Tuesday Tidbits

David Ermer–Uncategorized–

Following up on yesterday’s post, Govexec.com reports that stakeholders are rallying around President Trump’s decision to nominate Dale Cabaniss as permanent OPM Director. That bodes well for Senate confirmation of the nomination.

Food and Drug Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb announced that he will be voluntarily leaving his position next month. Forbes discusses that unfortunate development here.

In other drug news,

  • The Wall Street Journal reports that  “The Food and Drug Administration approved a controversial drug for depression that could be the first of a long-awaited wave of new treatments, but that has also raised concerns about abuse  The drug, a nasal spray that manufacturer Johnson & Johnson has branded Spravato, is a close chemical relation to ketamine.  * * * Studies have shown that ketamine can relieve symptoms of depression within hours, rather than the weeks it takes for traditional antidepressants to start having an effect. The FDA approved use of Spravato for patients with “treatment-resistant” depression, meaning those who have been unable to find relief from at least two treatments. J&J estimates about three million to five million Americans suffer from this condition.”
  • The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that prescription drug manufacturer Lilly “will introduce a version of the diabetes treatment Humalog that will be called Insulin Lispro and come with an initial price 50 percent lower than Humalog’s current rate of about $275 per vial. The company said it is working to make the insulin available as quickly as possible.”
The American Hospital Association has sent the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee a detailed letter describing its preferred strategies for lowering heath care costs. 
Continuing on the same topic, Healthcare Dive informs us about a study in Health Affairs in which

Researchers looked at the impact of a program that rewards people who agreed to receive one of 131 elective procedures from a designated lower-price provider. The checks ranged from $25 to $500, depending on the price and service.  Over 12 months, prices paid for the targeted services dipped 2.1%, leading to $2.3 million in savings, or about $8 per person. The biggest effects were seen in MRI and ultrasounds, with no noticeable price drop in surgical procedures.

It’s a start.

And, Health IT Analytics reminds us that

Emergency department (ED) visits for people with at least one chronic condition contributed to nearly 60 percent of all annual visits in 2017 and $8.3 billion in spending, says a report from Premier. Of these visits, over 4.3 million were potentially preventable, suggesting that these patients need access to higher-quality primary care.  

Costly chronic conditions are only growing more prevalent as the US population ages, the report noted, and hospitals and health systems are increasingly facing financial pressures as the industry shifts to population health management approaches and value-based care.

Smarter use of primary care is the FEHBlog’s preferred strategy for lowering healthcare costs.

Finally Reuters reports that “The Trump administration is working on a new payment approach for treating kidney disease that favors lower cost care at home and transplants, a change that would upend a [high cost] dialysis industry that provides care in thousands of clinics nationwide.” Go get ’em.