healthy muse healthcare news.
The great health care divide.
The new Supreme Court vacancy assured that health care would be the primary, apex, exhibit 1A issue heading into the 2020 election. As extreme polarization over the ACA continues, Trump is doubling down on attempts to strike down the health law while at the same time potentially getting another Supreme Court nominee.
Meanwhile, Biden and the Democratic party heightened their health care rhetoric after Ginsburg’s passing, hinging the existence of the ACA to whether or not Trump is successful in adding another justice.
How much you want, Hims?
The latest company to pursue the public market is Hims, which provides men (for now) with remote access to treatments from baldness and ED, mental health, and even urgent care services now. In a Covid environment, it’s perfect timing.
- Hims will opt for publicity through a SPAC acquisition. The company could be valued as high at $1.6 billion.
In other public health care news, GoodRx is doing about as well as expected on the public markets, skyrocketing in its debut and continuing an upward trajectory. The stock opened to us peasants at $46 and is up to $57 at the time of this writing.
Microsoft’s health care cloud ambitions.
This week, Microsoft announced its plans to launch Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare (how much did they pay marketing for that one?) on October 30th.
The growing trend: Big Tech is increasingly encroaching into the electronic medical records space, increasing interoperability within health systems, and integrating these technologies into hopefully producing better overall patient care management.
- Amazon is getting cozy with Cerner
- Apple continues to integrate with health system medical records nationwide
- Google has already gotten in trouble over working with patient data
After talking with individuals in the industry, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of these giants made a significant play for a firm like Epic or Cerner.
More politics? Come on.
Trump unveiled two executive orders on Thursday in an attempt to cripple Democratic rallying cries against his perceived weakness on healthcare.
- Here’s what the orders aim to do: protecting pre-existing conditions (read more: what are pre-existing conditions?), sending seniors a $200 co-pay card to help with out of pocket drug costs, and ending surprise billing.
- The kicker: pre-existing conditions are already protected by the ACA, but the White House is trying to strike down the health care law in an attempt to eventually replace it with something else. To be sure, Trump assured that any new health law would maintain protection of pre-existing conditions.
You should also know: the executive orders are largely symbolic, meaning that nothing substantial will happen any time soon.
Coronavirus updates.
Vaccine updates: Johnson & Johnson is beginning phase 3 trials for its single-dose vaccine. Its vaccine also does not have to be stored in a frozen space, which is a huge plus for distribution.
- In an attempt to separate itself from perceived political influence, the FDA is tightening its approval standards for all Covid vaccine candidates. Because of that, Fauci says that you should feel confident in the safety and efficacy of any FDA-approved vaccine.
Cases update: They’re on the rise in the midwest
- 3 states – Utah, North Carolina, and Wyoming – set single-day coronavirus case records last week. California’s positivity rate dropped below 3% for the first time.
Other stuff: Multiple studies have found that vitamin D may reduce infection and the impact of the coronavirus. Google Maps will now show outbreaks in your area.
Quick Hits
Biz Hits
- A small trend to watch – hospitals are looking to automate the boring elements of revenue cycle management – AKA, billing and collecting and accounting $$$. Meanwhile, Olive, an AI startup focused on healthcare and admin automation, just raised over $100 million. Interesting stuff – the administrative state of healthcare has plenty of opportunity for efficiency.
- This week, Amazon launched its Care Hub to enable family members to monitor senior citizens. Honestly, could 24/7 remote monitoring be a sneaky way to avoid nursing homes? I find it highly interesting.
- Blue health insurers settled a huge antitrust case this week for $2.7 billion. (WSJ paywall).
- The FDA established its long-awaited digital health center of excellence, which will help facilitate innovation in digital health projects.
Policy Hits
- The Trump administration may push back interoperability rules (again) in a short-term win for Epic.
- According to CMS, Vermont’s all-payer model isn’t meeting its participation and cost savings goals. It’s a talking point for critics of all-payer systems and even Biden’s proposal for a public option. What happens if people don’t opt in?
- Read more about a sketchy $300 million advertising campaign by HHS to defeat coronavirus despair.
- Medicare Advantage premiums are declining 11% in 2021.
Other Hits
- Read about hospital executives’ thoughts on the biggest tech and retail disruptors in healthcare. These companies appear to be becoming omnipresent, industry agnostic behemoths.
- Thanks to Eashan’s Knowledge Box for this interesting health link: Scarce medical oxygen worldwide leaves many gasping for life.
Thought-Provoking Editorials
- Keeping the CDC free from political reach. (JAMA)
- Will telemedicine create perfect competition? (Medical Economics)
- A contrarian opinion: the disappointing Affordable Care Act. (the Apothecary)
Healthy Muse Top Picks
- A huge, long, detailed dive into rural hospitals. Thanks to Kevin O’Leary’s newsletter for finding this gem.
- Random but cool: How Nvidia is paving its own way into health care by supporting telemedicine automated charting and AI models for radiology.
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