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A Supreme Court Vacancy and the health care implications.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing has massive health care implications for both the presidential campaign and the ACA.
The news couldn’t have come at a more pivotal time for the ACA. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the ACA case a week after the presidential election.
- A 4-4 split decision would send the case back down to the lower court, which ALREADY decided that the individual mandate component of the ACA is unconstitutional. It would then be up to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to decide whether or not that makes the ENTIRE health care law unconstitutional.
- Read the full breakdown from Axios here.
One guaranteed thing: political rhetoric surrounding health care will significantly ramp up in the weeks to come.
- Read more: what now for the ACA?
White House vs. Big Pharma
A NY Times report released this week shed light on the behind-the-scenes negotiations going on between the Trump Administration and Big Pharma about a month ago. According to the report, both sides were close to a major deal that would have lowered prescription drug prices.
- Things turned sour after the White House asked for $100 drug vouchers to be sent to Medicare beneficiaries. Per the report, drug companies didn’t want these vouchers to be seen as a political endorsement, so negotiations ended. Read a non-paywall summary from Axios here.
Healthcare Unicorn Oscar Health preps for 2021 IPO
Oscar Health, one of the largest private digital health firms in existence, is prepping for an IPO in 2021. The unicorn provides health insurance and is backed by some big-time investors.
- Meanwhile, Amwell skyrocketed in its IPO Thursday, finishing up 30+% over its opening $18 price tag. That same week, Teladoc hit Amwell with several intellectual property accusations, claiming that Amwell infringed on several of Teladoc’s patents.
Finally, Outset Medical successfully debuted on the public markets too. The portable dialysis firm is looking to capitalize on the recently finalized end-stage renal disease payment model that encourages at-home dialysis treatment. Keep an eye out…
Coronavirus updates.
- The CDC released guidelines today claiming that Covid could spread further than 6 feet via airborne transmission, but the article was quickly taken down from the site. Which leads me to ask – is there meddling at the CDC?
- Some good news: Covid is growing less deadly as doctors gain experience with the disease and drug treatments improve. New drugs seem to be found every day, including this new experimental one from Eli Lilly.
- HHS released its vaccine distribution strategy this week. Read the multi-phased approach here. The graphic on page 5 provides a decent overview.
- Back in April, HHS and the USPS were reportedly prepared to send 5 masks to everyone in the U.S. to counter the coronavirus. Unfortunately, the plan fell through.
- Read this Anthony Fauci interview from Business Insider that will prep you on expectations for 2021.
- While an effective vaccine (maybe even multiple vaccines) are right around the corner for FDA approval, the CDC still wants you to know that masks are a better guarantee for safety.
- From the Commonwealth Fund – how have the emergency federal $$$ from the CARES Act been distributed?
Quick Hits
Biz Hits
- Cigna had a big announcement this week – they’re rebranding their health services division (including Express Scripts) into a subsidiary called Evernorth.
- Read more about Walmart’s continued health expansion plans in its latest blog post. Coming to a Walmart Supercenter near you!
- Surgery Partners sold its anesthesia service line to NorthStar Anesthesia. The acquisition marks the second spin-off of a physician practice specialty in as many weeks, coming off the heels of Mednax’s sale of its radiology division last week.
- Hot off an investor conference, payers are feeling bullish headed into 2021.
- After we covered GRAIL’s intention to go public last week, biotech giant Illumina is now looking to acquire the early-cancer-detection startup in an $8 billion acquisition.
- Learn more about Cerner’s expanding collaboration with Amazon including its Halo integration and cloud platform. The two seem to be closely partnered on healthcare initiatives – acquisition incoming?
Policy Hits
- The Trump administration cancelled its Medicaid fiscal accountability rule this week. You don’t really need to know what it is. Just know that providers didn’t like it, and it would’ve led to a lot of cuts (like, billions) to Medicaid state budgets. Read more here if you’re interested.
- What is President Trump’s record on health care?
Other Hits
- Private (commercial) insurance plans pay hospitals on average 247% of what Medicare typically pays, compared to 241% a year ago. Read the full RAND analysis here.
- Prior to COVID hitting, the uninsured rate rose to 9.2% in the U.S. last year.
- Who are the 10 most valuable private digital health firms?
Thought-Provoking Editorials
- Hospitals must give up power to save health care. (THCB)
Healthy Muse Top Picks
- Expect the digital health IPO boom to continue. Notable 2021 names include Hims & Hers, MDLive, Oscar, and others. (MedCity News)
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