Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday became the latest drugmaker to go to court to halt Medicare drug price negotiations established by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Why it matters: The lawsuit increases the odds that negotiated prices won't take effect on schedule, beginning in 2026. And the filing in U.S. District Court in Trenton, N.J., also drives up odds of conflicting legal rulings over the law's drug price provisions that could prompt the Supreme Court to review the matter.
More than 7 in 10 nursing homes would not meet a staffing requirement recommended in a 2001 report commissioned by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a new KFF analysis shows.
Why it matters: The Biden administration is soon expected to make every facility have enough trained staff to provide high-quality care, though operators say they can't hire enough people in the aftermath of the pandemic.
The push to develop blockbuster weight loss drugs has turned into a two-horse race between Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, and the stakes are rising.
Driving the news: Lilly's planned $1.9 billion acquisition of privately held Versanis Bio, announced last week, marked the latest move to revamp obesity care, by potentially giving Lilly access to an experimental drug that acts directly on fat cells without leading to appetite loss.
An experimental Alzheimer's drug from Eli Lilly was shown effective in slowing the disease's progression by about a third — and more so when it was administered as early as possible, when patients only suffered mild cognitive impairment.
Driving the news: The drug giant on Monday released full clinical trial results for its treatment donanemab, which could become the second FDA-approved drug of its kind to receive full approval, and accompanying Medicare coverage.
Medicare administrators on Monday proposed loosening rules that limit PET scans to measure a brain plaque in Alzheimer's patients that a promising class of drugs target.
Why it matters: The policy comes amid encouraging results for treatments like Eisai and Biogen's Leqembi, which aim to reduce the amount of amyloid plaques that are believed to contribute to the condition.
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved an antibody against respiratory syncytial virus for children one year old and younger, making it the first RSV immunization available for that full age group.
Why it matters: RSV is considered the second leading cause of death during the first year of a child's life, with infants six months and younger at greater risk of becoming severely ill.
The congressional appropriations process is shaping up to be the next battleground over gender-affirming care.
Driving the news: Taxpayer funding of hormone therapies and gender-affirming surgeries would be barred under House Republicans' fiscal 2024 spending bill covering the federal health department, which is moving through Congress.
Rising demand for behavioral care and Medicare outpatient procedures are squeezing some of UnitedHealth Group's business segments but didn't stop the industry giant from beating Wall Street's expectations and posting earnings of $5.47 billion in Q2.
Why it matters: The parent of the biggest U.S. health insurer is a bellwether for broad industry trends. Despite higher-than-expected utilization and concern about how that could drive up health costs, the increases were less than some feared, Reuters reported.
