From Washington, DC,

• The Office of Personnel Management tells us,
  • “OPM today released the 2024 OPM Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) results, the largest worldwide survey of government employees that annually tracks how employees view workforce management, policies, and new initiatives. This year’s results show steady improvement in nearly all areas and the highest-ever Employee Engagement Index (EEI) score since OPM began tracking the metric in 2010. The EEI assesses the critical aspects of an engaged workforce including perception of leadership, supervisors, and intrinsic work experience.” * * *
  • “For the full collection of data, see the OPM FEVS dashboard. This tool provides the public with a dynamic way to access and visualize governmentwide and agency-size survey results and trends of the past five years. New content in the 2024 dashboard release features inclusion of results by Federal Executive Board region and will enhance each Board’s ability to address specific challenges within their geographical area.   
  • “For more information on OPM FEVS methods, see the OPM FEVS Technical Report.”   

• Federal News Network adds,
  • Many federal human capital experts have said receiving the results of FEVS each year is only the first step for long-term workforce planning. To actually make improvements for their employees, experts say agency leaders have to then analyze the FEVS results and make adjustments as necessary. Later this fall, the Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) Council plans to publish a FEVS “toolkit” including recommendations for how leaders can make changes based on FEVS, as well as strategies for action planning and better communication with employees.”

• Tammy Flanagan, writing in Govexec, points out ten important facts about Medicare that folks approach age 65 need to know.

• Federal News Network is offering a Federal Benefits Open Season feature

• The American Hospital Association News lets us know,
  • “A report released Oct. 17 by the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s investigative subcommittee scrutinizes some of the nation’s largest Medicare Advantage insurers for their use of prior authorization and high rates of denials for certain types of care. The subcommittee sought documents and information from the three largest MA insurance companies — UnitedHealthcare, Humana and CVS — and investigated their practice of “intentionally using prior authorization to boost profits by targeting costly yet critical stays in post-acute care facilities.”  
  • “The report found that between 2019 and 2022, UHC, Humana and CVS denied prior authorization requests for post-acute care at far higher rates than other types of care. In 2022, UHC and CVS denied prior authorization requests for post-acute care at approximately three times higher than the companies’ overall denial rates, while Humana’s prior authorization denial rate for post-acute care was more than 16 times higher than its overall denial rate. The report also found increases in post-acute care service requests subjected to prior authorization and denial rates for long-term acute care hospitals, among other findings.”
• In the past, such practices were praised as cost containment, a now forgotten policy.

• Thompson Reuters delves into “HHS FAQs [that] elaborate on HIPAA Administrative Simplification Enforcement and Compliance.”

From the public health and medical research front,

• The Washington Post reports the latest news about the ongoing massive meat recall over a Listeria concern.
  • The recalled products include about 11,765,285 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry items [prepared by BrucePac] that have been sold at stores across the country, including Walmart, Target, Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, Publix, Wegmans and more.
  • Initially, the [USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service] FSIS said the recalled goods have the establishment numbers 51205 or P-51205 inside or under the USDA mark of inspection on their labels, but it cautioned later that some recalled products could bear a different number “due to further distribution and processing by other establishments.”
  • The FSIS is encouraging consumers to review a more than 340-page list of labels and products included in the recall. The list has images of labels with 7-Eleven, Amazon Kitchen, Boston Market, Dole, Taylor Farms, Giant Eagle and ReadyMeals branding, among several other name brands.
  • Among the recalled items are chicken-based salad bowls, wraps, sandwiches, burritos and pastas.
  • In an Oct. 15 update, the FSIS said that the recalled foods had been distributed to schools, in addition to restaurants and institutions, but that a school distribution list was not yet available. “These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” it said.

