🚑 Axios Vitals: A costly ride

Plus, insurers sue over "pay-for-delay" tactics | Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By PhRMA   Axios Vitals By Tina Reed ·Feb 22, 2022 Happy Tuesday, Vitals readers. Today's newsletter is 688 words or a 3-minute read. 🧠 We continue honoring Black History Month today with a lesson about Solomon Carter Fuller. Born in 1872, he was the first African American psychiatrist and was also a pioneer in Alzheimer's disease research, publishing "what is now recognized to be the first comprehensive review of Alzheimer's disease."     1 big thing: The increasing cost of an ambulance ride Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   The cost of an ambulance ride has soared over the past five years, according to a report from FAIR Health, shared first with Axios. Why it matters: Patients typically have little ability to choose their ambulance provider, and often find themselves on the hook for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. The details: Most ambulance trips billed insurers for "advanced life support," according to FAIR Health's analysis. Private insurers' average payment for those rides jumped by 56% between 2017 and 2020 — from $486 to $758. Ambulance operators' sticker prices, before accounting for discounts negotiated with insurers, have risen 22% over the same period, and are now over $1,200. Medicare, however, kept its payments in check: Its average reimbursement for advanced life support ambulance rides increased by just 5%, from $441 to $463. Between the lines: Ambulances aren't covered by the new law that bans most surprise medical bills, meaning patients are still on the hook in payment disputes between insurers and ambulance operators. State of play: Ground ambulances are operated by local fire departments, private companies, hospitals and other providers and paid for in a variety of ways, which makes this a tricky issue to address, according to the Commonwealth Fund. The Biden administration has said it's working on the problem. The bottom line: Costs for ground ambulance care are on the rise and, with few balance billing protections, that means patients could still be hit with some big surprises if they wind up needing a ride in an ambulance. Share this story.     2. Report: CDC "withheld" information CDC headquarters in Atlanta. Photo: Jessica McGowan/Getty Images   Most of the COVID data the CDC has collected throughout the pandemic has not been made public, the New York Times reported over the weekend. What they're saying: The CDC has published "a tiny fraction" of the data it's collected on boosters, hospitalizations and wastewater analysis, per the Times. Federal sources told the Times the CDC has been tracking "breakthrough infection" rates — a fact that surprised outside experts. The agency has come under fire for not monitoring the metric. The other side: The CDC has been slow to release data "because basically, at the end of the day, it's not yet ready for prime time," CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said. There are also concerns data could be misinterpreted. Our thought bubble: In the absence of even preliminary CDC data, the U.S. relied heavily on data from other countries, including Israel and South Africa, in making major vaccine decisions or tracking the emergence of new variants. As Axios' Caitlin Owens reported in the fall, this dearth of timely data from the CDC has not only been a source of tension within the administration, but contributed to costly delays in decision-making.     ⚡️ 3. Business lightning round 🏥 Ascension's labor costs rose 11.4% in the last quarter of 2021, but $1 billion in investment profits eased those pains. 💊 Health Care Service, a major Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate, has joined a plethora of other insurer lawsuits that allege anticompetitive pay-for-delay tactics involving the narcolepsy drug Xyrem. ⏳ The Department of Justice has until Sunday to block UnitedHealth Group's $8 billion acquisition of Change Healthcare.     A message from PhRMA Patients need affordable medicines     Government price-setting threatens patient access to medicines and innovation. Instead, let's cap out-of-pocket costs and stop middlemen from pocketing discounts. Learn more about how these proposals have potentially devastating consequences for patients.     4. Pic du jour Photo: Guillermo Legaria Schweizer/Getty Images   Colombia's Constitutional Court on Monday voted 5-4 to decriminalize abortions in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, in a move proponents hailed as a historic decision for women's rights, writes Marina E. Franco of Noticias Telemundo for Axios. The big picture: It's the latest sign that views about the procedure are shifting in Catholic-majority Latin American countries, especially as the right to an abortion in the U.S., once held up as an example of liberalized access, is at risk.     5. While you were weekending Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   While adults' immune systems often rely on memory to fight off viruses, kids have a stronger ability to fight illness with an innate immune response — a reason scientists think they've fared so much better against COVID. (Wall Street Journal) Washington, the first state to offer a public option health insurance plan, is "facing formidable opposition from the health care establishment." (NPR) Pedestrian deaths from cars soared to record levels during the pandemic. (Axios) The public health community reacted with shock and grief over the death of "global health care pioneer" Paul Farmer on Monday. (CBS News)     A message from PhRMA Health care should help patients     Government price-setting won't stop insurers from shifting the cost of medicines to patients while they pocket the savings. Instead, let's cap out-of-pocket costs and make insurance work for you. Learn more about how these proposals have potentially devastating consequences for patients.   🚀 Thanks for starting your week with us. A reminder your family, friends and colleagues can subscribe to Vitals or any of Axios' other free local and national newsletters through this link. Like this email style and format? 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