Axios Vitals: The unique vulnerability of the South

Plus, the psychology behind COVID lotteries | Monday, June 21, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By PhRMA   Axios Vitals By Tina Reed ·Jun 21, 2021 🍦 Welcome back from the weekend on the first full official day of summer here in the northern hemisphere. Situational awareness: Better Medicare Alliance, a Medicare Advantage research and advocacy group, plans to announce today that Mary Beth Donahue is its new president and CEO. Donahue is a former HHS chief of staff under the Clinton administration and executive director of Kidney Care Partners. She will succeed former Rep. Allyson Schwartz in the role. Today's newsletter is 712 words, or a 3-minute read.     1 big thing: The South's unique vulnerability Reproduced from Surgo Ventures; Data: CDC, Surgo Ventures; Note: Vaccination rate indicates the percentage of the state population that is fully vaccinated; Map: Connor Rothschild/Axios Some states — particularly those in the South — are at much higher risk for bad coronavirus outbreaks not only due to low vaccination rates, but because their populations were more vulnerable to begin with, Axios' Caitlin Owens writes. Between the lines: Certain risk factors, like a high rate of underlying conditions or poor access to health care, make some communities more vulnerable to severe outbreaks than others. Arguably, people who live in these areas would benefit most from vaccination, as they're at highest risk. But that's not what's happening. Instead, some of the most vulnerable states in the country — like Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia — have some of the country's lowest vaccination rates, according to an analysis by Surgo Ventures. The bottom line: Until vaccines were widely available, Americans suffered through the pandemic together. Going forward, most of the suffering will likely be concentrated among people who remain unvaccinated. Share this story.     2. Fauci's offensive against "craziness" Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images   After becoming a top punching bag for the right, NIAID director Anthony Fauci is fighting back, Axios' Mike Allen wrote over the weekend. What he's saying: In comments to Kara Swisher on her New York Times "Sway" podcast, Fauci says: "It is essential as a scientist that you evolve your opinion and your recommendations based on the data as it evolves. ... And that's the reason why I say people who then criticize me about that are actually criticizing science." Read more.     3. 💵 Health care spending is picking up Data: Altarum Institute; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios The coronavirus pandemic forced hospitals and patients to delay care — everything from heart procedures and knee replacement surgeries to lab tests and X-rays — but people have been flocking back to their doctors as coronavirus cases wane, Axios' Bob Herman writes. By the numbers: Annualized health care spending hit almost $4 trillion this past April, up 32.4% from April 2020, according to an analysis of federal data from the Altarum think tank. Go deeper: Aduhelm will balloon America's health spending     A message from PhRMA Out-of-pocket costs don't have to be out-of-this-world confusing     The way insurance covers your medicine is too complicated. What you pay out of pocket for medicines should be more transparent, more predictable and more affordable. Because the system should work for patients. Not the other way around. Get the facts.     4. VA eyes gender affirmation surgery coverage Photo: Erin Scott/Bloomberg via Getty Images   The Department of Veteran Affairs is beginning the process of offering gender affirmation surgeries through its health care system, VA Secretary Denis McDonough announced during a Pride event in Florida on Saturday. What they're saying: "We are taking the first necessary steps to expand VA's care to include gender affirmation surgery — thus allowing transgender vets to go through the full gender affirmation process with VA by their side," McDonough said.     5. The psychology behind COVID-19 lotteries Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   NBA season tickets. Scholarships. A chance at $5 million. The list of lotteries and raffles states are launching to drive up COVID-19 vaccination rates is growing, and some local officials are already reporting "encouraging" results. Driving the news: As Axios' Ivana Saric writes, psychology experts say the allure of lotteries for many people is simply the prospect of winning a great prize seems better than passing up the chance, regardless of the odds. Another reason incentives could work is that most prizes can be categorized as "fun stuff," Nathan Novemsky, a professor of marketing and psychology at Yale University, told Ivana. In addition to college scholarships and million-dollar lotteries, states and local governments have offered beer, doughnuts, and even marijuana. "All those things are very positive and emotional and a little hedonic," Novemsky said. 'They're not giving away blenders, toasters, and vacuum cleaners." Read more.     6. Pricey drugs lack cost-effectiveness data Illustration: Rae Cook/Axios   Nearly $50 billion, or a third of Medicare Part D costs in 2016, were for drugs that did not have cost-effectiveness analyses, according to a report from JAMA Network Open. Why it matters: The lack of a quality analysis weighing relative costs with outcomes for these drugs may create hurdles toward efforts aimed at addressing drug spending in terms of value, Axios' Marisa Fernandez writes. Nearly half of 250 drugs with the greatest Medicare Part D spending in 2016 showed no available cost-effectiveness analyses. For the other half that did have studies, many did not "meet minimum quality standards." Of these 250 drugs, 91 had a generic equivalent and the remaining 159 had some exclusivity.     7. Pic du jour Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld via Getty Images   Yogis participate in a yoga class during the Solstice in Times Square: Mind Over Madness Yoga event in the heart of Times Square on Sunday in New York City. The annual all-day outdoor yoga event celebrates the summer solstice and the re-awakening of the city. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo lifted pandemic restrictions on May 19. All this Vitals editor can say is: "Ouch!"     A message from PhRMA Out-of-pocket costs don't have to be out-of-this-world confusing     The way insurance covers your medicine is too complicated. What you pay out of pocket for medicines should be more transparent, more predictable and more affordable. Because the system should work for patients. Not the other way around. Get the facts.   Thanks for reading! Please invite your friends, family, colleagues to sign up here for Axios Vitals! Like this style and format? Request access to Axios HQ The tool and templates you need for more engaging team updates.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? 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