| |
| |
| |
| Presented By PhRMA |
| |
| Axios Vitals |
| By Tina Reed · Apr 07, 2023 |
| Good morning, Vitals readers and Happy Easter weekend to all those who celebrate. Today's newsletter is 950 words or a 3½-minute read. ⚾️ 1 fun thing: Here's some fun news (well, except for Yankees fans). The New York Mets will be wearing a NewYork-Presbyterian patch on their uniforms in a new partnership announced Thursday. - The deal also means fans who deliver their babies at NewYork-Presbyterian hospitals will get a Mets onesie, "celebrating their fandom from day one," officials said.
|
| |
| |
| 1 big thing: Hospitals' off-site fees draw lawmakers' scrutiny |
 |
|
| Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios |
| |
| More than two years after Congress acted to shield patients from surprise medical bills, lawmakers are turning to another source of unexpected medical costs: the fees that hospitals tack on for services provided in clinics they own, Axios' Arielle Dreher writes. Why it matters: As health systems push more care outside hospital walls, they're charging extra "facility fees" for common services like blood tests, X-rays and outpatient procedures. In some cases, they're even applied to telehealth visits. - Critics say the practice drives up health care costs while padding hospital profits and incentivizing more health care consolidation.
- A 2020 Rand report found facility and related professional charges factored in employers and private insurers paying 224% of what Medicare would have paid for the same services at the same facilities.
Driving the news: The fees have caught the attention of Congress, which could take up price transparency legislation. - Five states — Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts and Texas,— are considering laws to curb facility fees for certain services or strengthen existing laws, per the National Academy for State Health Policy, which has proposed model legislation.
The other side: Hospitals maintain that facility fees are needed to cover essential infrastructure like electronic health record systems and other overhead costs. Some refer to them as "people fees," saying they cover the expenses of nurses, lab technicians, pharmacists and other essential staff. The bottom line: Patients increasingly get charged like they're in a hospital, even if they didn't set foot in one, as physicians' offices are increasingly scooped up by massive health systems. - While those health systems tout access and efficiencies to drive down health care costs, facility fees are driving more lawmakers and regulators to do a reality check.
Read the rest. |
    |
| |
| |
| 2. FDA pulls Makena approval |
 |
|
| Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios |
| |
| The FDA on Thursday sealed the fate of a controversial premature birth drug that's been on the market for more than a decade by withdrawing its approval of Covis' Makena, Axios' Oriana González writes. Why it matters: Covis had suggested a gradual withdrawal from the market so patients could finish their 21-week course treatment. But regulators cited the lack of evidence it worked to justify an immediate end to distribution. What happened: An FDA expert panel in October recommended that the agency pull Makena off the market, noting that there was no reason for the drug to remain for sale without evidence that it's effective. - The FDA approved Makena in 2011 under its accelerated approval pathway, based on a promising study. But in 2019, a larger trial found that the drug was not beneficial for either mothers or babies.
- In 2020, FDA officials proposed that Makena be withdrawn.
Zoom out: Makena is often cited to highlight potential flaws in the FDA's accelerated approval process. Critics maintain more needs to be done to prove that drugs that are authorized under the expedited pathway actually work in the real world. Share this story. |
| |
| |
| |
| 3. Pfizer RSV vaccines show promise in older adults |
| Two new studies from Pfizer about its RSV vaccine candidate for older adults showed promise in late-stage trials, boosting odds the first shot for the virus may soon cross the finish line. Driving the news: The New England Journal of Medicine published a study funded by Pfizer on Wednesday showing 86% efficacy among participants with three or more symptoms and 67% efficacy for those with two symptoms. - The company is getting an expedited FDA review and expects a decision in May.
- Also this week, the company published a phase 3 study showing its RSV vaccine was 82% effective in protecting infants by immunizing their pregnant mothers.
The big picture: The company is one of several racing to get an RSV vaccine on the market. Yes, but: Last week, Johnson & Johnson announced it would drop its phase 3 clinical trial for an RSV vaccine for older adults. |
| |
| |
| |
| A message from PhRMA |
| The 3 largest PBMs denied coverage to over 1,150 medicines last year |
| |
 |
| |
| And all three own or are owned by insurance companies. They often own your pharmacy too. That includes medicines that could lower your costs at the pharmacy. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are putting their profits before you. Haven't heard about this? That's by design. |
| |
| |
| 4. CDC warns U.S. doctors about Marburg virus |
 |
|
| Photo: Jessica McGowan/Getty Images |
| |
| The CDC advised U.S. clinicians on Thursday to be on the lookout for suspected cases of the Marburg virus, a rare but fatal disease that has similarities to Ebola. Why it matters: No cases of the virus have been reported in the U.S. and officials say the risk is low. But the two distinct outbreaks reported in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania this year raise the prospect of imported cases, they said. - "It is important to systematically assess patients for the possibility of viral hemorrhagic fevers (including MVD or Ebola disease) through a triage and evaluation process, including a detailed travel history," they advised.
- Symptoms of the virus may include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal symptoms or unexplained bleeding, officials said. It's spread through contact with the blood or other body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from the virus, or infected animals. It can also be spread through needles. It is not spread through airborne transmission.
|
| |
| |
| |
| 5. Dog of the week |
 |
|
| Trixie. Photo: Caitlyn Strohmeyer |
| |
| Meet Trixie, a 3-year-old American Eskimo who lives with her human Caitlyn Strohmeyer in Erie, Pennsylvania. - "My girlfriend and I got her about one-and-a-half years ago from a nearby farm," Strohmeyer writes. "She had some farm habits we had to work on to make it work living indoors, but she is so smart and learns quickly."
- "Her favorite things are sniffing adventures around the neighborhood, belly scratches, and snow piles," she writes.
|
| |
| |
| |
| A message from PhRMA |
| Did you know that just 3 PBMs control 80% of all prescriptions? |
| |
 |
| |
| And all three own or are owned by insurance companies. They often own your pharmacy too. This extreme market consolidation steers you toward pharmacies that make them more money — regardless of what's best or convenient for you. Haven't heard about this? That's by design. |
| |
| Thanks for reading, and thanks to senior health care editor Adriel Bettelheim and senior copy editor Bryan McBournie for the edits. |
 | | Dive deeper into the future of health care | | |
No comments