Tuesday Report

From Washington, DC
- The Wall Street Journal offers a summary of seven takeaways from the President’s speech on Tuesday night.
- Bloomberg Law tells us,
- “A battle over legislation that would make it easier for Medicare cancer patients to get their drugs may reignite this week when a key Republican lawmaker is expected to reintroduce the proposal.
- “The measure (H.R. 5526) was passed in the House in September 2024 but stalled in the Senate amid opposition from the pharmacy industry. Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.), a pharmacist, said in a statement to Bloomberg Law the legislation “is one of my top healthcare priorities, and I expect to reintroduce it this week.”
- “This legislation had strong bipartisan support in Congress last year because it would greatly benefit the lives of countless seniors who need life-saving medications but might not be able to access them easily,” Harshbarger said. “I’m looking at all legislative opportunities to advance this bill and get it enacted into law.”
- “The legislation, and S. 3458 introduced last Congress by former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), would have amended the physician self-referral law and restored a Covid-19 pandemic-era waiver that allowed Medicare patients to receive their oral cancer medications through the mail, by courier, or via pick-up by family members.”
- Wolters Kluwer lets us know,
- “On March 2, 2025 the United States Department of the Treasury announced that with respect to the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), it will not enforce any penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting (BOIR) rule under the current deadlines, and it will further not enforce any penalties or fines against United States citizens or domestic reporting companies or their beneficial owners after a forthcoming rule change takes effect.
- “The Treasury Department also announced that it will be issuing a proposed rulemaking that will narrow the scope of the BOI reporting rule to foreign reporting companies only. Treasury stated that it was taking this step “in the interest of supporting hard-working American taxpayers and small businesses and ensuring that the rule is appropriately tailored to advance the public interest.”
- The Treasury Department’s press release can be read in full here: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0038“
- Federal News Network tells us,
- “The Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management has revised its guidance on probationary employees, now stating that OPM was not directing agencies to fire federal workers.
- “An update to OPM’s Jan. 20 memo on Tuesday adds a paragraph clarifying that any decision to fire employees should be left to individual agencies.
- “Please note that, by this memorandum, OPM is not directing agencies to take any specific performance-based actions regarding probationary employees,” the updated memo states. “Agencies have ultimate decision-making authority over, and responsibility for, such personnel actions.”
- Kevin Moss, writing in Federal News Network, discusses how federal annuitants can control their FEHB premiums.
- Per an FDA news release,
- On Monday, the FDA approved the first generics of Xarelto (rivaroxaban), 2.5 mg, tablets to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in adult patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and to reduce the risk of major thrombotic vascular events in adult patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), including patients who have recently undergone a lower extremity revascularization procedure due to symptomatic PAD. Anticoagulants (blood thinners) are among the most commonly prescribed medications in the U.S., and Monday’s approval of the first generics of rivaroxaban, 2.5 mg, tablets will make a direct impact on American patients who rely on anticoagulant medications. Approving safe and effective generics to help provide patients more treatment options continues to be a priority for the FDA.
From the judicial front,
- Per Fierce Healthcare,
- “UnitedHealth Group notched a major court win in a legal challenge over its Medicare Advantage (MA) billing practices that is stretching into its second decade.
- “The suit was first filed by a whistleblower in 2011, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) joined the case in 2017. The court-appointed special master released its report this week, in which, after reviewing the evidence, it determined “that the government is lacking any evidence in support of two essential elements of its False Claim Act and related common law claims.”
- “The suit alleges that UnitedHealth conducted reviews of patients’ medical records that allowed it to identify underpayments while ignoring instances of overbilling. This would enable the company to juice its risk scores and thus its MA payouts.” * * *
- “In the lawsuit, the feds argue that the billing practices allowed UHG to pocket $2.1 billion. The special master rebuffed an analysis from a government expert who identified 1.97 million codes among 28 million that were allegedly unsupported by the patients’ diagnoses.
- “The special master noted in its report that the expert did not review medical charts before making this determination.” * * *
- “The special master’s report recommends that the courts grant UHG a summary judgement and reject the DOJ’s request for partial summary adjudication.”
From the public health and medical research front,
- Katelyn Jetelina, a/k/a Your Local Epidemiologist, remarks
- “If you’re 65+ or moderately/severely immunocompromised, a spring Covid-19 vaccine is available. Last October, CDC recommended a second dose of the 2024-2025 Covid-19 vaccine for this spring. It’s a 6-month recommended interval, so the first people will be eligible this week.
- “Are they still working? Yes. Data published last week showed Covid-19 vaccines provided 45% additional protection against hospitalizations this winter.”
- The Wall Street Journal points out that the Health and Human Services Department under its new leadership is heightening its scrutiny of vaccines.
- In this week’s online Research Matter, NIH discusses “Tracking diet from stool samples | Diabetes & antibiotic resistance | Cancer cell cooperation.”
- Per an NIH news release,
- An observational study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that infants who had more diverse bacteria in their gut had lower childhood blood pressure, and this protective association was stronger if they were breastfed for at least six months. The findings published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
- For the research, investigators reviewed data from 526 children enrolled in a prospective study in Denmark. They looked for connections between infant gut bacteria, which can be influenced by nutrition and supports a variety of health functions, and childhood blood pressure. To assess this, they collected fecal samples to analyze bacteria in the infants’ intestines during their first week, month, and year of life. Three and six years later, they measured the children’s blood pressure.
- The researchers found children with more diverse gut bacteria at one month had lower blood pressure six years later. They then assessed the influence of breastfeeding, which was measured in this study for durations of at least six months. They discovered that among children breastfed for at least six months, the blood-pressure lowering effect of having more diverse bacteria in their gut was even stronger. Specifically, those with a greater diversity of gut bacteria throughout the first month of life had systolic blood pressure that was about 2 mm Hg lower six years later if they were breastfed for at least six months.
