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| Presented By AHCA/NCAL |
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| Axios Vitals |
| By Adriel Bettelheim · Feb 23, 2023 |
| It's Thursday, Vitals gang. I'll be filling in for Tina until she returns on Monday. Today's newsletter is 813 words or a 3-minute read. Join Axios Pro Health Care Policy reporters Maya Goldman and Peter Sullivan today at 12:30pm ET for a virtual event examining the key issues up for debate in Congress. - Guests include Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.) and Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.). Register here to attend.
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| 1 big thing: Costs top Americans' health concerns |
 Data: Axios-Ipsos poll; Chart: Simran Parwani/Axios Americans say they're worried about opioids and gun violence, but what they really want the government to tackle is rising drug costs and health bills, according to the new Axios-Ipsos American Health Index. The big picture: Pocketbook health issues still resonate the most with voters, who are increasingly convinced businesses and politicians don't have their backs. What they found: The national survey of 1,213 U.S. adults found almost 8 in 10 want insurers to cover weight-loss drugs, and almost 9 in 10 back a monthly cap on out-of-pocket costs for insulin. - Given options for future government action, half picked lowering costs for health care and prescription drugs. That far exceeded reducing gun deaths or researching cures and treating major disease, which tied for second place.
- "Making ends meet is an increasing challenge so the No. 1 health priority returns back to the overall priority for most Americans, being able to afford the basic necessities of life," said Cliff Young, president of Ipsos U.S. Public Affairs.
While the financial squeeze is being felt regardless of party affiliation, there still are deep partisan divisions over some cost and coverage decisions. - Americans overall are almost evenly split over whether insurers should cover transgender-related medical care, but only 16% of Republicans support the idea, compared to 77% of Democrats and 44% of independents.
- Asked if America has spent enough fighting COVID, 76% of Republicans agree, compared to 22% of Democrats and 53% of independents.
Go deeper. |
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| 2. Politics drive public health fears |
| Republicans see fentanyl and other opioids as the biggest threat to Americans' public health, while Democrats say it's guns, Axios' Margaret Talev and David Nather write about the new Axios-Ipsos survey. The big picture: The concerns over opioids — including fentanyl — vary by education level, not just by party. - Opioids were the top health concern of 32% of people with a high school diploma or less, compared to 25% of people with some college and 20% of those with a bachelor's degree or higher.
- There's a big divide among those worried about guns, based on where they live: 22% of urban residents and 17% of suburban residents cited gun violence as their biggest concern, compared to just 8% of rural Americans.
Reality check: Heart disease and cancer actually were the two leading causes of death in the U.S. as of 2021, followed by COVID-19 and accidents, according to the CDC. |
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| 3. Scrutiny still hangs over Amazon-One Medical deal |
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| Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios |
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| Amazon closed its $4 billion acquisition of One Medical on Wednesday after the Federal Trade Commission said it would not challenge the deal, but noted regulators will still be investigating its possible competitive and consumer harm, Axios' Erin Brodwin and Aaron Weizman write. Why it matters: It's a potentially good sign for CVS Health, which has two mega-deals hanging in the balance. - CVS is still trying to close its $8 billion deal for Signify Health, which is under DOJ review.
- A couple of weeks ago, the company announced it was acquiring the Medicare-focused primary care operator Oak Street Health for about $10.5 billion.
What they're saying: "The FTC and DOJ are reviewing many more deals than they did in the past — for better or for worse — but not enough to discourage deals from getting done," Martin Gaynor, professor of economics and health policy at Carnegie Mellon University, tells Axios. The FTC put Amazon on notice it's proceeding with One Medical at its own risk, an agency official told CNN, in what's known as a "pre-consummation warning." - The deal gives Amazon access to more than 200 doctors' offices and approximately 815,000 One Medical members.
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| A message from AHCA/NCAL |
| The domino effect of failing to support long term caregivers |
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| The long term care labor shortage has created bottlenecks in hospitals as patients wait for beds in nursing homes. What you need to know: A federal staffing mandate will worsen the strain by forcing nursing homes to limit their number of residents. We need solutions now. |
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| 4. Primary care shortages persist |
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| Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios |
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| Medical students aren't flocking to primary care, despite an uptick in applicants to schools and congressional efforts to boost residency slots, Axios' Arielle Dreher writes. Why it matters: While the pandemic drove home the importance of preventive care, many residents continue to flock to higher-paying specialties, potentially leaving gaps in care and holes in the medical workforce. Driving the news: In 2022, 930 family medicine and internal medicine residency positions went unfilled, per data from the National Regional Match Program. - And from 2012 to 2020, just 1 in 5 of physicians who completed a residency were practicing primary care two years later, a new report from the Milbank Memorial Fund found.
Go deeper: Future doctors still prefer specialty residency programs instead of primary care positions, which go unfilled at higher rates. - Anesthesiology, radiology and many specialty surgery residencies are much more competitive and few positions are left unfilled, Match data show.
- This year's match day is March 17, when newly minted doctors find out which residency or fellowship training program they've been assigned to.
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| 5. Catch up quick |
| 👀 A Medicaid mix-up might land you on a "most wanted" list in Tennessee. (KHN). 💉 The flu shot provided a relatively robust level of protection this year. (STAT News). 🧬 Moderna inks another gene editing deal, showing its ambitions beyond preventive shots. (Biopharma Dive). |
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| A message from AHCA/NCAL |
| Long term care needs hiring help, not impossible mandates |
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| Nursing homes are working hard to recruit caregivers, but they can't find workers. The solution: We need investments in our long term care workforce — not unfunded staffing mandates — to offer better wages, build a pipeline of nurses and bolster staff retention. Learn more. |
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| Have a news tip? Just reply to this email. Did someone forward this email? Subscribe here. Thanks for reading, and thanks to senior copy editor Bryan McBournie for the edits. |
 | | Dive deeper into the future of health care | | |
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