From Washington, DC,

• The Hill reports
  • “Control of the House has yet to be determined, as a number of critical races remain too close to call, leaving lawmakers — and voters — waiting to see which party will hold the majority next year.
  • “The sprint to 218 seats, however, is nearing the final stretch, after a handful of additional races were called in the days following election night.
  • “Republicans had secured 216 seats in the lower chamber as of Friday morning, with Democrats trailing at 204 seats, according to Decision Desk HQ. A total of 15 races have not yet been called: Democrats are leading in eight of the contests, while GOP candidates are ahead in the other seven.”
    
• CMS finally announced the Medicare Part A and B premiums and cost sharing amounts for 2025 today.
  • Medicare Part A cost sharing
    • “The Medicare Part A inpatient hospital deductible that beneficiaries pay if admitted to the hospital will be $1,676 in 2025, an increase of $44 from $1,632 in 2024. The Part A inpatient hospital deductible covers beneficiaries’ share of costs for the first 60 days of Medicare-covered inpatient hospital care in a benefit period. In 2025, beneficiaries must pay a coinsurance amount of $419 per day for the 61^st through 90^th day of a hospitalization ($408 in 2024) in a benefit period and $838 per day for lifetime reserve days ($816 in 2024). For beneficiaries in skilled nursing facilities, the daily coinsurance for days 21 through 100 of extended care services in a benefit period will be $209.50 in 2025 ($204.00 in 2024).” 
  • Medicare Part B premiums
    • “The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $185.00 for 2025, an increase of $10.30 from $174.70 in 2024. The fact sheets also disclose the Medicare Part B Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts (IRMAA).”
  • Medicare Part B annual deductible
    • “The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries will be $257 in 2025, an increase of $17 from the annual deductible of $240 in 2024.  The increase in the 2025 Part B standard premium and deductible is mainly due to projected price changes and assumed utilization increases that are consistent with historical experience.”

• Modern Healthcare reports,
  • “Many hospitals are not publishing their prices in accordance with the price transparency law, a federal watchdog’s new report found.
  • “More than a third of the 100 hospitals reviewed by the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Inspector General did not post machine-readable pricing data files correctly, or at all, as required by the 2021 federal law, according to the report released Friday. Most of the violations were related to disclosing the rates hospitals negotiated with insurers, metadata errors and outdated information. Five hospitals did not post any machine-readable files.
  • “The OIG analyzed data from 30 hospitals that were part of the country’s three largest health systems, and the rest were part of a random sample of 5,504 facilities. Researchers reviewed hospital websites between Jan. 17, 2023, and March 14, 2023.”

From the public health and medical research front,

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today.
  • “COVID-19 activity is stable or declining in most areas. Minimal seasonal influenza activity is occurring nationally. Signs of increased RSV activity have been detected in the southern, southeastern, and mid-Atlantic United States, particularly in young children. Respiratory infections caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniaehave continued to increase in young children in the United States.”
  • “COVID-19
    • Nationally, COVID-19 activity is stable or declining in most areas. Wastewater levels, laboratory percent positivity, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations are continuing to decrease nationally while deaths remain at low levels. Across the nation, COVID-19 infections are predicted to decline in some states and grow slowly from a low level in others.
    • “CDC expects that the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine to work well for currently circulating variants. For additional information, please see CDC COVID Data Tracker: Variant Proportions. There are many effective tools to prevent spreading COVID-19 or becoming seriously ill.”
  • “Influenza
    • “Nationally, minimal seasonal influenza activity is occurring. Additional information about current influenza activity can be found at: Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report | CDC.”
  • “RSV
    • “Nationally, RSV activity remains low. However, continuing signs of increased RSV activity have been detected in the southern, southeastern, and mid-Atlantic United States, particularly in young children. Emergency department visits and hospitalization rates are increasing in young children in some areas.
  • “Vaccination
    • RSV, influenza, and COVID-19 vaccines are available to provide protection and play a key role in preventing hospitalizations.

• MedPage Today adds,
  • “If you missed the early fall pushopens in a new tab or window for flu and COVID-19 vaccines, it’s not too late.
  • “Health officials say it’s important to get vaccinated ahead of the holidays, when respiratory bugs tend to spread with travel and indoor celebrations.
  • “Those viruses haven’t caused much trouble so far this fall. But COVID-19 tends to jump in the winter months, a rise that usually starts around Thanksgiving and peaks in January.
  • “And that coincides with flu season, which tends to start in November or December and peak in January or February.
  • “It takes the body about 2 weeks to build up immunity after either shot — meaning vaccination is needed before these viruses start spreading.”