• The NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli writes in her blog,
  • “Proteins are vital to our bodies. They serve as structural building blocks for our tissues and organs and are responsible for their functioning in both health and disease. Genes, like recipes, contain instructions for making proteins. Usually, each essential protein is produced from a single gene. Now, new research shows that some bacteria can actually produce two or more proteins from a single gene by “flipping” underlying stretches of DNA.
  • “While scientists have long known that DNA inversions can occur in bacteria, this study is the first to describe these inversions, or “invertons,” within individual genes. What’s more, the findings, from research supported by NIH and reported in the journal Nature , suggest that this flipping happens more often than scientists suspected.
  • “The findings, from Ami S. Bhatt at Stanford Medical School in Stanford, CA, and her colleagues, may have important implications, not only for bacteria, but also for human health. For example, bacteria’s ability to flip genes and alter proteins on their surfaces may restrict the ability of our immune systems to recognize and effectively respond to infectious microbes. Invertons also likely play roles in how our microbiomes, the communities of microorganisms that live in and on us, develop and change within our bodies. Our microbiomes influence our metabolisms, immune responses, and more. * * *
  • “The researchers now want to investigate the mechanisms causing inversions. They expect that these findings are just the tip of the iceberg for understanding the role of invertons in bacteria’s ability to adapt and thrive. They also suggest that, as we learn more about links between this process in bacteria and human diseases, we might find ways to harness it for improving human health.”
    
• The Wall Street Journal reports,
  • “Feel like it takes longer to recover from everything these days—whether it’s an injury or poor sleep? That’s the reality of what time is doing to our bodies.
  • “Researchers call our ability to bounce back from health stress “biological resilience.” Evidence suggests that it declines with age, driven by biological and other factors, including parenting, work stress, changes in exercise habits and menopause.
  • “Often, these stresses pile up from early life and can reach a tipping point in our 30s and 40s. 
  • “There are these moments where the whole system seems to undergo like a vibe shift,” says Dr. Heather Whitson, a geriatrician and clinical investigator who directs the Duke University Aging Center.
  • “These midlife declines in resilience parallel emerging science suggesting that aging itself doesn’t happen in a linear way, doctors and researchers say. A small study out of Stanford that looked at biomolecular shifts in the body found two aging “waves” appear to occur around ages 44 and 60. 
  • “While the Stanford study’s findings are difficult to generalize to the broader adult population, family-medicine doctors report seeing similar age-related changes in their patients. The first shift often happens for patients in their late 30s and early 40s, says Dr. Benjamin Missick, family medicine doctor at Novant Health in North Carolina.”
• and
  • “Drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster Ozempic can cut drug and alcohol abuse by up to 50% according to a new study, adding to mounting evidence that the drugs yield health benefits beyond diabetes and weight loss.
  • “In a study published Thursday in scientific journal Addiction, around 500,000 people with a history of opioid use disorder were analyzed, of which just more than 8,000 were taking either GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic or the similar GIP class of drugs that Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro belongs to.
  • “GLP-1 drugs work by mimicking a gut hormone to control blood sugar and suppress appetite while GIP medications take a dual-target approach by mimicking both the GLP-1 hormone and a second gut hormone that is believed to enhance the drug’s effectiveness.
  • “The study found that those taking the drugs had a 40% lower rate of opioid overdose compared with those who didn’t.
  • “Similarly, an analysis of more than 5,600 people with a history of alcohol use disorder and who took the drugs showed they had a 50% lower rate of intoxication compared with those who didn’t take them.
  • “Our study… reveals the possibilities of a novel therapeutic pathway in substance use treatment,” the study’s lead researcher Fares Qeadan and co-authors of the research report Ashlie McCunn and Benjamin Tingey said.

• Per BioPharma Dive,
  • “People with advanced Parkinson’s disease have a new treatment option, as the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a combination therapy from AbbVie that’s designed to provide longer-lasting movement control.
  • “Parkinson’s is hallmarked by unintentional muscle movements like shaking or stiffness — the result of nerve cells progressively breaking down and dying. Two drugs, carbidopa and levodopa, have become mainstay treatments for the motor symptoms associated with the disease. AbbVie’s now-approved Vyalev pairs these medications together, but in a unique way.
  • “Vyalev uses “prodrug” versions of carbidopa and levodopa, meaning their therapeutic effects aren’t felt until they’re metabolized. Additionally, Vyalev is the first and only levodopa-based therapy given as a 24-hour infusion, similar to an insulin pump. That could be particularly useful for people with advanced Parkinson’s, who often have trouble swallowing pills because of their impaired motor function.”
    
