New York Magazine and writer Olivia Nuzzi have parted ways after she was placed on leave last month following reports that she had a personal relationship with former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy.
The big picture: N.Y. Mag said Monday that a law firm reached the same conclusion as the magazine's "initial internal review of her published work, finding no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias" following the allegations.
Health insurance giants Cigna and Humana have rekindled merger talks that they had abandoned late last year, as first reported by Bloomberg and confirmed by Axios.
Why it matters: This would create a new titan in a health-care industry dominated by them, rivaling current insurance leaders UnitedHealth and Aetna.
Here's a puzzle: Working from home appears to make people feel more alone, but forcing them back to the office full-time won't necessarily make them feel better, according to new research published in the Harvard Business Review.
Why it matters: Loneliness is a huge societal issue with often devastating health and cultural fallout, as the U.S. Surgeon General has warned — and in the workplace it can be particularly damaging.
The popular debit cards that Medicare Advantage plans give older adults as a perk for signing up may be cutting off their access to some public assistance because of conflicting interpretations on what counts as income.
Why it matters: The "flex cards" are becoming more common in plans targeted to disabled and low-income older adults, according to an analysis from ATI Advisory shared with Axios. Almost half of all Medicare Advantage plans will feature the cards next year.
Medicare advocates and members of Congress are pressing the Biden administration to clarify that such supplemental benefits shouldn't be considered income as the Medicare open enrollment period continues.
Weight-loss surgery is more cost-effective than taking blockbuster GLP-1 drugs, delivering two more healthy years of life and saving patients about $9,000 a year, according to a new analysis.
Why it matters: Such side-by-side comparisons could be critical to insurers' coverage decisions as demand for drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy surges.
What they found: Northwestern University researchers found GLP-1s are only cost-effective when used in tandem with weight-loss surgery, to control whatever weight is regained.
Combining surgery and GLP-1s yielded average savings of about $7,200 a year and five more quality-adjusted life years, compared with surgery alone.
Cigna is reviving efforts to merge with Humana after talks fell apart late last year, Bloomberg News reported, quoting people familiar with the matter.
Why it matters: The combined company would be one of the nation's biggest health insurers, but would also likely attract antitrust scrutiny.
Driving the news: The companies have held informal, early-stage discussions about a potential deal, but Cigna is looking to close the sale of its Medicare Advantage business before moving on to other transactions, Bloomberg reported.
While that could eliminate one area of overlap, Cigna still is facing scrutiny from regulators and Congress over its Express Scripts pharmacy benefit business. A recent Federal Trade Commission report blamed the nation's biggest PBMs for rising drug prices. Express Scripts has since sued over the report, calling for a retraction.
Humana recently took a hit on Medicare quality ratings that are linked to payments, a setback that threatens billions in revenue for 2026 and poses what one analyst called a "worst-case scenario" for the company, per Bloomberg.
Singer Lance Bass' efforts to eat right, exercise and take medication weren't helping to manage his newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes symptoms — until doctors determined he actually had a lesser-known condition known as Type 1.5 diabetes.
Why it matters: The disease — which mimics Type 1 diabetes but kicks in during adulthood — is not yet widely recognized, even by doctors.But appropriate early treatment using insulin can result in much better outcomes for those with the disease, experts say.
The condition, also known as latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, or LADA, occurs when the pancreas stops making insulin, usually because an autoimmune process is damaging cells in the organ.
⚡️ CVS Health ousted CEO Karen Lynch as the pharmacy and health care conglomerate struggled with sluggish growth and rising medical costs and its shares tumbled. (NYT)
💉 Data from the southern hemisphere suggests flu shot effectiveness is on a downward trend and the U.S. could be looking at less successful vaccine effectiveness this winter. (Medpage Today)
✈️ Baxter International plans to import 18,000 tons of IV products by year's end to ease shortages while hurricane recovery efforts continue at a key company plant in North Carolina. (Fierce Pharma)
Singer Lance Bass' efforts to eat right, exercise and take medication weren't helping to manage his newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes symptoms — until doctors determined he actually had a lesser-known condition known as Type 1.5 diabetes.
Why it matters: The disease — which mimics Type 1 diabetes but kicks in during adulthood — is not yet widely recognized, even by doctors.But appropriate early treatment using insulin can result in much better outcomes for those with the disease, experts say.
Weight-loss surgery is more cost-effective than taking blockbuster GLP-1 drugs, delivering two more healthy years of life and saving patients about $9,000 a year, according to a new analysis.
Why it matters: Such side-by-side comparisons could be critical to insurers' coverage decisions as demand for drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy surges.
The popular debit cards that Medicare Advantage plans give older adults as a perk for signing up may be cutting off their access to some public assistance because of conflicting interpretations on what counts as income.
Why it matters: The "flex cards" are becoming more common in plans targeted to disabled and low-income older adults, according to an analysis from ATI Advisory shared with Axios. Almost half of all Medicare Advantage plans will feature the cards next year.
Health insurers would be required to cover over-the-counter birth control and additional FDA-approved contraceptiveswithout cost-sharing under a proposal the Biden administration unveiled on Monday.
Why it matters: The effort is aimed at keeping a focus on reproductive health in the final weeks before the election while expanding the Affordable Care Act's mandate that insurers cover at least one form of each FDA-approved contraception method at no cost.
