From Washington DC,

• The Wall Street Journal reports
  • “The [U.S.] Supreme Court blocked Purdue Pharma’s $6 billion settlement of opioid lawsuits against its Sackler family owners, agreeing to hear the Justice Department’s claim that the drugmaker’s bankruptcy plan improperly wipes out potential liability to additional parties for allegedly fueling the opioid addiction crisis.”
• and
  • “Social Security recipients are on track to pocket a significantly smaller raise in 2024 because of a slowdown in inflation.
  • “If inflation climbs in line with its recent trend over the next two months, recipients’ monthly checks will rise by about 3% in 2024, according to estimates from analysts and nonprofits. The estimates follow an 8.7% cost-of-living increase in 2023 as inflation soared.”

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services updated its recent No Surprises Act website notice to read,
  • “Effective August 8, 2023, the Departments have directed certified IDR entities to resume processing single and bundled disputes initiated in 2022, as well as single and bundled disputes initiated in 2023 where the administrative fees have been paid (or the deadline for collecting fees expired) before August 3, 2023. Additionally, the Departments have directed certified IDR entities to resume processing batched disputes where the IDR entity determined that the batched dispute was eligible and administrative fees have been paid (or the deadline for collecting fees expired) before August 3, 2023. Processing of other disputes remains temporarily suspended.“

• The FEHBlog checked the status of the August 3, 2023, decision in the Texas Medical Association versus HHS case, filed in the Eastern District of Texas, and he found that as of today, the Justice Department has not noticed an appeal from that final decision.

• The Department of Health and Human Services announced,
  • “Today, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced awards of more than $100 million to train more nurses and grow the nursing workforce. These investments will address the increasing demand for registered nurses, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and nurse faculty.
  • “Nurses are an essential part of our nation’s health care system,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Now more than ever, we need to double down on our investments in nurses who care for communities across the country.”

From the public health and Rx coverage fronts,

• The Wall Street Journal reports
  • “Health officials, vaccine makers and doctors are gearing up for a fall vaccination campaign that will look different from previous ones: Vaccines will be distributed to pharmacies and doctors’ offices through the commercial market, not government purchases. The vaccines are targeting the recently dominant XBB.1.5 strain in line with instructions the Food and Drug Administration set earlier this year. 
  • “Boosters updated to target XBB.1.5 should retain good protection against EG.5, because the Omicron subvariants are similar, Kanter said. It is difficult to predict how long the protection might last, he said.
  • “Pfizer expects its new shots to win approval this month, with vaccinations likely starting in September, Chief Executive Albert Bourla said this month. Pfizer expects the booster to work against EG.5 because it is an offshoot of Omicron—but is conducting laboratory tests to be sure, a spokeswoman said. Pfizer and partner BioNTech presented animal testing to FDA advisers at a June meeting about how to update the vaccine. * * *
  • “Moderna has ample supply of its updated vaccine and is waiting for FDA signoff to distribute doses, a spokesman said. He said that preliminary testing shows the shot works against EG.5 and that more testing is under way.
  • “Novavax, whose Covid-19 vaccine uses a different technology, is submitting data to regulators to authorize its booster and expects to win clearance and ship doses in September, a spokeswoman said.”
• Cost curve up for health plans.

• Fierce Healthcare says,
  • “Medicare Part D drug prices have increased by an average of 226% since market entry. These 25 drugs are responsible for $80.9 billion in total Part D spending in 2021.
  • “The new report (PDF) from AARP’s Public Policy Institute shows that high pharmaceutical drug prices are placing an unwelcome burden on customers. Overall, lifetime price increases among 25 name-brand drugs have increased by 20% to 739%, with just one drug exceeding the annual rate of inflation over the same period of time.”

• The Wall Street Journal adds,
  • “Weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy will continue to be tough to find for the foreseeable future, as demand outpaces drugmakers’ ability to make enough.
  • “Denmark-based Novo Nordisk said Thursday it will continue to reduce the availability of lower doses of Wegovy that are meant for new patients starting out on the drug in the U.S. Capacity limitations at some manufacturing sites will cause continued periodic supply constraints across a number of products and geographies.
  • “Novo Nordisk started this rationing in May as a way to conserve supplies for existing patients who take higher doses of the drug to lose weight and keep it off. The company had said previously the reduction in starting doses would last through September, but Novo Nordisk executives said Thursday that they expect to continue to manage the starting dose supply after September.”

From the healthcare business front,

• BioPharma Dive informs us
  • “Novo Nordisk agreed to buy metabolic disorder specialist Inversago Pharma in a deal worth as much as about $1.1 billion as the Danish company works to strengthen its leading position in the obesity drug market.
  • “Inversago’s lead experimental drug has shown promise for weight loss in a Phase 1b trial and is being tested in Phase 2 for diabetic kidney disease, Novo said Thursday. The privately held Canadian company is also developing treatments for other metabolic and fibrotic disorders.
  • “Novo didn’t release further financial details of the transaction, which includes potential payments for reaching certain developmental and commercial goals. The companies expect the acquisition to close by the end of the year, after which Novo intends to investigate the potential of Inversago’s lead drug in “obesity and obesity-related complications.”

• Per Healthcare Dive,
  • “America’s largest for-profit health systems reported higher-than-anticipated revenues this quarter, driven by rebounding admissions and increased demand for elective surgeries.
  • “HCA and Tenet, which both posted revenues that surpassed Wall Street estimates, raised their full revenue forecasts for the year in light of their second quarter performance, and UHS raised its lower-bound revenue guidance. CHS was an outlier, posting a net income loss of $38 million, which analysts said was still an improvement compared to the health system’s net loss of $326 million in the same period last year.
  • “Hospitals said normalizing labor conditions post-pandemic and proactive cost-cutting initiatives helped keep operating margins stable, even as expenses rose year over year.
  • “The reported revenues and cost-cutting initiatives for for-profit hospitals is a contrast to last year, when operators struggled to meet targets during the second quarter amid lower admissions and challenging labor market conditions.”

• Per Fierce Healthcare
  • “Cigna is teaming up with Virgin Pulse to launch a new, personalized digital health program for its members.
  • “The new platform will be available through the myCigna portal and allows users to set their personal health goals and track daily progress. They can then receive real-time feedback and guidance that’s based on the data they’ve submitted, according to an announcement.
  • “The tool will be offered to nearly 11 million members, Cigna said.
  • “Cigna said it will make the platform available beginning Jan. 1 to people enrolled in its employer plans. It intends to expand further over time.”