- The National Cancer Institute points out,
- “A new study has identified a group of genetic changes that are likely involved in the development of cancer in children. According to the findings, genomic changes affecting large pieces of DNA, called structural variants, contribute to an estimated 1% to 6% of pediatric solid tumors.” * * *
- “Overall, the researchers estimated that structural variants are involved in the development of 1% to 6% of neuroblastomas, Ewing sarcomas, and osteosarcomas. That is a rough estimate limited by the relatively small number of children in the study and the exclusion of certain types of structural variants due to technical limitations, the team noted.”
- STAT News reports,
- “It’s easy to think cervical cancer could be 100% preventable. Along with lung, breast, and colorectal cancer, it has screening tests to find precancerous changes that can be treated before full-blown cancer develops. Even more, there is a highly effective vaccine against HPV, the virus that causes most cervical cancer diagnoses.
- “Still, those two forms of prevention are not enough if people aren’t getting them, a research letter published Monday in JAMA Network Open reports. The cross-sectional study found incidence and mortality rates have been climbing in rural counties in the United States since 2012, going in the wrong direction after declining since 2001. Cases were 25% higher and deaths were 42% higher in rural counties compared to urban counties through 2019.
- “Researchers said those jumps in incidence and mortality showing up in rural areas may be a result of lower screening, diagnosis, and treatment rates, all an offshoot of reduced options for care outside cities.
- “There was also a trend toward higher incidence among Black women starting in 2017, but that rise was not statistically significant. Other research, from the American Cancer Society, has concluded the mortality rate for Black women is roughly 65% higher than the rate for white women.”
- BioPharma Dive relates,
- “Merck & Co.’s cancer immunotherapy Keytruda is one of the pharmaceutical industry’s biggest successes. The drug’s arrival in 2014 introduced a new way of treating cancer and, over time, it became standard therapy for a panoply of different tumors. Clinical achievements brought about commercial performance, making Keytruda the world’s best-selling medicine.
- “After the repeated failure of past attempts to improve on Keytruda, a new class of drugs might finally offer a better backbone for immunotherapy’s next decade.
- “Last September, biotechnology companies Summit Therapeutics and Akeso revealed clinical trial results showing one of these drugs significantly outperformed Keytruda. Called ivonescimab, it cut the risk of lung cancer progression in half compared to Keytruda in a Phase 3 study — a result so striking it sparked a wave of investment in oncology research practically overnight.
- “This really was a ‘black swan’ event,” said Allen Yang, Summit’s chief medical officer. “It’s clearly what everybody’s been looking for.”
From the U.S. healthcare business front,
- Fierce Healthcare shares news from this week’s HIMSS conference being held in Las Vegas.
- Healthcare Dive adds,
- “Lightning-fast evolution in artificial intelligence and growing adoption of the models is giving rise to concerns that AI could exacerbate existing divides between technological haves and have-nots in the healthcare industry.
- “But all types of providers — regardless of location or finances — can adopt AI, experts said Monday at the HIMSS conference in Las Vegas.
- “It’s just a question of knowing how.
- “Rural hospitals, smaller systems and health clinics without a massive IT infrastructure should reach out to AI companies to discuss potential partnerships, said Graham Walker, co-director of advanced development at Kaiser Permanente’s medical group, during a panel.”
- The Wall Street Journal reports,
- “Walgreens Boots Alliance is closing in on a deal with private-equity firm Sycamore Partners that would take the struggling drugstore chain off the public market for around $10 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
- “The sides are aiming to complete a deal as soon as Thursday, assuming a last-minute snag doesn’t delay the talks or end them entirely, the people said.
- “They have been discussing Sycamore paying between $11.30 a share and $11.40 a share in cash, the people said. The deal could also include contingent value rights that would increase the value if certain targets are later reached, they added.
- “Should Sycamore complete the deal for the whole company, it is expected to maintain the core U.S. retail business and sell off or take public the other parts of the company, the people said.”
- Modern Healthcare informs us,
- “CVS Health has dealt its Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organization business to Wellvana, the companies announced Tuesday.
- “As part of the all-stock transaction, CVS Health took a minority stake in Wellvana, a privately held physician-enablement vendor. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal and did not immediately respond to interview requests.”
- Beckers Payer Issues lets us know,
- “Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan reported a loss of $1.02 billion on enterprise revenue of $40.6 billion in 2024, driven by rising utilization of expensive medical services and costs for prescription and specialty drugs.
- “The company reported an underwriting loss of $1.7 billion in 2024, resulting in a negative operating margin of -4.2%. These losses were partly offset by strong performance from the company’s investment portfolio.
- “In 2024, Blue Cross saw an increase of $3 billion for medical and pharmacy claims costs compared to 2023. There was an increase of $900 million in pharmacy claims costs, including $544 million for specialty drugs, of which $215 million was for new indications on autoimmune drugs. GLP-1 drugs alone produced $1.1 billion in claims in 2024, a 29% increase from 2023.
- “Total membership stands at 5.1 million. There are 663,000 Medicare Advantage members, 286,000 Medicaid members, and 160,000 ACA members.”
- Healthcare Dive tells us,
- “Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Novant Health and Durham, North Carolina-based Duke University Health System will partner to build an unspecified number of new campuses across North Carolina, according to a Monday press release.
- “The partnership aims to increase patient access to primary care and advanced specialty treatment, as well as shorten wait times for care.
- “Construction on the first sites will begin this summer, and facilities will open approximately 18 months after work begins, according to the news release.”