• Healthcare Dive lets us know,
  • “Major health insurers are deleting images of their top leadership from corporate websites or removing executive pages entirely following the brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this week.
  • “Thompson, 50, was shot multiple times in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday in what appeared to be a targeted attack. Though many of Thompson’s peers expressed grief, the killing set off a morbidly gleeful celebration on social media, where posters on sites like X and Reddit applauded and joked about the crime to vent frustration and anger with health insurers.
  • “The shooting and subsequent reaction has spurred healthcare companies to increase security around their executives, according to reports. Such measures appear to be extending online, as major insurers scrub identifying details of top personnel from their sites.”

• The New York Times reports,
  • “Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York Police Department, said in an interview with CNN that investigators have “reason to believe” that the person they seek in the killing of Brian Thompson has left New York City. Joseph Kenny, the chief of detectives, said the police have video of him entering a bus terminal the day of the attack. “We don’t have any video of him exiting, so we believe he may have gotten on a bus,” he told CNN.” * * *
  • “The Atlanta Police Department is working with the New York police on the investigation into the killing of Brian Thompson. The Atlanta department said in a statement that it “will now be providing assistance as needed. The N.Y.P.D. is the lead agency.” The Greyhound bus that took the suspect to New York originated in Atlanta, law enforcement officials have said.”

• Modern Healthcare adds,
  • “The New York Police Department is waiting on DNA test results that could help in the hunt for the killer of insurance chief Brian Thompson, who was fatally shot outside the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel on early Wednesday morning. 
  • “Investigators pulled DNA from an Ethos water bottle that was found in the alleyway of the building that used to house the Ziegfeld Theater, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. It was the same spot where the shooter is believed to have pre-positioned an e-bike used for his getaway and where he dropped a Motorola burner phone, the person said. Police also tested DNA from a Starbucks cup the suspect dropped in a garbage can before he gunned Thompson down.
  • “The items were sent for testing on Wednesday with results expected within three days, potentially bolstering an investigation that is centered on identifying a male suspect who checked into a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Police and New York’s Mayor Eric Adams are appealing to the public for help in identifying the suspect, offering $10,000 for tips.”

From Washington, DC,

• The Washington Post lets us know,
  • “Congressional Democrats have privately proposed a deal to Republicans that would extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies by one year, with lawmakers worried by new estimates that 2.2 million people will otherwise lose health coverage, according to five people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the proposal.
  • “The move accompanied a broader package of health-care proposals submitted to Republicans on Thursday night ahead of year-end spending negotiations.
  • “Lawmakers are fiercely hammering out a bill to fund the government, and health-care leaders are pushing to add priorities to one of the final pieces of legislation this Congress. Negotiations are also occurring on other measures, such as more funding for community health centers, proposals to address bipartisan frustrations about pharmacy benefit managers and other extensions of ongoing health-care programs, four of the people said.
  • “A one-year deal to extend the expiring ACA subsidies would avoid what was expected to be a bruising battle for both parties. Democrats, who crafted the subsidies and have fought to defend them, are set to lose control of the Senate and the White House next year, complicating their ability to make policy. Republicans, who are set to gain control of Washington, are wary of being punished by voters for any perception that they are rolling back health-care coverage, with the backlash to their ACA repeal efforts still fresh in many lawmakers’ minds.”

• Govexec tells us,
  • “A Republican senator told the head of the U.S. Postal Service on Thursday that he would do everything he could to prevent the agency leader from instituting one of his key reforms, setting up a key divide between Congress and USPS. 
  • “Postmaster General Louis DeJoy faced bipartisan pushback from members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, with multiple exchanges turning testy. DeJoy vehemently defended his efforts and said the senators standing in his way would bring about the end of the Postal Service. 
  • “Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., became angry with DeJoy when discussing his plan to slow down delivery for some mail, which is expected to disproportionately impact rural areas.
  • “I hate this plan and I’m going to do everything I can to kill it,” Hawley said.”

• Fierce Healthcare explains “How Trump could roll back Biden-era healthcare regulations.”

• BioSpace relates,
  • “An appeals court on Wednesday ruled against Novartis in its bid to block the entry of MSN Pharmaceuticals’ generic competitor to the blockbuster heart failure drug Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan), according to Reuters and other outlets.
  • “First approved in 2015, Entresto is an oral drug indicated for the treatment of heart failure in adults. It combines the neprilysin blocker sacubitril with the angiotensin receptor inhibitor valsartan to lower blood pressure and vascular resistance. Since hitting the market, Entresto has become Novartis’ top-selling asset, raking in more than $6 billion in net sales globally last year.
  • “In its decision on Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed with a lower court’s verdict that Novartis had not sufficiently proven that it could win a patent suit against MSN. The appellate judges saw “no clear error in the district court’s analysis,” as reported by Reuters.”

From the public health and medical research front,

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today,
  • “COVID-19 activity remains low in most areas but is expected to increase in the coming weeks. Seasonal influenza activity remains low nationally but continues to increase slowly. RSV activity is moderate and continues to increase in most areas of the United States, particularly in young children. Respiratory infections caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae remain elevated among young children in the United States.
  • “COVID-19
    • “Wastewater levels, laboratory percent positivity, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations are stable or decreasing nationally while deaths remain at very low levels. However, based on CDC modeled estimates of epidemic growth, we predict COVID-19 illness to increase in the coming weeks as it usually does in the winter.
    • “There is still time to benefit from getting your recommended immunizations to reduce your risk of illness this season, especially severe illness and hospitalization.
    • “CDC expects the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine to work well for currently. There are many effective tools to prevent spreading COVID-19 or becoming seriously ill.
  • “Influenza
    • “Nationally, seasonal influenza activity remains low but continues to increase slowly.
    • “Additional information about current influenza activity can be found at: Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report | CDC
  • “RSV
    • “RSV activity is moderate nationally and continues to increase in most areas of the United States, particularly in young children. Emergency department visits and hospitalizations are increasing in children and hospitalizations are increasing among older adults in some areas.
  • “Vaccination
    • “Vaccination coverage with influenza and COVID-19 vaccines are low among U.S. adults and children. Vaccination coverage with RSV vaccines remains low among U.S. adults. Many children and adults lack protection from respiratory virus infections afforded by vaccines.

