| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Vitals | | By Tina Reed · Nov 21, 2022 | | 🦃 Happy start to a short holiday week, Vitals readers. For those of you already heading out for your Thanksgiving plans, we wish you safe travels. Today's newsletter is 945 words or a 3.5-minute read. | | | | | | 1 big thing: How medical inflation is ensnaring big employers |  | | | Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios | | | | A convergence of factors driving up health costs is threatening to make next year a very pricey one for big employers, forcing some to make difficult tradeoffs and eat some of the added expense, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez and I report. The big picture: Rising medical costs combined with the anticipated end of COVID-19 government flexibilities and delayed care for non-COVID patients are creating a triple whammy for employers with few options to adjust, experts say. What they're saying: "Employers are fed up, as they should be. They're footing the bill, along with Medicare and Medicaid, for everything," said Brian Miller, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and hospitalist at Johns Hopkins Hospital. - "Everyone is angry about drug costs. Well, yes. But that's 12% of costs," he said. "Hospitals and physician practices are 51% of health care expenditures ... We actually haven't really looked at that."
Driving the news: Employers have been able to shift some of the cost burden to workers through premium increases or high-deductible plans. But the tight labor market could provide an argument against that in the next two years. - A further complication is the forthcoming transition of the COVID response to the private sector, which will put health plans and patients on the hook for the cost of tests, vaccines and other treatments.
- And the demise of Roe v. Wade is turning up the heat on employers to beef up their benefits, particularly in reproductive health, in order to stay competitive, Tammy Sun, CEO of Carrot Fertility, told Axios.
- "It's put a lot more pressure on employers because employers are the delivery mechanisms of health care," Sun said. "They had to deal with COVID. Then they had to deal with the Great Resignation. Then they had to deal with the recession and are laying people off. And now they have to plug this other gap."
Between the lines: A divided Congress isn't likely to offer many policy fixes, with Republicans likely to focus on tax and budget issues and the Biden administration expected to use executive branch agencies to push its labor and employment agenda. Yes, but: Even so, experts say they aren't expecting total gridlock. Go deeper. |     | | | | | | 2. A search for Alzheimer's treatments |  | | | Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images | | | | More than a year after one of the most controversial drug approvals in FDA history, seniors and their loved ones may be on the cusp of having a new drug on the market that slows the progression of Alzheimer's disease, Axios' Caitlin Owens writes. Why it matters: Seniors desperate for relief from the debilitating disease were the real losers in the debacle over Biogen's Alzheimer's drug — which was approved through a fast-tracked process over the objection of prominent scientists. - Now, many — including scientists — are placing more faith in a drug from Eisai and Biogen, though experts warn it's important to keep pursuing a broad array of treatment approaches.
Driving the news: Of the billions of dollars spent on Alzheimer's treatment research, the largest focus has been on targeting brain amyloid plaques under the theory that they're major contributors to the disease. Yes, but: Skepticism over anti-amyloid therapies still lingers after last year's approval of Biogen's drug Aduhelm, which also targets amyloid plaques but was highly criticized as having poorly executed clinical trials. What they're saying: "Overall what we're seeing are effects that are somewhat small as opposed to halting the disease," said Jason Karlawish, a medical professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Go deeper in our Axios AM Deep Dive: Boomers' elder care crisis | | | | | | | | 3. JPMorgan snags top Walmart health exec | | Cheryl Pegus, an executive overseeing Walmart's health and wellness business, will head over to help guide investments by JPMorgan's health venture, Bloomberg reported. Why it matters: Morgan Health — a follow-on to the bank's failed health venture with Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway known as Haven — is an attempt to improve employer-sponsored care. - Morgan Health plans to invest $250 million to scale "promising companies focused on driving greater accountability in health care" and has invested $105 million to date.
Zoom in: Pegus is credited with leading the rollout of Walmart's private brand insulin to save customer costs. She also played an important role in Walmart's efforts to expand its retail health center footprint and the company's pandemic response, officials said. Driving the news: Pegus will serve as a managing director, helping inform Morgan Health's investments in population-based health initiatives, mental and behavioral health, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions. - Pegus has also previously served in executive roles at Pfizer, Aetna and Walgreens and Cambia Health Solutions. She trained as a cardiologist.
What to watch: Pegus will continue to serve as a senior advisor to Walmart. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Daily policy. Daily analysis. Daily happiness. | | |  | | | | Gain exclusive reporting and access to the latest information shaping health care policy. What you'll get: Unlock premium newsletters, events, and breaking news analysis through Axios Pro: Policy. Sign up now. | | | | | | 4. Data du jour: Where flu season has truly arrived |  Data: CDC; Map: Tory Lysik/Axios Visuals Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, and Virginia had the highest flu activity the week of Nov. 6 to Nov. 12, 2022, CDC data shows. - Wyoming and South Dakota had the lowest.
Why it matters: Hospitals around the U.S. are overwhelmed by the rising flu cases, RSV and COVID on top of debilitating staffing shortages, the Washington Post reports. - Officials have warned that the H3N2 flu variant, which has been associated with more severe flu seasons for children and the elderly in the past, is the dominant strain in the U.S., CNBC reports.
| | | | | | | | 5. While you were weekending |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | 🏛 Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in prison for Theranos fraud. (Axios) 💉 The FDA approved a drug that could delay the onset of Type 1 diabetes, a disease that often emerges in teenagers, for years. (The New York Times) 👉 The Justice Department and two states are appealing a judge's decision to toss their antitrust challenge of UnitedHealth's acquisition of Change Healthcare. (Modern Healthcare) | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Daily policy. Daily analysis. Daily happiness. | | | | | | | | Gain exclusive reporting and access to the latest information shaping health care policy. What you'll get: Unlock premium newsletters, events, and breaking news analysis through Axios Pro: Policy. Sign up now. | | | | Thanks for reading, and thanks to senior editor Adriel Bettelheim and copy editor Nick Aspinwall for the edits. Did someone forward this email to you? Here's how to sign up. |  | | Your personal policy analyst is here. | | | | | | 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, 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:    | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment