💰 Axios Vitals: Feeling the pinch

Plus, bad air is taking years off our lives | Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Blue Cross Blue Shield Association   Axios Vitals By Tina Reed · Jun 15, 2022 Good morning, Vitals readers. Today's newsletter is 1,019 words or a 4-minute read. 🚨 Situational awareness: The Senate HELP Committee on Tuesday advanced its version of an FDA user fee bill that would, among other things, beef up oversight of dietary supplements, cosmetics and lab-developed tests. Lawmakers used the bill to also address the infant formula shortage and create a path to import prescription drugs from Canada.     1 big thing: Health care consumers feeling the economic sting Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Inflation is changing the way we eat, shop and spend our leisure time. And the cost spiral is influencing how Americans weigh health care against other necessities, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim and I report. The big picture: During the pandemic, Americans aged 50 to 64 said they've been skipping medications, cutting back on food and utilities to cover their medical needs. And they're increasingly worried about covering their future bills, according to newly released Gallup polling. Volatile economic conditions — high gas prices! stagnant growth! — could make that worse, Gallup said in its report. What they're saying: "For decades, healthcare costs have grown at a rate double that of Americans' incomes, but as inflation rises to a 30-year high and global supply-chain shortages reach new heights, households across every income bracket are feeling strained," the report said. Details: 42% of adults over 50 but still too young for Medicare said they're worried about being able to cover their medical expenses in the coming year, according to the survey Gallup and the nonprofit West Health conducted last fall as U.S. consumer prices began to spike. 26%, reflecting an estimated 16 million people, said they or a member of their household had a health problem in the past three months but didn't seek treatment due to cost concerns. 18%, or an estimated 11 million, said they or a family member skipped a pill, prescribed dose, or other types of medication in the past year to save money. What we're watching: Added inflation fears are hanging over the grinding health debates in Congress. Democrats trying to revive parts of President Biden's social agenda pitch measures like drug price controls as a way to help families and better control spiraling health costs. And yet voters have major concerns over whether expensive social policy items could lead to more inflation. That puts a premium on rebranding the Build Back Better package and portraying it as a prescription for troubled times. Go deeper.     2. Omicron variants gaining ground Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios   New Omicron strains capable of evading immune protections and causing breakthrough infections now account for more than 21% of total COVID cases in the U.S., Adriel reports from updated CDC figures. Why it matters: The virus continues to evolve, with the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages accounting for a bigger proportion of the approximately 105,000 new daily cases. The BA.2 and BA.2.12.1 lines that dominated the disease map this spring now account for about 78% of cases. The new lineages aren't associated with more severe disease. But they're thought to be able to evade antibodies from earlier Omicron infections. Go deeper: Overall cases are still declining in the Northeast but increased elsewhere in the past week. The regional mix is now 30% from the South, 29% West, 22% Northeast and 20% Midwest, per Evercore ISI. The updated figures are almost certainly an undercount, because many at-home test results go unreported. Looking ahead: The changes in the variant mix will provide more fodder for FDA outside advisers, who'll meet later this month to evaluate how COVID vaccines are updated and possibly selected this fall.     3. Breathing in bad air Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   More than 92% of Americans live in a region with unsafe air pollution, which could lead to reduced life expectancy, Axios' Arielle Dreher writes from the latest University of Chicago Air Quality Life Index. Why it matters: Some Americans could add more than a year to their lives if they lived in a place with cleaner air. Air pollution can affect not only the lungs but also the heart, upper airways and many other organs. What they're saying: "Don't light things on fire and breathe it into your lungs," Erika Moseson, a pulmonologist on the American Thoracic Society Environmental Health Policy Committee, told Axios. The details: The most polluted counties in the U.S. are in California. In Mariposa County, which makes up part of Yosemite National Park; residents could gain 1.7 years of life expectancy if air quality there met new WHO standards, researchers concluded. The big picture: Improving air quality is tantamount to improving health outcomes, and the U.S. still has a long way to go.      A message from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Working together for more affordable care     Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are committed to making health care more affordable, but critical tax credits are set to expire for millions at a time when health care costs continue to rise. The solution: Congress must finish the fight to ensure Americans have access to affordable care.     4. Why we don't have a Lyme disease vaccine Photo: Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images   More than 14% of the world's population may have had Lyme disease and that number is growing, according to a study published this week in BMJ Global Health which brought renewed attention to vaccines needed to protect against it. But as Axios' Oriana Gonzalez reminds us, the U.S. already had a vaccine against Lyme disease — and lost it. Flashback: The only vaccine previously marketed in the U.S. for the disease was approved by the FDA in 1998. But the manufacturer discontinued it in 2002 due to "insufficient consumer demand." Development for new vaccines is underway. Pfizer and Valneva have a candidate in Phase 2 human trials. The University of Massachusetts Medical School's MassBiologics plans to start human trials on a vaccine candidate soon. What they're saying: "We really do need a vaccine. That's probably the best hope for us to really get control of it," Peter Krause, a senior research scientist at the Yale School of Public Health, told NBC News. My thought bubble: It's another example of the difficulties U.S. health care faces supporting a healthy market for many critical — but less profitable — medical products, including generics.     5. Catch up quick Lizzo. Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images   💬 The WHO said Tuesday it will rename the monkeypox virus after concern that it could stoke racism and stigma. (Axios) 👉 A key FDA advisory committee on Tuesday voted to recommend Moderna's COVID vaccine be authorized for kids six and older. (Axios) 💊 Pfizer on Tuesday said a study showed its COVID-19 pill Paxlovid didn't significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization or death in people with a standard risk of developing severe infections. (Axios) 💰 The Biden administration plans to unveil a plan for the next pandemic and seek $88 billion in funding for it. (Bloomberg) 🎶 Pop artist Lizzo rerecorded her song "Grrls" to replace the word "spaz" in its lyrics after some within the disability community called out the use of the word as an ableist slur. The word originates from the word spastic "which has historically been used to describe people with spastic paralysis and cerebral palsy." (NPR)     A message from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Committed to making health care more affordable     13 million Americans currently receive a tax credit that helps lower their premiums. What you need to know: These critical tax credits are set to expire. Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are working with Congress to ensure Americans have access to affordable care – for the health of America.   Like this email style and format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   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? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: