| | | | | | | Presented By CVS Health | | | | Axios Vitals | | By Tina Reed · Dec 09, 2022 | | It's Friday, Vitals readers! Today's newsletter is 947 words or a 3½-minute read. 🏃♂️ 1 cool thing: If you've got a few minutes, it could make a big impact. A study published in Nature Medicine found a few one-minute bursts of exercise a day were associated with large reductions in the risk of premature death, particularly from cardiovascular disease. | | | | | | 1 big thing: The other COVID emergency |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | While much has been made about the COVID-19 public health emergency, there's another less-discussed emergency declaration that Republicans could target in the next Congress, bringing changes for employer-sponsored health plans, COBRA and flexible spending accounts, Axios' Victoria Knight writes. Why it matters: The vote might happen once Republicans take control of the House next year, in a bid to force President Biden on the record over his comment in September that the COVID-19 pandemic is "over." Biden would likely veto a resolution to terminate the emergency. - Quick reminder: Lots of health groups are concerned about unwinding the public health emergency, but that's a separate declaration with different implications.
Here's what you need to know about the national emergency declaration, which then-President Trump declared early in the pandemic and which President Biden extended: - For the health care sector, its main effect is on deadlines to file claims for COBRA and flexible spending accounts, said Lindsay Wiley, a health law professor at UCLA.
- Specifically, the extensions would be rolled back for certain deadlines employers need to follow regarding COBRA, said James Gelfand, president of the ERISA Industry Committee.
- Under the emergency authority, HHS also can waive requirements for federal health programs to make it easier to serve patients, like the rules that require physicians to be licensed in the state where they're providing services.
- States have been expecting these emergency flexibilities to end, so it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to them to adjust their Medicaid programs, said Jack Rollins, director of federal policy with the National Association of Medicaid Directors.
Yes, but: One issue could be one of the waivers that allow members of households to be paid caregivers for Medicaid home community services. - "It is less clear that can happen without an emergency authority," Rollins said. "States will have questions about that."
This story was published first on Axios Pro. Get news like this by subscribing. Use code POLICYLAUNCH to get $200 off. |     | | | | | | 2. Silicon Valley's loss could be VA's gain |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | As Silicon Valley tech titans shed jobs, the Department of Veterans Affairs is hoping it can take advantage of the glut of talent for its open tech positions, Axios' Dan Primack writes. Why it matters: The VA serves over 9 million veterans in more than 2,000 locations, but its digital transformation efforts have been hampered by tech talent shortages. Case in point: The PACT Act, which was recently passed to improve health care for veterans exposed to toxic substances like Agent Orange in Vietnam or open burn pits in Iraq. - The VA is trying to better streamline the management of these new benefits by accelerating its migration to the cloud.
What they're saying: "We're the largest integrated health care and financial services infrastructure organization in the country," explains VA chief technology officer Kurt DelBene, who spent most of his career at Microsoft. "We also have around a thousand systems that need modernization." Behind the scenes: To further his effort, DelBene is pushing the Office of Personnel Management to approve a special salary rate that he believes could close the wage gap by around 60%. What we're watching: What this could mean for the VA's long-troubled efforts to modernize its electronic health records. In October, scheduled deployments of the system were delayed until June 2023 due to performance issues. | | | | | | | | 3. FDA OKs updated COVID shots for youngest kids |  | | | Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images | | | | The FDA on Thursday authorized updated COVID-19 shots from Pfizer and Moderna that target the omicron variant for children as young as six months, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez writes. Driving the news: FDA commissioner Robert Califf said in a statement that it was important to get young children vaccinated ahead of the holidays, "where more time will be spent indoors." The big picture: Health experts worry that new COVID variants could drive a surge of cases in the winter. - The number of hospitalizations has increased since Thanksgiving, according to the CDC.
State of play: Kids between 6 months and 5 years old who received the Moderna primary series can receive the updated Moderna booster as soon as two months later. - Children between 6 months old and 4 years old who received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can get the companies' updated vaccine as a third shot.
- But those who received three doses of Pfizer's monovalent vaccine aren't eligible for an updated shot. The FDA said it is still evaluating data for young children in this group, and an update could come after January.
What's next: The CDC will evaluate the shots and must sign off before physicians can start administering them. | | | | | | | | A message from CVS Health | | From the simplest of health needs to more complex care | | |  | | | | Whether your health needs are simple or more complex, CVS Health is here to connect you to high-quality, convenient and affordable care. In your community, on your phone or in your home, CVS Health delivers care however you need it. Learn more about how we're making healthier happen together. | | | | | | 4. Data du jour: Non-fatal opioid overdoses |  Map showing the non-fatal opioid drug overdose rate from Nov. 21, 2021, to Nov. 20, 2022. Vermont, Illinois, and Connecticut have the highest rates. 13 states have the lowest or zero rates. Data: NEMSIS; Map: Tory Lysik/Axios Visuals More than 182,000 people in the U.S. survived opioid overdoses in the last year, according to a new federal dashboard launched Thursday. Why it matters: Non-fatal opioid overdoses are leading predictors of fatal overdoses, officials said. - That's important information after the nation saw a record number of opioid-connected deaths in the last year, particularly when drugs for treating opioid abuse aren't reaching most high-risk patients, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim wrote earlier this year.
- The dashboard, released by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is aimed at tracking those non-fatal overdoses to help first responders better target interventions like the overdose-reversal drug naloxone.
What we're watching: A bill to increase access to treatment for opioid addiction has a good chance of passing in the omnibus this month, congressional aides told Axios' Peter Sullivan recently. | | | | | | | | 5. Dog of the week |  | | | Kimta. Photo: Pat Flood | | | | Meet Kimta, an 11-year-old American Eskimo mix, relaxing on the shores of Lake Crescent on the Olympic Peninsula this summer with her moms' Pat and Lori. - "During the week she is Dr. Dog at Mom Pat's Acupuncture practice in Port Angeles," writes one of her humans, Pat Flood. "She loves people, but not so good with other critters with four legs!"
| | | | | | | | A message from CVS Health | | Healthier happens together | | | | | | | | No matter who you are, where you are or what you need to take care of your health, CVS Health is there for you. What you need to know: CVS Health connects you to high-quality, convenient and affordable care — whether it's in your community, on your phone or in your home. Learn more. | | | | 👋 Thanks for reading, and thanks to senior editor Adriel Bettelheim and senior copy editor Bryan McBournie 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.
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