• The Wall Street Journal reports,
  • “The Agriculture Department said it would launch national testing of cow’s milk for the presence of bird flu to help regulators monitor U.S. dairy processors.
  • “The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said Friday that its “National Milk Testing Strategy” is designed to quickly find the presence of the disease in cow’s milk or in the cows themselves, by compiling random samples from different processing plants and testing them for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza.
  • “The virus is widespread among bird flocks, having been detected in over 110 million poultry birds, as well as more wild birds. The disease spread to U.S. cattle herds and has been transmitted to humans, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC reported nearly 60 human cases, mostly among dairy and poultry workers.
  • “The testing regime is expected to provide more comprehensive data on the proliferation of the disease into cows, the USDA said. The first round of testing is scheduled to begin the week of Dec. 16.”

• Cardiovascular Business tells us,
  • “Depression is associated with a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among women, according to new data published in Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine.[1] The same trend is not seen in men.
  • “The study’s authors focused on three different major psychiatric disorders: major depression (MD), bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia. 
  • “Few studies have investigated the sex differences in the cardiovascular comorbidity of schizophrenia and BD, and observational studies have presented inconsistent findings on the sex-specific association between depression and CVD outcomes,” wrote first author Jiayue-Clara Jiang, PhD, with the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland in Australia, and colleagues.
  • “Jiang et al. examined U.K. Biobank data from more than 345,000 patients, focused on MD, BD and schizophrenia may impact a patient’s long-term risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AFib), coronary artery disease or heart failure.” 

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

• Modern Healthcare relates,
  • “The vast majority of people in the U.S. are dissatisfied with the cost of healthcare, according to researchers. Meanwhile, the percentage of those who would rate the quality of U.S. healthcare as excellent or good has hit its lowest point in more than two decades.
  • “Research and polling firm Gallup’s annual Health and Healthcare poll, released Friday, found that 11% of Americans said healthcare quality was excellent and 33% said it was good. Additionally, nearly 80% of respondents said they were dissatisfied with the cost of healthcare.
  • The survey was conducted through telephone interviews between Nov. 6 and Nov. 20 among a random sample of 1,001 adults across all 50 states.” * * *
  • “When asked about what they saw as the most urgent health problem facing the country, survey participants’ number one response was cost, followed by access and obesity.” 

• Medical Economics adds,
  • “The Business Group on Health has identified health care costs as a major trend employers will need to navigate in 2025. With the cost of care growing at historic rates, businesses are preparing for a year of challenging decisions to manage expenses while maintaining quality care for their employees. Many of these changes could affect primary care physicians and their patients.
  • “A multitude of factors shape these 2025 trends, including the economy, technology, innovation, the political environment, and the evolving role of employers in the broader health and well-being landscape,” said Ellen Kelsay, president and CEO of the Business Group on Health, in a statement. “As employers head into the new year, they face formidable challenges stemming from climbing health care costs, which are putting pressure on how employers manage their overall health and well-being programs.”
  • “The 2025 Trends to Watch, outlined by the largest non-profit organization representing employer interests in health and workforce strategies, highlight the complexities businesses will encounter in addressing cost growth, mental health challenges, and an evolving relationship with vendors and health care partners.”

• Per Kaufmann Hall,
  • “Following the release of Q3 financial reports, this week’s graphic takes stock of large health insurance companies’ recent financial performances. Nearly all the major payers reported higher medical loss ratios (MLRs) in Q3 2024 compared to Q4 2022. The MLR refers to the percentage of premium dollars spent on medical claims and quality improvements and is an important metric payers use to evaluate their operations. This upward trend has affected some payers more than others, with CVS’s MLR rising by more than 9% compared to UnitedHealth Group’s (UHG) 2.4% increase in this time frame. The only payer to report a decreased MLR was Cigna, which appears to be benefitting from its continued pullback from the Medicare Advantage (MA) market.
  • Notably, payers have often cited higher utilization among MA patients­­­­—their previous blueprint for growth—as the leading reason for these rising costs. Additionally, relying on the profitability of other business segments to fuel future strategic investments may not be a sustainable plan for the two largest vertically integrated payers. 
  • Despite directing substantial resources into their non-insurance segments, nearly all these companies’ other business units have also been less profitable through Q3 2024, compared to the same period last year. After riding high for several years, the payers are showing signs that, despite their size, they are running into many of the same challenges as providers: rising drug costs, an aging population, and higher labor costs.

• Per Beckers Hospital Review,
  • “Blue Shield of California is set to launch a drug benefit initiative in January, partnering with Amazon Pharmacy and pharmacy benefit manager Abarca, Forbes reported Dec. 5. 
  • “The collaboration, called the Pharmacy Care Reimagined Initiative, aims to reduce prescription drug costs and improve transparency for the insurer’s 5 million health plan members.” 
  • This initiative was first announced in August 2023.