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| Presented By UnitedHealthcare |
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| Axios Vitals |
| By Tina Reed · Jan 11, 2023 |
| 🐪 Happy Wednesday, Vitals readers. Today's newsletter is 770 words or a 3-minute read. |
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| 1 big thing: Surging overdoses prompt more Americans to carry Narcan |
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| Photo: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images |
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| The worsening opioid epidemic is prompting more people to carry a nasal spray that reverses overdoses and become de facto first responders in life-or-death situations, Axios' Sabrina Moreno writes. Why it matters: Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, acts five times quicker than the approximately 10-minute average arrival time for EMS technicians, according to a federal overdose tracker launched last month. - That can be critical when fentanyl, the synthetic drug behind most opioid overdose deaths, renders an individual unconscious and not breathing in as little as 90 seconds, said Bonnie Milas, a cardiac anesthesiologist at the University of Pennsylvania who trains people on how to recognize an overdose and use naloxone.
- But with retail prices sometimes exceeding $100, the cost can be prohibitive.
The big picture: Naloxone and automatic external defibrillators located in public places allow ordinary citizens to stand in for medical professionals, even with little or no training. Every state has a naloxone access law, though the legal protections vary. - The FDA is fast-tracking an application from Emergent BioSolutions, the maker of Narcan, for a non-prescription version that wouldn't require a doctor's sign-off.
Yes, but: Despite a surgeon general's recommendation more Americans carry naloxone, there is no nationwide campaign, like the mailing of free COVID tests to U.S. households, said Milas — even though most opioid overdoses happen inside someone's home. The bottom line: "If you can't control fentanyl in the drug supply, although we're trying, then the only way that we're going to be able to curb the immediate loss of life is to have Naloxone and life-saving skills available in the home and in public spaces," Milas told Axios. - The day could come when it's on the wall next to every AED in the United States, she added.
Read the rest. |
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| 2. Public health emergency extended |
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| Xavier Becerra. Photo: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Bloomberg via Getty Images |
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| The COVID-19 public health emergency will be extended today for another 90 days, maintaining a long set of Trump-era allowances and programs affecting much of U.S. health care. Why it matters: When the emergency does end, it will bring major policy shifts to insurance markets, drug approvals and telehealth. Yes, but: Some flexibilities, such as those for Medicare telehealth created under the PHE, were extended by the year-end spending deal for two years. The provisions had already been extended for 151 days after the end of the emergency. What to watch: HHS has pledged it would give states and health providers 60 days' notice before the emergency expires or is terminated, officials said. - Administration officials declined to comment on whether this would be the final extension.
- "The decision to terminate the COVID PHE will be made by the HHS secretary based on the best available data and science," an administration official told Axios. "Any suggestion that a specific end date has been established is untrue."
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| 3. CVS is on a buying spree |
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| Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios |
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| CVS Health is exploring a takeover of Chicago-based Oak Street Health, a Medicare-focused operator of a network of value-based primary care centers, Axios' Dan Primack writes. - A deal could be valued north of $10 billion, including assumed debt, per a report from Bloomberg.
Why it matters: This news topped off a very busy Monday for America's largest pharmacist, as industry executives and investors descended on San Francisco for the annual JPM Healthcare Conference. - In addition to the Oak Street interest, CVS announced participation in venture rounds for Monogram Health and Array Behavioral Care.
- It also invested $100 million into Carbon Health, in a strategic deal that will include opening pilot clinics inside of select CVS stores.
The bottom line: It's no secret that CVS has been seeking to push deeper into primary care, as evidenced by the Carbon Health deal and prior acquisition talks with both One Medical and Cano Health. Oak Street would give it access to 169 U.S. centers that serve nearly 160,000 patients. |
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| A message from UnitedHealthcare |
| HouseCalls can help identify and prevent health issues among seniors |
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| UnitedHealthcare's Medicare Advantage HouseCalls provide free, comprehensive wellness visits in the comfort of seniors' own homes. During visits, licensed clinicians spend up to an hour with seniors and follow up with their primary care providers to help address any health issues. Learn more. |
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| 4. Quote du jour |
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| Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios. Photo: Dylan Buell/Getty Images |
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| "You weren't seeing ... entities doing their jobs. You were seeing someone responding to the players as a person. That's a different mindset. It's OK to cry. It's OK to have emotions. It's OK to be human." — Dallas Cowboys sports psychologist Yolanda Bruce Brooks told Axios' for a story about how an NFL culture shift was on full display after Damar Hamlin collapse. |
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| 5. Catch up quick |
| 💉 The Pentagon drops the COVID vaccination mandate. (Axios) 💧 Drought and extreme rains are linked to infectious diseases in kids. (Axios) 👉 Uganda declares an end of its deadly Ebola outbreak. (Wall Street Journal) 🧠 Social media's effects on teen mental health comes into focus. (Axios) |
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| A message from UnitedHealthcare |
| HouseCalls meet seniors in their homes |
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| Millions of Medicare Advantage seniors take advantage of UnitedHealthcare's free HouseCalls program. For Jack, a free, comprehensive wellness visit from HouseCalls nurse practitioner Heather helped save his life. Watch their story. |
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| Editor's note: The second item in yesterday's Vitals has been corrected to reflect that the House Ways and Means Committee has jurisdiction over Medicare, but not Medicaid. Thanks for reading, and thanks to senior editor Adriel Bettelheim and senior copy editor Bryan McBournie for the edits. |
 | | Your personal policy analyst is here. | | |
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