Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Aetna Reports Earnings Up, Raises Full-Year Profit Forecast For Fourth Time This Year
The Wall Street Journal: Aetna’s Earnings Rise Amid Moderate Medical Costs
As for 2016, Aetna said it was aiming for at least low double-digit earnings growth, saying it sees potential for expansion in Medicare and Medicaid membership. But it flagged challenges including losing some business from large national employers that decided to offer workers plans from multiple insurers. Aetna also said the individual business remained “challenging,” and that it would shrink its footprint in the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces to 15 states, down from 17 this year. (Wilde Mathews and Steele, 10/29)
The Wall Street Journal: Sanofi Recalls Auvi-Q Allergy Injectors
Sanofi SA voluntarily recalled all 2.8 million of its Auvi-Q epinephrine injectors from the U.S. and Canada, sending allergy patients and anxious parents scrambling to replace them with rival EpiPen devices. Millions of allergy sufferers carry epinephrine injectors and administer shots themselves in case of life-threatening anaphylactic reactions. Sanofi said it had received 26 reports of the devices potentially delivering inadequate doses, which could have “significant health consequences,” although no fatalities have been reported. (Beck, 10/29)
NPR: If A New Cancer Drug Is Hailed As A Breakthrough, Odds Are It's Not
Miracle. Game changer. Marvel. Cure. Lifesaver. For Dr. Vinay Prasad, each one of these words was a little straw on the camel's back. At oncology conferences, they were used "indiscriminately" to describe new cancer drugs. Journalists bandied them about in stories. Finally, the pile of hyperbole broke the camel's back. The hype can bubble up false optimism in patients struggling with cancer, Prasad, an oncologist at Oregon Health and Sciences University, writes Thursday in the journal JAMA Oncology. (Bichell, 10/29)