• HCP Live relates,
  • Low-dose oral food challenges in infants with allergies are safe, with skin symptoms as the most common reaction, and no cases of anaphylaxis reported.
  • The study supports early introduction of allergenic foods to build tolerance, aligning with guidelines for early peanut introduction.

• Beckers Clinical Research notes,
  • “University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia researchers have developed the first mRNA Clostridioides difficile vaccine — and it’s shown promising results in animal models.
  • “The mRNA vaccine was found to protect against first-time C. diff infections and relapsing infections, promote clearance of existing C. diff bacteria in the gut and overcome deficits in host immunity to protect animals from infection, according to an Oct. 17 system news release. The study was published in Science and could pave the way for clinical trials.
  • “Researchers used the mRNA-LNP vaccine platform — the same that provided the COVID-19 vaccines — to create the C. diff vaccine.” 

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

• Per Healthcare Dive,
  • “Elevance Health lowered its profit guidance for 2024 on Thursday as the insurer manages “unprecedented challenges” in its Medicaid business.
  • “The company expects net income per diluted share to be approximately $26.50, down from at least $34.05 it projected last quarter. 
  • “But CEO Gail Boudreaux said the increased costs pressuring its Medicaid segment would alleviate as states updated their payment rates to better match member acuity. “We remain confident in the long-term earnings potential of our diverse businesses as we navigate a dynamic operating environment and unprecedented challenges in the Medicaid business,” she said in a statement.” 

• Modern Healthcare adds
  • “Elevance Health took a hit on its Medicare Advantage star ratings for 2025 and plans to do something about it, President and CEO Gail Boudreaux told investor analysts Thursday.
  • “The for-profit Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee is the latest Medicare Advantage insurer to push back on the lower quality scores the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced last week. UnitedHealthcare parent company UnitedHealth Group already sued the agency and Humana is appealing to CMS before taking other actions.
  • “We have challenged our initial score with CMS and are considering all of our options,” Boudreaux said when announcing the company’s third-quarter financial results.”

• Fierce Healthcare tells us,
  • “Evernorth has tapped Transcarent to power its Oncology Benefit Services offering, which aims to offer end-to-end support for cancer patients for the course of their care journey.
  • “The companies announced Thursday that the program is built on a digital platform that unites key cancer services across the patients’ medical and pharmacy benefits and connects them to a dedicated care team for personalized support and outreach.
  • “This digital platform makes it easier for employers to offer a “streamlined” experience to workers, according to the announcement. Through it, members can reach dedicated oncology nurse navigators who have an American Cancer Society Leadership in Oncology Navigation (ACS LION) certification, find and schedule appointments with cancer centers of excellence, connect to virtual care or have key drug consultations.
  • “Nurse navigators are also trained to provide support to the patients’ caregivers. They’re able to provide educational materials, assistance in appointment scheduling and answers to key questions.”
    
• Beckers Hospital Review points out,
  • “Changing consumer trends and market dynamics are leading to hundreds of pharmacy store closures in the U.S.
  • “Brick-and-mortar locations are losing to mail-order and digital options, according to a J.D. Power study of pharmacy customers. Between 2023 and 2024, overall customer satisfaction in physical drug stores declined 10 points on a 1,000-point scale, and satisfaction scores for mail-order pharmacies increased six points.” 

• “Deloitte research indicates that by ensuring virtual health offerings prioritize convenience and address consumer preferences, health systems could gain a competitive advantage.”
  
• Per MedTech Dive,
  • “CMR Surgical won Food and Drug Administration authorization for its Versius robot with an initial indication for gallbladder removal surgery. CMR will partner with select hospitals as the first part of a multistage strategic plan to introduce the robot in the U.S.
  • “The authorization is the first granted through the FDA’s de novo pathway for a multiport, soft tissue general surgical robot, CMR said in a Monday announcement. The de novo process brings new medical devices to market that may serve as predicates for other 510(k) submissions.
  • “The company announced the milestone less than a week after it named Massimiliano Colella as interim CEO, replacing Supratim Bose, who stepped down for personal reasons after less than two years in the job.”