The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday issued stricter safety requirements for breast implants, mandating that patients receive detailed information about potential complications.
Why it matters: The new regulations come as the agency experiences increased pressure from the public over the sometimes severe complications that thousands of women who received breast implants have endured for years, Axios' Marisa Fernandez reports.
Health insurance company UnitedHealthcare is suing TeamHealth, a company that staffs hospital emergency rooms, alleging TeamHealth billed for more expensive ER services that didn't match the care doctors actually provided.
Why it matters: This is another alleged instance of "upcoding," which has existed in health care for many years and leads to everyone paying higher medical premiums.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said Tuesday that he "would never knowingly be disrespectful" regarding his failed meeting with state Sen. Tina Polsky — but he didn't apologize.
Driving the news: Ladapo’s remarks come almost a week after he attempted to meet with Polsky concerning his upcoming Senate confirmation hearing. Polsky ultimately sent Ladapo and two of his aides away for refusing to wear a mask, according to Florida Politics.
Cases and deaths from COVID-19 among workers at the five largest U.S. meatpacking companies were nearly three times higher than previously thought, according to a memo from the House panel probing the response to the pandemic.
Driving the news: At least 59,000 workers contracted COVID-19 and 269 workers died at Tyson Foods, JBS USA, Cargill, National Beef and Smithfield Foods — which together make up more than 80% of the beef market and 60% of the pork market in the U.S. — according to counts through January of this year.
Merck said Wednesday it granted the Medicines Patent Pool, a United Nations-backed nonprofit, a royalty-free license for molnupiravir, an oral antiviral COVID-19 pill that it developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.
Why it matters: The license means generic-drug companies in 105 low- and middle-income countries will be allowed to produce the experimental drug after it gains regulatory approval, which would greatly expand the availability of the medication to nations that have so far lacked access to coronavirus vaccines.
Young adults with colon cancer are just as likely to die from the disease as older people — in some cases, maybe even more likely — according to a study to be published Wednesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Why it matters: Colorectal cancer is among the fastest-growing cancers among people younger than 50, and researchers aren't sure why.
Centene will evaluate proposals from pharmacy benefits companies next year to manage the health insurer's drug spending, signaling a failure of the company's own approach to managing drug spending internally.
Why it matters: Centene spends $30 billion annually on prescription drugs, CFO Drew Asher told investors Tuesday, which will make this one of the largest and most highly sought-after drug contracts in the industry.
Centene's bid process will start next year, and a new PBM will take over by 2024, executives said on a conference call, adding that the move will result in "the greatest economic benefit."
Louisiana's statewide mask mandate is lifting for all settings except for some schools starting on Wednesday, Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) announced.
The big picture: The requirement has been in place since early August as the Delta variant surged across the state. Edwards tweeted Tuesday there had been a "sustained improvement across the state in new cases, test positivity & hospitalizations."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in updated guidelines Tuesday that some immunocompromised people who have received either Pfizer or Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines will be able to get a fourth shot.
Details: People over 18 who are "moderately to severely immunocompromised" and have received three doses of an mRNA vaccine may get a fourth shot (of either the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccines) at least six months after getting their third Pfizer or Moderna dose, per the CDC.
Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have launched a first-of-its-kind study for a vaccine aimed at preventing lethal breast cancer.
Why it matters: Triple-negative breast cancer is considered one of the most aggressive types of breast cancer because it does not typically respond to hormonal or targeted therapies, researchers say.
Members of the Food and Drug Administration's vaccine expert panel Tuesday endorsed a two-dose series of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5–11. The final vote was 17 members in favor, with one member abstaining.
Why it matters: While not binding, the decision is a long-awaited step toward getting COVID vaccines in the arms of some of the youngest Americans potentially in time to get many fully vaccinated in advance of the holiday season.
Driving the news: The number of cigarettes sold by the largest cigarette companies in the U.S. increased from 202.9 billion in 2019 to 203.7 billion in 2020, according to the most recent FTC Cigarette Report.
Tyson Foods said Tuesday that more than 96% of its workers have received the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of the company's Nov. 1 deadline to get all employees vaccinated.
Driving the news: Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King said nearly 60,000 additional workers received the shots after the company announced its vaccine mandate in August. At the time, a little less than half of all employees had been vaccinated.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday signed an executive order directing state agencies to not enforce federal coronavirus vaccine mandates, and instead cooperate with the state's attorney general to sue the Biden administration over the requirements.
The big picture: No government entity shall impose any agreement demanding that an employee get vaccinated, the Republican governor's executive order says. It adds that state employees will not be required to present vaccination proof to receive any sort of government service or to enter a government building.
Moderna announced Tuesday it agreed to sell up to 110 million COVID vaccine doses to African countries, saying it's prepared to deliver 15 million doses in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Why it matters: The additional doses will help African Union member nations that are lagging behind vaccination targets set by the World Health Organization because of vaccine shortages, though the sale comes after Moderna faced criticism for not doing enough to vaccinate the world.
An aluminum shortage tied to the global supply chain crunch has led to a new medical supply shortage: crutches.
Why it matters: The latest example of pandemic-spurred medical supply chain problems could become a much bigger problem in the next couple of months which are typically the busiest time of the year for orthopedic surgeries.
That's because many people try to squeeze their surgeries before the end of the year before their deductibles reset in January.
Confidence in President Biden's ability to rescue the economy from COVID-19 has dropped since January, even as Americans' faith rises in his ability to make the vaccine widely accessible, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
Why it matters: It's Democrats and independents driving the declining economic confidence, from 52% of all U.S. adults at the start of his presidency to 44% now. Their softening faith could hinder Biden's ability to lead and hurt Democrats' position heading into the 2022 midterms.
As Democrats try to reach a deal on a massive social policy bill, the legislation's health care measures are emerging as key sticking points.
Between the lines: Moderate members have successfully reduced the amount of new spending that the party is aiming to pass, amplifying the tug-of-war between different factions of the party over which health policies to prioritize.
Lower-wage workers in the U.S. were the most likely to report missing work due to COVID-19, but the least likely to have access to paid sick days or family leave, according to a new report out in Health Affairs on Monday.
Why it matters: The gaps in paid leave policies is the latest evidence of food insecurity experienced during the pandemic among Americans who had to miss work because they were sick or had to take care of someone who was sick.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday announced a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for businesses, as the government pushes to reach a nationwide 90% vaccination target.
Why it matters: Under the new COVID-19 Protection Framework, businesses must require vaccine certificates from customers if they're in close contact with them. Ardern said at a briefing Tuesday that such venues wishing to operate, including hair salons, bars, restaurants and gyms, must ensure staff is vaccinated.
New York City's biggest police union filed a lawsuit Monday against Mayor Bill de Blasio's COVID-19 vaccine requirement for all NYC public employees.
Why it matters: The mandate requires all city employees to have had at least one dose by this Friday. They must show proof of vaccination or they'll be placed on unpaid leave. The Police Benevolent Association of New York tweeted Monday that it's seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the mandate, pending the outcome of its lawsuit.
