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What We're Reading: Agency Suspects COVID-19 Lab Leak; Colorado EpiPen Co-pays; Flu and COVID-19 Test Maker Files for Bankruptcy
A new investigation blames the COVID-19 pandemic on a leak from a laboratory in China; Colorado proposes co-pay limits for EpiPens; the first at-home flu and COVID-19 test maker, Lucira Health, declares bankruptcy.
US Energy Department Points to China Lab Leak as Source of COVID-19 Pandemic
The US Energy Department now aligns with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in believing the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic to be a result of a Chinese laboratory accident, according to The Wall Street Journal. The updated investigation, confirmed by a senior official of the US Central Intelligence Agency, was not requested by Congress. However, House and Senate Republicans who have been conducting their own investigations into the matter are pressuring the Biden administration and intelligence experts for more information concerning these classified reports.
Colorado Proposes Co-pay Limit Law for EpiPens
A new state law in Colorado could cap out-of-pocket co-pays for epinephrine autoinjectors, otherwise known as EpiPens, used to treat individuals with severe allergic reactions, according to Kaiser Health News. Almost 4 years since becoming the first state to cap insulin co-payments, the proposed state law would cap out-of-pocket co-pays at $60 for a pack of 2 EpiPens, which currently cost approximately $636 at a Walgreens in Denver, according to GoodRx. This bill is another example of policy makers attempting to craft a solution concerning the drug pricing system and the inaccessibility of lifesaving drugs in the United States.
Maker of First FDA-Approved Flu and COVID-19 Test Declares Bankruptcy
The FDA issued an emergency use authorization for the first at-home flu and COVID-19 test last Friday, according to STAT News. However, test maker Lucira Health declared bankruptcy on February 22, and directly blamed the FDA for taking too long to approve the test in a hearing on February 24. According to lawyers at the hearing, although the company expected a rise in sales following Q4 of 2022 into Q1 of 2023, unanticipated delays in authorization by the FDA forced the company to cut staff twice in the past 4 months, with notices going to the remaining 63 employees prior to the bankruptcy filing.
Negotiations to extend US global HIV/AIDS relief work are deadlocked; the Biden administration delayed its rule on the proposed menthol cigarette ban until March 2024 after lobbying by civil rights groups; federal agencies have partnered with a digital health company to create an at-home test-to-treat program for flu and COVID-19.
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Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Thyme Care CEO and Cofounder Robin Shah
October 2nd 2023Robin Shah, CEO of Thyme Care, which he founded in 2020 with Bobby Green, MD, president and chief medical officer, joins hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, to discuss his evolution as an entrepreneur in oncology care innovation and his goal of positively changing how patients experience the cancer system.
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Data analysis showed that 40% of patients who filled a prescription for Wegovy in 2021 or 2022 were still taking it a year later; both Democrats and reproductive rights organizations are pressuring the Biden administration to ensure health insurers fully cover contraception; CMS implemented Medicare changes in March that limited access to blood tests that help transplant recipients ensure their organs remain healthy.
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Insufficient Data, Disparities Plague Lung Cancer Risk Factor Documentation
September 24th 2023On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the senior author of a study published in the September 2023 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® on the importance of adequate and effective lung cancer risk factor documentation to determine a patient's eligibility for screening.
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What We’re Reading: ChatGPT in Health Care; Menthol Ban Meeting; Health System Cyberattack Impact
November 30th 2023ChatGPT is changing health care while also raising questions about artificial intelligence's promises and limitations; 24 Biden officials met with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives to discuss the FDA’s proposal to ban menthol cigarettes; a recent hospital cyberattack shows how the vulnerability of health care systems can put patients at risk.
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