Only 37% of Americans got vaccinated for the flu last year, which is said to be one of the deadliest seasons in decades, according to a new report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Why it matters: The report suggests that a 6.2% drop in vaccination from the previous season could be factor behind the severity of last year’s season. The epidemic killed an estimated 80,000 Americans — the highest level for at least four decades. At least 180 children, 80% of whom were not vaccinated, were killed and there were 900,000 hospitalizations.
Combatting sepsis — the body-wide immune response to an infection that can lead to amputations, the loss of organs or death — continues to elude researchers, who are trying to develop a consistent and effective treatment.
Why it matters: Sepsis affects more than 30 million people worldwide every year, killing roughly 6 million. But, it's tricky to treat and quick to develop, leaving doctors with little option but to flood the body with multiple antibiotics and other therapies once the blood infection has developed.
President Trump took aim at what he called "global freeloading" today as his administration began to roll out a plan that would change the way Medicare pays for certain drugs.
How it works: Other industrialized countries pay much less for many prescription drugs than the U.S. does. Under the administration's proposal, Medicare's payment rates would be based on those international prices.
Medicaid spending is rising even though enrollment is flat, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual survey of state Medicaid directors.
Why it matters: This is unusual.Historically, enrollment is the key driver of overall Medicaid spending, and the two have tended to rise or fall roughly in tandem.
The rising price of insulin has created a multibillion-dollar business for the pharmaceutical oligopoly that controls the market — and a deep sense of anger and fear among people who need the drug to stay alive.
The big picture: Insulin pricing is especially urgent because it's an old drug with no alternatives that millions of people depend on. But unless drug makers voluntarily lower their prices, after raising them for years, there's no easy path to make insulin more affordable.
Medicaid spending is rising even though enrollment is flat, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual survey of state Medicaid directors.
Why it matters: This is unusual.Historically, enrollment is the key driver of overall Medicaid spending, and the two have tended to rise or fall roughly in tandem.
Reality check: Democrats have been criticized for a lot of things about the Affordable Care Act, which they passed over GOP objections. But this may be the first time they've been accused of not protecting people with pre-existing conditions, since the ACA does that and Republicans have been on the defensive ever since they tried to repeal it.
The number of overdose deaths in the U.S. “has begun to plateau,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said yesterday, in advance of a White House event today at which President Trump will sign Congress' most recent opioids bill into law.
What's new: Preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the death rate holding steady, after years of increases.
Americans are spending more money out of our own pockets every year on health care, and that trend is placing a bigger burden on poorer families than on wealthier ones.
By the numbers: The lowest-income households spend nearly 3% of their take-home pay on out-of-pocket health care costs, compared to about 1% for the wealthiest families, according to new research from the JPMorgan Chase Institute.
Express Scripts sent a notification this month to pharmacies saying its networks will expand to include "pharmacies predominantly engaged in mail-order practice" by the first quarter of 2019.
Why it matters: Express Scripts, which negotiates drug prices for 80 million Americans, may be opening the door for any mail-order pharmacy — including Amazon's newly acquired PillPack — to get full access to its large network, as long as the pharmacy agrees to Express Scripts' contract terms.
