🦠 Axios Vitals: Hope for Omicron's end

Plus, the big MA players keep getting bigger | Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By HCA Healthcare   Axios Vitals By Tina Reed ·Jan 19, 2022 Good morning, Vitals readers. Today's newsletter is 521 words, or a 2-minute read. Situational awareness: The White House will announce this morning it's making 400 million non-surgical N95 masks from the Strategic National Stockpile available for free. They'll be at pharmacies and community health centers nationwide by late next week.     1 big thing: The end of Omicron is in sight Data: Our World in Data; Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios The Omicron wave is likely beginning to recede in the U.S., experts say. Why it matters: Omicron is still wreaking havoc in parts of the country, but infectious disease experts are optimistic there's some relief in sight. Details: In South Africa and in the U.K., which experienced their Omicron waves before the U.S., cases spiked dramatically and then fell almost as quickly. That appears to be happening now in parts of the U.S. that got hit with the variant early, including Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. "The trajectory was incredibly steep and rising to, of course, a new height in infections. That does appear now, in aggregate, to be starting to decline," Chris Beyrer, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Axios. Yes, but: While cases are beginning to fall in the East Coast cities that were among the first to see the variant take hold, Omicron likely hasn't peaked yet in other parts of the U.S. "In this country as a whole, it might take a while longer to resolve this surge," in comparison to South Africa or the U.K., Dan Barouch, director of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, told Axios. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned over the weekend that a "national peak" hasn't been reached yet, urging caution as hospitalizations continue to strain health systems, the Washington Post reported. Share this story.     2. U.S. has unusually high hospitalizations Data: Our World in Data; Chart: Will Chase/Axios America is seeing more COVID hospitalizations than other wealthy countries during the Omicron surge, Axios' Caitlin Owens reports, citing Our World in Data. Why it matters: Vaccines keep the vast majority of COVID cases out of the hospital, but vaccination rates are lower in the U.S. than these other countries. U.S. hospitals — particularly the health care workers that staff them — are struggling to keep up with the workload. By the numbers: Of all the countries included in this analysis, the U.S. has the lowest proportion of its population that is fully vaccinated and also the lowest rate of booster shots administered, per Our World in Data.     3. The big MA players keep getting bigger Data: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Chart: Jared Whalen/Axios Six health insurers control roughly three-quarters of the fast-growing Medicare Advantage market, according to Axios' Bob Herman's analysis of federal data. Why it matters: Medicare Advantage enrollment hasn't slowed down in 2022, even though dismal projections from Humana and Cigna freaked out Wall Street earlier this month, and concentration at the top remains high. The big stat: UnitedHealth Group had almost 7.9 million MA members as of Jan. 1, the most of any insurer and an 11% increase from the 7.1 million members it had at the same time in 2021, according to federal data. That means UnitedHealth captured roughly one out of every three people who joined Medicare Advantage this year. Check out the details.     A message from HCA Healthcare HCA Healthcare strengthens partnership with March of Dimes     Throughout 2021 and 2022, HCA Healthcare will contribute up to $1.7 million to March of Dimes. By working together, the two organizations are uniquely positioned to continue to improve maternal and postpartum care. Learn more about HCA Healthcare's commitment to showing up.     4. Charted: Omicron's takeover Data: GISAID; Chart: Will Chase/Axios     5. 1 big number: Drug affordability About 3.5 million adults 65 and older and 1.8 million Medicare beneficiaries under 65 had difficulty affording their medications in 2019, according to data released today by the National Health Interview Survey. Black and Latino adults over age 65 were 1.5 to two times as likely to report difficulty affording prescription medications compared to white Medicare beneficiaries, the report shows.     A message from HCA Healthcare How HCA Healthcare shows up during times of crisis     Whether facing a natural disaster or pandemic, HCA Healthcare's Enterprise Emergency Operations Center is ready to help. It works with experts to prepare and provide necessary resources like generators, water and housing to ensure the safety of their colleagues and uninterrupted patient care.   👋 We'd love to hear from you. Feel free to send me tips or comments by replying to this email or on Twitter @TreedinDC. Like this email style and format? Bring the strength of Smart Brevity® to your team — more effective communications, powered by Axios HQ.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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