Medicare has proposed covering the controversial Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm, but only for patients who enroll in a randomized clinical study.
Why it matters: Medicare is sending a signal to the pharmaceutical industry that Aduhelm — an IV medication with unproven clinical benefit, serious side effects and a $28,000 annual price tag — and other Alzheimer's drugs must show they work to gain Medicare's full coverage and payment.
With the Omicron variant causing infections to surge to record levels, masking is more important than ever— and increasing evidence indicates the quality of mask makes a significant difference.
The big picture: Fitted particle-filtering masks like N95s are up to 75 times more effective at preventing infection with COVID-19 than surgical masks, according to a study published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Quebec plans to tax people who have remained unvaccinated from COVID-19 for non-medical reasons, Premier François Legault announced at a press briefing Tuesday.
Why it matters: The measure would make Quebec the first province in Canada to impose a financial penalty on the unvaccinated, per The Globe and Mail, and comes as hospitalizations due to the virus have surged.
Circulo Health, an Ohio-based insurance startup focused on people who use Medicaid, has quietly acquired primary care provider Huddle Health, Axios has learned. Circulo is also said to have partnered with telehealth startup Brave Health to deliver tele-psychiatry services.
Why it matters: Much of the recent healthcare buzz has focused on using tech to provide affluent people with more convenient, comprehensive care. That’s left people who use Medicaid or Medicare — notably, those most in need of care — behind.
Since United Airlines' COVID-19 vaccine mandate went into effect last summer, no employee has died, CEO Scott Kirby said in a letter to employees.
Driving the news: Kirby said that prior to the vaccine mandate, "tragically, more than one United employee on average *per week* was dying from COVID,” but "we’ve now gone eight straight weeks with zeroCOVID-related deaths among our vaccinated employees."
The World Health Organization warned Tuesday against treating COVID-19 as an "endemic" illness.
Driving the news: "We still have a huge amount of uncertainty and a virus that is evolving quite quickly, imposing new challenges," Catherine Smallwood, WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe, said during a Tuesday press briefing.
Free vending machines are popping up around the country to dispense doses of Narcan, or naloxone, a drug that can quickly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Why it matters: Drug overdose deaths have soared in the U.S. during the COVID pandemic, creating a second public health crisis. More than 87,000 Americans died of opioid overdoses over the 12-month period that ended in September, according to preliminary federal data.
That's more than any year since the opioid epidemic began in the 1990s, the New York Times reports.
Social distancing and self-quarantining have spiked in recent weeks as Omicron puts the nation in a crouch like last spring before vaccines became widely available, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
The big picture: 36% of vaccinated survey respondents who have tested positive for the virus or think they've had it now say they were infected after being fully vaccinated. That compares with 22% in mid-December, and just 6% last summer.
The U.S. is facing a "dangerously low" blood supply that could have devastating consequences, the Red Cross warned Monday.
Why it matters: COVID, winter storms and staffing challenges, among other things, have disrupted the nation's blood supply. In recent weeks, blood centers across the U.S. have reported less than one day's worth of blood for certain blood types, according to the Red Cross.
Millions of Americans are calling in sick or isolating, leaving employers scrambling and forcing low-income workers to go without pay or risk going into work.
Why it matters: The latest pandemic health crisis is undermining employers, draining the bottom line and risking reduced output.
Why it matters: The patient, 57-year-old David Bennett, is still doing well three days later, proving for the first time a "genetically-modified animal heart can function like a human heart without immediate rejection by the body," UMMC said. The surgery has the potential to provide hope to hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide, the New York Times notes.
Health insurers will be required to cover costs for over-the-counter, at-home COVID tests starting this Saturday, the Health and Human Services Department announced Monday.
Why it matters: Under President Biden's strategy to expand access to free COVID testing, insurers will either cover costs upfront or reimburse people after they submit claims.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday proposed a plan to expand health care coverage to cover all low-income, undocumented Californians.
Why it matters: The proposal is part of the Democratic governor's $213 billion budget request for the 2022-23 fiscal year. If approved by the state legislature, it would begin no sooner than Jan. 1, 2024.
Because Biogen lowered the price of Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm by 50%, the federal government should "reassess" the large pending increase on Medicare's 2022 premiums that cover physician and outpatient care, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement today.
Why it matters: The historically high Medicare premium hike, during a midterm election year, was due in large part to Aduhelm's high price tag.
But now Becerra is asking Medicare to consider lowering the premium increase, just days before Medicare also is supposed to give a preliminary decision about whether Aduhelm's questionable clinical evidence justifies coverage at all.
A series of messaging missteps is threatening the credibility of federal health agencies, and critics say the White House isn’t doing enough to manage the fallout.
Why it matters: While much of the unvaccinated population is unlikely to be persuaded by any messenger, large swaths of the public are still receptive to expert guidance, but federal health agencies, particularly the CDC, may be squandering their credibility with this population.
The annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference kicks off today, and it's virtual for the second straight year after companies raised concerns about rising coronavirus cases.
Why it matters: Health care is as profitable as ever amid the global pandemic, and companies are eager to tell deep-pocketed power brokers why they should continue to plow more money into the industry and expect hefty returns.
Novak Djokovic's Australian visa cancellation was overturned Monday by a judge on the country's federal circuit court, who ordered the Serbian tennis star's release from immigration detention within 30 minutes of the ruling.
Why it matters: It enables the men's tennis world No. 1 to possibly stay in the country and defend his Australian Open title, after border officials last week canceled his visa over his COVID-19 vaccination status.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said large businesses should not comply with the Biden administration's "oppressive" mandate for COVID-19 vaccinations or testing that's due to take effect Monday.
What he's saying: The Republican governor told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday the requirement "needs to be struck down" and urged Arkansas businesses with 100 or more employees affected by it to wait for the Supreme Court ruling on the matter.
