have been treated with AbbVie and Roche’s Venclexta and another BTK inhibitor. Lilly said a Phase 3 trial meant to confirm Jaypirca’s accelerated approval has already met its primary goal.”

• HR Dive discusses “Why EAPs go unused despite growing mental health awareness; Many factors contribute to the historic underutilization of employee assistance programs, despite their value as an access point to quality care.”

• Medscape offers an infographic on how doctors grade their EHR systems while MedCity News explains how improved coding quality by healthcare providers can prevent denials and improve cash flow.

• Health Payer Intelligence adds,
  • “Payers are investing in healthcare IT resources to support cost optimization and improve member experience, according to a study from EY-Parthenon and KLAS Research.
  • “As payers face operational and financial pressures, they are turning to healthcare IT solutions for help. Researchers sought to understand what strategies payers prioritize, how much they spend on healthcare IT resources, and what future investments look like.
  • “The study findings reflect responses from over 100 executives across payer entities serving commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid populations. Around 70 percent of respondents were traditional payers; the remaining were provider-sponsored, third-party administrators, and management services organizations.”

• According to Healthcare Dive,
  • “A merger between major health insurers Cigna and Humana would go through the wringer of an intense antitrust review, but could come out finalized, experts say.
  • “Though, to receive the regulatory green light, a combined company would probably have to emerge looking different from the Cigna and Humana of today. * * *
  • “Gaining regulatory approval — especially if a challenge further ties up the process in the courts — could set a deal’s finalization back by a year or more. But, due to a lack of direct competition between the two, Cigna and Humana could be allowed to combine, creating a healthcare powerhouse with roughly $300 billion in annual revenue.”
• and
  • “For-profit hospital chain HCA Healthcare’s Houston affiliate announced last week it completed its acquisition of 11 free-standing emergency departments from SignatureCare Emergency Centers. 
  • “HCA Houston Healthcare, which operates a network of 13 hospitals and nine outpatient surgery centers, now has 26 free-standing emergency departments in the area in addition to hospital-based emergency rooms, according to a Friday press release.
  • “The SignatureCare centers will be re-branded to HCA Houston ER 24/7. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
• and
  • “Rural hospital chain Lifepoint Health and Ascension Saint Thomas announced a joint venture last week to co-own Highpoint Health, a four-hospital system in Tennessee currently operated by Brentwood, Tennessee-based Lifepoint.
  • “The hospitals and care sites will be co-branded with Ascension Saint Thomas, but will be majority-owned and operated by Lifepoint, according to the release. The companies declined to comment on the cost of the buy-in.
  • “The health systems have partnered before. Ascension Saint Thomas partnered with Kindred Rehabilitation Services, a Lifepoint business unit, in 2022 to jointly own Ascension Saint Thomas Rehabilitation Hospital in Nashville.”