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What We're Reading: Vaccine Distribution Agreement Announced; Virus Deaths Surge Again; Medicare Insolvency Predicted
The US government partners with biotech giants Pfizer and BioNTech to distribute a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine; the COVID-19 death record continues to be broken; could Medicare be in financial trouble?
A COVID-19 Vaccine Could Be Available by Year-End
HHS and the Department of Defense’s partnership with biotech giants Pfizer and BioNTech could mean up to 600 million doses of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine candidate, BNT162, will be available in the country starting this December and through 2021, according to The Washington Post. Pfizer will receive $1.95 billion upon manufacture of the first 100 million doses, but only if the vaccine receives approval or emergency use authorization from the FDA, and even then only if phase 3 clinical trial results show BNT162 is safe and effective. The vaccine will be free to all Americans, and the trial is set to begin later this month, reports Business Wire, with potential regulatory approval by October.
Asymptomatic Individuals May Enable Pandemic Spread
With deaths from COVID-19 surpassing 1100 yesterday, the United States recorded its highest daily disease toll since May, with the CDC predicting the number of those actually infected may be 2 to 13 times higher than reported, says The New York Times, due to asymptomatic individual spread of the virus or others not seeking medical care for symptoms. This news follows the resumption of President Donald Trump’s daily coronavirus briefings. Meanwhile, the CDC is working with commercial labs on a large-scale seroprevalence survey, testing deidentified blood samples from 10 cities and states every 3 to 4 weeks to track the development of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, even among those whose samples were collected for reasons unrelated to COVID-19, such as through a routine or sick visit.
Is Medicare Fund in Danger of Running Out?
Kaiser Health News is reporting that Medicare may be in financial trouble due to insolvency and that this could lead to a health care crisis, mainly due to funds Congress diverted for COVID-19 relief. Other reasons include loss of payroll taxes from the high rates of unemployment in the country and an increase in beneficiaries. A shortfall was first predicted in April to begin in 2026, which would principally affect Medicare’s Part A Trust Fund, but that did not account for the additional financial effects from the pandemic.
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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