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What We’re Reading: California Widens Booster Eligibility; FDA Recalls Home COVID-19 Tests; Veterans’ Health Care Expanded
California is offering COVID-19 boosters to its entire adult population; FDA recalls millions of home COVID-19 tests over false positives; veterans’ access to health resources will be expanded.
CA Broadens Booster Campaign
Public health officials in California have endorsed COVID-19 booster shots for all adults in the state, not just the populations listed by the CDC, NPR reports. As a result, millions of Californians are now eligible for the doses and officials are telling providers they should not turn away a patient seeking a booster. Individuals must still be 6 months past their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or 2 months past their Johnson & Johnson shot. Currently, the CDC recommends boosters only for those who received a Johnson & Johnson shot, or those aged 65 and older, with underlying health conditions, or who work in an environment where they are more susceptible to infection.
Ellume COVID-19 Home Tests Recalled
The FDA has issued a Class I recall of 2.2 million at-home COVID-19 tests manufactured by Ellume due to false positive results, according to CBS News. The company was the first to receive approval for over-the-counter tests, and the announcement comes after a similar recall last month of 200,000 kits for the same reason. However, the reliability of negative test results was not affected by the issue, the FDA said. Purchasers can enter their lot numbers on an Ellume website to determine if they received a faulty test, as the problem is limited to specific lots. In September, the Biden administration announced it will invest $1 billion to expand the supply of at-home tests in the United States.
Veterans’ Health Care Resources Expanded
To mark Veterans Day, the White House announced expanded health care resources for individuals exposed to burn pits and other environmental hazards throughout their time in the military, The Hill reports. The Biden administration said the Department of Veterans Affairs would help devise a testing model to determine whether veterans developed health problems as a result of exposure. In addition, veterans who served in specific regions who developed conditions like asthma, rhinitis, and sinusitis based on presumed exposure to particulate matter within 10 years of their service can now apply for disability benefits. The agency is also slated to host Q&A sessions about the new disability eligibility.
Prices for care at hospital trauma centers vary across hospitals; drug shortages reached a record high during the first quarter of 2024; although 3 of the biggest makers of asthma inhalers pledged to cap out-of-pocket costs for some US patients at $35, these do not apply to daily inhalers used by the youngest kids with asthma.
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Navigating Health Policy in an Election Year: Insights From Dr Dennis Scanlon
April 2nd 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Dennis Scanlon, PhD, the editor in chief of The American Journal of Accountable Care®, about prior authorization, price transparency, the impact of health policy on the upcoming election, and more.
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The Biden administration recently launched the Global Health Security Strategy, a new effort to combat the spread of infectious diseases; lawmakers zeroed in on the risks of massive consolidation in health care during the first congressional hearing on the Change Healthcare hack; the FDA recently announced the recall of a pair of heart devices linked to numerous deaths and injuries.
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Exploring Medicare Advantage Prior Authorization Variations
March 26th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the March 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on variations in prior authorization use across Medicare Advantage plans.
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