• Per Health Day,
  • “It doesn’t take much: Adding just five minutes of exercise to your daily routine lowers your blood pressure and might cut your odds for heart disease, new research shows.
  • “The good news is that whatever your physical ability, it doesn’t take long to have a positive effect on blood pressure,” said study lead author Jo Blodgett, from University College London (UCL). “What’s unique about our exercise variable is that it includes all exercise-like activities, from climbing the stairs to a short cycling errand, many of which can be integrated into daily routines.”
  • “Her team published its findings Nov. 6 in the journal Circulation.”
• and
  • “Women who take vitamin D supplements during a pregnancy may be giving their kids the legacy of stronger bones, new British research suggests.
  • “Children whose moms took vitamin D supplements when pregnant had stronger, denser bones at the age of 7 compared to the kids of women who didn’t, a study from the University of Southampton shows. 
  • It’s a head start on bone health that might last a lifetime, said lead researcher Dr. Rebecca Moon.
  • “This early intervention represents an important public health strategy. It strengthens children’s bones and reduces the risk of conditions like osteoporosis and fractures in later life,” said Moon, a clinical lecturer in child health at the university.”

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

• Modern Healthcare reports,
  • “Value-based care platform Astrana Health has signed a definitive agreement with private equity firm Prospect Medical Holdings to acquire some of its assets for $745 million. 
  • “Pending regulatory approvals, Astrana would acquire Prospect Health Plan, Prospect Medical Groups, Prospect Medical Systems, RightRx and Foothill Regional Medical Center in Tustin, California. 
  • “In October, Astrana Health finalized its acquisition of management services organization Collaborative Health System from health insurer Centene for an undisclosed price. The company’s latest acquisitions are expected to close in mid-2025, according to a Friday news release from Astrana. 
  • “Astrana and Prospect Medical did not immediately respond to requests for comment.” 

• Beckers Payer Issues ranks large payers by third quarter medical loss ratio.

• Per Fierce Healthcare,
  • “Quest Diagnostics and Elevance Health are broadening their partnership into four more states with the goal of making it easier for patients to access in-network laboratory services.
  • “Beginning Jan. 1, Quest’s service will be available in-network in four additional states: Colorado, Georgia, Nevada and Virginia. This includes routine lab testing, advanced diagnostics and Quest’s network of pathologists, according to an announcement.
  • ‘Members who need lab services are able to schedule appointments online at one of Quest’s patient service centers as well as access test results and updates through the free myQuest mobile app.”
    
• Per MedTech Dive,
  • “Tandem Diabetes Care and Insulet executives this week touted the strong demand they’ve seen for their insulin pumps among people with Type 2 diabetes, tipping that adoption could be even greater than previously believed.
  • “Tandem CEO John Sheridan said on an earnings call Wednesday that adoption of pumps among the roughly 2 million patients with insulin-intensive Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. is about 5%. Sheridan told investors that Tandem sees that figure growing to more than 25% over the next several years. Just a few quarters ago, the company was projecting a 15% longer-term adoption rate.
  • “Interest in insulin pumps among people with Type 2 diabetes has made up a solid chunk of new users, helping to propel Tandem to a record quarter in sales.
  • “More than 30,000 people living in the U.S. with Type 2 use a Tandem pump,” Sheridan said. “If we look at it on a quarterly basis, approximately 5-10% of new customers each quarter have Type 2, which has been a consistent trend throughout the years.”
• and
  • “Exact Sciences reported third-quarter results that fell short of analyst expectations and cut its guidance for the fourth quarter. The cut, which William Blair analysts called a “shocking guidance update,” contributed to a 23% drop in the diagnostic company’s stock Wednesday.
  • “TD Cowen analysts said in a note to investors that the third quarter was the third time in five years that Exact Sciences, which sells the Cologuard colorectal cancer screening test, has missed revenue expectations. 
  • “Screening and precision oncology sales were each 1% below Wall Street’s consensus expectations, William Blair analysts wrote in a note to investors Tuesday. Exact Sciences is forecasting a bigger shortfall for the fourth quarter, with the company lowering its total revenue guidance by 11%, or around $85 million, from the prior implied range, according to William Blair.”