PUBLIC HEALTH

US Deaths: 1,106,824
Total hospital admissions 8/2020-2/2023: 5,910,070
Current 7 day average of hospital admissions: 3,254 – down 84% from peak 7 day average of 21,525 in January 2022.
Track COVID-19 trends across the U.S. Coronavirus Resource Center- Johns Hopkins

• The White House will end the COVID-19 emergency declarations on May 11, ending the response to the onset of the COVID pandemic declared on January 31, 2020. Read more
• COVID-19 vaccine prices are going up. It shouldn’t be our focus. Health Care Dive

For additional information: CDC Covid Tracker covid.cdc.gov

Mental Health/Trending

• Rise of telehealth during pandemic boosted mental health treatment rates Health Care Dive
• Biogen’s $1.5B Bet for Depressive Disorders Heads to FDA. If approved, zuranolone would be the first 14-day treatment on the market for depression. Biospace

PHARMA

• In the Pipeline: Top 10 most anticipated drug launches of 2023 Fierce Pharma
• Merck’s cornerstone, Keytruda, could be on its way to snagging another indication as a first-line
  therapy for endometrial cancer after the company announced positive Phase III results Friday.
  (*Average cost of one year of treatment with Keytruda can range from 215 – >375K) Biospace
• FTC fines GoodRx $1.5 million for unauthorized sharing of health data Link
• 51 Drug Patents that are Expiring in 2023 Link

HEALTHCARE FRAUD

• Michigan woman convicted in $65M pharmaceutical ‘coupon’ case Beckers
• North Carolina physician faces prison for reusing single-use devices in more than 1,500 procedures Beckers
• 3 recent self-disclosed fraud settlements involving hospitals Beckers
• Pharmacist, 8 others arrested in $1.5M pill mill case Beckers

TECH

• Artificial intelligence could save healthcare industry $360B a year Health Care Dive
• FTC reportedly hiring outside economists to probe Amazon’s One Medical deal Fierce Healthcare
• Heart gene therapy to stop young sudden death risk- Scientists say they should soon be able to effectively cure inherited, life-threatening heart muscle conditions to save more young people from sudden cardiac death. BBC News

PAYER

• The Case of the $489,000 Air Ambulance Ride Kaiser KHN
• Google’s fastest growing business: stop-loss insurance. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, saw its medical stop-loss insurance business grow “nearly sixfold” last year. The Verge
• Cigna posts $1.2B profit in fourth quarter Beckers Payer Issues
• Major hospitals still noncompliant with price transparency rules HealthCareDive
• States with the highest and lowest health care spending. Between 2000 and 2020, U.S. health spending per person doubled. By 2030, total health spending is expected to reach $6.8 trillion. .Benefits Pro

HEALTH CARE CONSUMER

• Can the ‘Netflix’ model of insurance work? – Members pay for a “subscription” in premiums and have access to care with no cost-sharing. Beckers Payer
• 5 things to know about the FDA approval process -With cancer drugs, the approval process can take anywhere from six to 12 years. MD Anderson
• Dollar General now moving into health care, with rural mobile clinics in Tennessee- The move is part of a larger shift among retailers to delivery of at least some types of health care services .Benefits Pro

Deborah Fatovic RN, BSN VP of Clinical Risk Management and Cost Containment
One80 Intermediaries | Vista Underwriting

C: 732-740-1031 | E: dfatovic@vistaunderwriting.com