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What We’re Reading: Biden to Boost Care Worker Compensation; Social Media Hype Drives Weight Loss Drug Demand; Reducing Fatigue From Long COVID
President Joe Biden signs order to boost care worker compensation and support caregivers; social media adds are fueling weight loss medication demands; an investigational metabolic modulator has been shown to mitigate fatigue in patients with long COVID.
Biden Signs Executive Order to Boost Compensation for Care Workers
President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Tuesday addressing issues in child care and long-term care in the United States, according to The Hill. The order focuses on boosting compensation for care workers, supporting family caregivers, and expanding affordable care options through 50 directives to federal agencies. It also includes provisions to improve access to home-based care for veterans, increase pay and benefits for Head Start teachers and staff, and streamline processes for American Indian and Alaska Native communities to access child care.
Social Media Drives Demand for Weight Loss Medications, Triggering Regulatory Concerns
Social media ads, which can include misinformation, have driven up the demand for weight loss drugs, according to CBS News. Although doctors have expressed concerns about inappropriate use and unreliable sources for the drug, regulatory systems have limited tools to curb misleading advertising from prescribers on social media. Simultaneously, pharmaceutical companies are leading campaigns to raise awareness of obesity without mentioning their drugs. Overseas regulators have also been active in auditing and removing some instances of unethical advertising.
New Metabolic Modulator Shows Promise in Reducing Fatigue in Patients With Long COVID
AXA1125, an investigational metabolic modulator, has shown promising results in reducing physical and cognitive fatigue in patients with long COVID, according to researchers at the University of Oxford. The phase 2 pilot study included 41 adults with fatigue-dominant long COVID who received either AXA1125 or placebo orally for 4 weeks. AXA1125 was associated with a significant reduction in fatigue scores and improved mitochondrial health, suggesting potential therapeutic benefits for patients with long COVID, although further research is needed in larger trials.
Study Highlights Significant Increases in Utilization, Spending on DMD Drugs in Medicaid
May 17th 2024The findings add to recent research on the growing utilization, expenditure, and prices of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) therapies in the current landscape, an area health care policy could potentially address.
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Covering antiobesity medications like semaglutide could save Medicare around $500 million annually; preliminary CDC data showed a 3% decline in the number of US overdose deaths last year; the Biden administration recently announced the first national maternal mental health strategy.
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Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity: Urban Health Outreach
May 9th 2024In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.
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After the ACA Expanded Health Care Access, 2024 Elections May See Voters Demand Affordability
May 15th 2024At the spring conference of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, speakers discussed how health policy, affordability, and transparency may play a role in voters’ decisions.
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Panel Addresses Minority Physician Shortage, Maternal Health at Senate Committee Hearing
May 15th 2024The senate hearing held by the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I, Vermont), chairman of the committee, and ranking member Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, (R, Louisiana), addressed the critical issue of physician and health care worker shortages, as well as the maternal health crisis, in the US.
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