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| Presented By PhRMA |
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| Axios Vitals |
| By Tina Reed ·Oct 15, 2021 |
| 😎 Happy Friday, Vitals readers! Today's newsletter is 677 words, or a 3-minute read. State of play: Is it just me, or did this feel like a long week? |
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| 1 big thing: Dems' biggest drug pricing plan is likely to fail |
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| Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios |
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| The Democrats' most significant attempt to rein in prescription drug costs in the private market is increasingly likely to fail, Axios' Caitlin Owens writes. State of play: House Democrats' prescription drug pricing plan would allow Medicare to negotiate the prices of some prescription drugs — and extend those prices into the private market. What they're saying: Allowing private plans to have access to Medicare-negotiated prices is "price control," Sen. Bob Menendez told Caitlin. - "As a country, we've never been for that," Menendez said. "Negotiation is different than price controls. Price control is when I say to a company, for anything, 'You're going to sell your product for X.' That's not negotiation."
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has also expressed major reservations about even allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. When Medicare negotiations may not have the votes to pass in the first place and even reliable Democratic votes like Menendez oppose extending those negotiations into the private market, the odds of this ambitious policy becoming law are extremely low. |
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| 2. Califf eyed to head FDA |
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| Robert Califf. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images |
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| President Biden is reportedly considering former FDA commissioner Robert Califf to take the reins at the FDA again. - The FDA has been without a permanent leader for nine months amid the COVID pandemic. There are only weeks left until acting commissioner Janet Woodcock is no longer legally able to hold the role.
- As Washington Post reporter Dan Diamond points out, 65 of the 89 senators who voted to confirm Califf in 2016 are still in office.
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| 3. Moderna boosters get a 👍 |
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| A pharmacist prepares to give a COVID-19 booster vaccination. Photo: Karwai Tang/Getty Images |
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| A key FDA panel gave an OK to boosters for Moderna recipients at high risk of severe COVID-19, occupational exposure to COVID-19 or who are 65 years and older, Axios' Marisa Fernandez writes. - The unanimous decision mirrors the FDA conditions for those who qualify for a Pfizer booster.
What's next: The panel will discuss boosters for Johnson & Johnson recipients today. |
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| A message from PhRMA |
| Bringing the VA system to Medicare could hurt patients' access |
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| Congress is considering a plan that would tie medicine prices in Medicare to those in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This misguided approach is the latest in a series of government price-setting proposals that threaten patients' access to medicines and future innovation. Learn more. |
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| 4. UnitedHealth did just fine in Q3 |
 Data: Company filings; Chart: Thomas Oide/Axios UnitedHealth Group raised its profit projections for the rest of 2021 even though the insurer covered 60,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations during the third quarter, Axios' Bob Herman writes. Why it matters: Health insurers expected to incur higher COVID costs in the quarter after the Delta variant ran rampant over the summer, especially in states with low vaccination rates. - But UnitedHealth's COVID costs fell in line with its projections and were offset by some providers delaying care again.
By the numbers: The company's Q3 profit soared 29% to $4.1 billion. Q3 revenue increased 12% to $57 billion. Just more of the same. - After Wall Street analysts asked how COVID-19 would affect UnitedHealth's profit in 2022, CFO John Rex said it'll "clearly be lower than it was in 2021 ... we also don't think it'll be nothing. I can't imagine we hit January 1, and everything ceases immediately."
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| 5. Walgreens' buying spree |
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| Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images |
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| Walgreens Boots Alliance acquired majority stakes in two companies, VillageMD and CareCentrix, as part of the pharmacy chain's plan to provide more care inside its stores and people's homes, Bob writes. The bottom line: These deals will move the company "away from retail and just dispensing pharmaceuticals," Walgreens CEO Roz Brewer told CNBC. By the numbers: Walgreens is investing billions of dollars. - $5.2 billion in VillageMD, giving Walgreens a 63% ownership stake. More VillageMD clinics, which provide basic primary care, will be attached to Walgreens stores.
- $330 million in CareCentrix, giving Walgreens a 55% ownership stake. CareCentrix helps provide follow-up care to people who are discharged from hospitals, with the goal of keeping them from going back to the hospital.
- Last month, Walgreens paid almost $1 billion to boost its ownership of Shields Health Solutions, a company that helps hospitals run their own specialty pharmacies, to 71%.
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| 6. Dog of the week |
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| Kermit. Photo: Cyrus Attia |
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| Meet Kermit, the dog. - He's a mixed breed and so friendly, every stranger he meets on walks around Manhattan is a potential new friend, says dad Cyrus Attia, a clinical lead at telehealth company Ro.
- Want to share pics of your pup with other health care enthusiasts? Send me your favorite horizontal shots and a detail or two about your pet and yourself and you both could be featured in an upcoming newsletter.
- (News tips are also always welcome.)
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| A message from PhRMA |
| Bringing the VA system to Medicare could hurt patients' access |
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| Congress is considering a plan that would tie medicine prices in Medicare to those in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This misguided approach is the latest in a series of government price-setting proposals that threaten patients' access to medicines and future innovation. Learn more. |
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