The world's 2nd-largest Ebola outbreak on record in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is showing no signs of slowing after at least 5 months, with the number of cases soaring past 600 and the death toll eclipsing 400 on Jan. 14.
Why it matters: The outbreak of the deadly virus, which causes fever, headaches, diarrhea and bleeding, has been exacerbated by insecurity in eastern Congo. The World Health Organization and nongovernmental organizations responding to the outbreak have never had to combat Ebola in such a threatening environment before, and some treatment centers have been destroyed.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have kicked off an investigation into prescription drug prices, sending letters yesterday to 12 drug companies seeking information about the pricing of almost 20 specific products.
What's happening: The list includes some of the best-selling drugs in the world — Humira, Embrel and Revlimid — as well as insulin, whose staggering price hikes have stoked particular rage.
Medicare would have saved an average of nearly $12 billion per year if it had the Department of Veterans Affairs' ability to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies, according to researchers writing in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. And that's just for 50 drugs.
Yes, but: Those savings would also require Medicare to say "no" to covering some drugs — a shift from the current policy, in which Medicare pays for almost all FDA-approved medications.
A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Monday imposed a temporary nationwide ban on Trump administration rules that would have allowed most employers to opt out of the Affordable Care Act's requirements to provide no-cost birth control coverage in their insurance plans.
Why it matters: The rollback would have allowed employers not to grant their workers cost-free contraceptives, citing religious and moral objections. In a separate ruling Sunday, a California judge issued a partial injunction that blocks the policy from taking effect in Washington, D.C., and 13 states while the lawsuit moves forward.
Genes play a larger overall role than environment or socioeconomic factors in causing human diseases, according to a comprehensive analysis of health insurance data, including a large cohort of twins, according to a Nature Genetics study published Monday.
What's new: Nearly 40% of human diseases can be linked to genetic factors, while 25% are at least partly driven from the environment. However, socioeconomic factors only play a modest role, the scientists find.
Fourth-quarter and full-year 2018 earnings are nigh. UnitedHealth Group, per usual, will kick things off on Tuesday.
By the numbers: Health care companies reported a 7.7% net profit margin in the third quarter, equaling more than $50 billion of global profit — the most profitable quarter of the year for the industry and an especially lucrative quarter for pharma companies. It’s likely Q4 numbers will be even higher.
Go deeper: Our health care earnings tracker is up-to-date with Q4 release dates and 6 quarters of data. We will be updating it every day over the next month as new data comes in.
A federal judge in California temporarily blocked a planned rollback of the Affordable Care Act's contraception rules by the Trump administration in 13 states and Washington, D.C., on Sunday.
Why it matters: The preliminary injunction — issued just before the rules were due to go into effect Monday — prevents some smaller employers from choosing not to grant their workers no-cost birth control coverage due to religious and moral objections while the lawsuit moves forward. The judge's decision, which follows similar rulings in federal court in 2017, ultimately rejected the states' request to block the rules nationwide.
