Pharma & Tech: Dec. 8, 2022
Paxlovid Has Been Free So Far. Next Year, Sticker Shock Awaits.
Hannah Recht
The government soon will stop paying for the covid drug that has proved to be the most effective at keeping patients alive and out of the hospital.
Employers Use Patient Assistance Programs to Offset Their Own Costs
Julie Appleby
Some insurers and employers are tapping into assistance programs meant for individual patients. The concern: Some costly drugs could be harder for patients to access.
The Business of Clinical Trials Is Booming. Private Equity Has Taken Notice.
Rachana Pradhan
Private equity-backed Headlands Research heralded its covid-19 vaccine trials as a chance to boost participation among diverse populations, then it shuttered multiple sites that conducted them.
Schools, Sheriffs, and Syringes: State Plans Vary for Spending $26B in Opioid Settlement Funds
Aneri Pattani
The cash represents an unprecedented opportunity to derail the opioid epidemic, but with countless groups advocating for their share of the pie, the impact could depend heavily on geography and politics.
Much of the CDC Is Working Remotely. That Could Make Changing the Agency Difficult.
Sam Whitehead
Like many U.S. workplaces, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention went remote during the pandemic. Most of the agency’s staff members haven’t returned to the office full time, raising concerns about the CDC’s ability to reform itself after recent stumbles.
Addiction Treatment Proponents Urge Rural Clinicians to Pitch In by Prescribing Medication
Tony Leys
The number of U.S. health care providers certified to prescribe buprenorphine more than doubled in the past four years, and treatment advocates hope to see that trend continue.
As STDs Proliferate, Companies Rush to Market At-Home Test Kits. But Are They Reliable?
Liz Szabo and Eric Harkleroad
The popularity of at-home covid tests has amplified calls from public health researchers and diagnostic companies to make home testing similarly routine for sexually transmitted diseases. But FDA guidelines are lagging.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Medicaid Machinations
The lame-duck Congress has returned to Washington with a long health care to-do list and only a little time. Meanwhile, some of the states that have not yet expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act are rethinking those decisions. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Fred Clasen-Kelly, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about a mysterious mishap during minor surgery.
Blackfeet Nation Challenges Montana Ban on Vaccine Mandates as Infringement on Sovereignty
Katheryn Houghton
The Montana tribe has entered a legal fight over whether the state has the right to enforce a prohibition of vaccine mandates on its reservation.
The Player-Coaches of Addiction Recovery Work Without Boundaries
Rae Ellen Bichell
States, tribes, and local governments are figuring out how best to spend billions of dollars from an opioid lawsuit settlement. One option they’re considering is funding peer support specialists, who guide people recovering from addiction as they do it themselves.
A New Use for Dating Apps: Chasing STDs
Darius Tahir
For contact tracers of sexually transmitted diseases, telephones and text messages have become ineffective. Dating apps increasingly are their best bet for informing people of their exposure risks.
Patients Complain Some Obesity Care Startups Offer Pills, and Not Much Else
Darius Tahir
A new wave of obesity care startups offer access to new weight loss medications. But do they offer good health care?
Watch: The Politics of Health Care in California
KHN senior correspondent Angela Hart discussed the most pressing health care issues in California with the nonpartisan group Democracy Winters in mid-November, touching on a variety of issues, from the state’s effort to transform its Medicaid program to its plan to produce generic insulin.
Medicare Plan Finder Likely Won’t Note New $35 Cap on Out-of-Pocket Insulin Costs
Susan Jaffe
In August, Congress approved a $35 cap on what seniors will pay for insulin, but that change came too late to add to the online tool that helps Medicare beneficiaries compare dozens of drug and medical plans. Federal officials say beneficiaries who use insulin will have the opportunity to switch plans after open enrollment ends Dec. 7.
Journalists Discuss Medicaid Rules, Opioid Settlement Funds, and the Public Health Workforce
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Readers and Tweeters Decry Medical Billing Errors, Price-Gouging, and Barriers to Benefits
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.