Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Michigan Offers Buyouts To Nonunion Staff
CBS News: Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Michigan Offers Employee Buyouts
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is offering employee buyouts as the insurance company looks to reduce administrative costs. According to the Blue Cross, the company has opened a Voluntary Separation Offer period that offers a financial incentive to non-union employees, including more than 700 employees who are eligible for retirement in 2025. Employees have until the end of January to accept the offer. (Buczek, 1/21)
NBC News: Texas Medical School Leader Resigns After Investigation Revealed Bodies Were Used Without Consent
The president of the University of North Texas Health Science Center is stepping down, four months after an NBC News investigation uncovered that the center had failed to contact families before using their loved ones’ corpses for medical research. In an announcement Monday, the University of North Texas System Board of Regents said it had accepted Sylvia Trent-Adams’ resignation. (Hixenbaugh, 1/21)
CBS News: Maryland Leaders Take Steps To Reduce Emergency Room Wait Times
A study released by the Maryland Hospital Association in March 2024 said Maryland had the worst hospital wait times in the country as of 2021. ... In response to the ongoing issues, the Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 1143, which established the Maryland Emergency Department Wait Time Reduction Commission (HSCRC). The commission's goal is to develop strategies to help state and local hospitals reduce ED wait times. The commission will terminate on June 30, 2027. (Olaniran and Baylor, 1/21)
WUSF: Tampa General Hospital Performed The Most Transplant Surgeries In The U.S. In 2024
Almost 900 people received life-changing transplants at Tampa General Hospital last year, the most of any transplant center in the country. Tampa General’s Transplant Institute completed 889 transplant procedures, including 500 kidneys and 279 livers, the hospital announced this month. Data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network shows the hospital had more transplants than Arizona’s Mayo Clinic (883), Vanderbilt University Medical Center (875) and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (845). (Belcher, 1/21)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
This week on the KFF Health News Minute: AI tools in medicine might not save money, and credit agencies can no longer include medical debt on credit reports.
In pharmaceutical developments —
Fortune Well: Lilly Weight-Loss Pill Orforglipron Could Get FDA Approval In 2026, CEO Dave Ricks Says
Have you been mulling over the idea of taking weight-loss medication but unable to take the plunge, so to speak, with injectables? Help may soon be on the way. Eli Lilly & Co., the Fortune 500 pharma firm that manufactures weight-loss injection Zepbound (tirzepatide), has a comparable oral medication in the works that could be approved by the Food and Drug Administration as early as next year, according to CEO Dave Ricks. (Leake, 1/22)
NPR: FDA Allows Standalone Use Of Nasal Spray Antidepressant Spravato (Esketamine)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has expanded its approval of Spravato, an antidepressant nasal spray. The drug is now cleared for use as a standalone treatment for depression. Spravato is made from esketamine, one of two mirror-image molecules found in the anesthetic ketamine. It was approved in 2019 for use in adults with major depressive disorder who did not respond to at least two other antidepressants. (Hamilton, 1/21)
Stat: Sanofi Warned By FDA Over 'Significant' Problems At A Key Manufacturing Plant
The Food and Drug Administration has warned Sanofi about a series of “significant” manufacturing problems, including contamination, at a key facility in Massachusetts where the company makes ingredients used to produce various medicines. (Silverman, 1/21)
In cancer research —
Stat: 'Gold Rush' In Cancer Therapy For Key Type Of Bispecific Antibody
Immune checkpoint inhibitors, drugs that can help make the immune system recognize and destroy cancer more aggressively, are one of the most important medicines in cancer treatment today. Merck’s Keytruda has been used against dozens of different cancers in millions of patients, making it the top-selling drug in the world, with over $25 billion in revenue in 2023. Opdivo, from Bristol Myers Squibb, earned $10 billion in 2023. (Chen, 1/22)
The Guardian: Fitness And Muscle Strength Could Halve Cancer Patient Deaths, Study Suggests
Muscular strength and good physical fitness could almost halve the risk of cancer patients dying from their disease, according to a study that suggests tailored exercise plans may increase survival. The likelihood of people dying from their cancer has decreased significantly in recent decades owing to greater awareness of symptoms, and better access to treatment and care. However, despite notable advances, the side-effects of treatment, including on the heart and muscles, can affect survival. (Gregory, 1/21)
