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☆ Tech pushes Nasdaq higher, dollar climbs on solid data, debt ceiling progress
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Investors were closely monitoring the debt ceiling negotiations in Washington for signs that Democrats and Republicans might be inching closer to a deal. Optimism about debt ceiling talks ebbed and flowed, with hopes for a deal that avoids a catastrophic default. European stocks closed higher and the German DAX rose to its highest level since January 2022 on optimism about the U.S. debt ceiling talks. The greenback extended its ascent against a basket of world currencies, reaching a seven-week high, powered by the economic data and debt ceiling hopes. Gold moved in opposition to the dollar, with the precious metal losing some luster as the economic data lowered the likelihood of a Fed rate cut before year-end.

☆ Unions Accuse UPMC of Wielding Market Power Against Workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Reed Abelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A coalition of labor groups on Thursday filed an antitrust complaint with the Justice Department against UPMC, the giant Pittsburgh-based hospital employer, accusing the system of using its enormous clout to depress wages and harm workers. Healthcare Pennsylvania, claims UPMC workers are subject to a “wage penalty” because of the health system’s dominance in local markets. “We have watched UPMC grow and amass power,” said Matthew Yarnell, the president of the S.E.I.U. group there, which has long sought to organize workers at the health system, which is largely not unionized. After a series of acquisitions, it is Pennsylvania’s largest private employer with more than 40 hospitals, 800 doctors’ offices and clinics, and a health plan.

☆ UPS will stop delivering to some rural neighborhoods as often, as it looks to slash costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

UPS is piloting making less frequent deliveries in rural areas, the company confirmed to Insider. UPS is experimenting with delivering on fewer days per week in very rural areas, the company confirmed to Insider. The pilot will cover roughly 1% of zip codes, a UPS spokesperson said, noting that most UPS customers won't be affected. UPS has been adding surcharges on top of more and more rural packages in recent years to offset these costs. But that work started with rural packages where having separate facilities and staff makes even less financial sense.

Both sides blame each other for high drug prices. Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, is a fierce critic of both industries and will likely grill the executives. Optum Rx CEO Heather Cianfrocco will say manufacturers alone set the drug prices and abuse patent protections to stifle competition, her written testimony shows. Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi all said in March they were cutting list prices by more than 70% for some insulin products. Uninsured people often have to pay full list prices, an average of $900 a month, forcing many to ration or skip doses.

The emergency is also tied to telehealth flexibilities, Medicaid enrollment safeguards, and the ability of government health agencies to collect data on the spread of the coronavirus. Here is what will change after Thursday, and what does not:WILL THERE BE A COST FOR VACCINES, TESTS AND TREATMENTS? They will face co-pay or co-insurance costs for certain covered treatments and the full price of those that are not covered. People enrolled in state government Medicaid health plans for the poor will also get zero-cost vaccines. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will have less authority to collect certain types of public health data after the emergency expires.

"The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency marks a tremendous transition for our country, for public health, and in my tenure as CDC Director," Walensky wrote to President Joe Biden in her resignation letter. "We have all benefited from her service and dedication to public health, and I wish her the best in her next chapter," Biden said in a statement. "For 75 years, CDC and public health have been preparing for COVID-19, and in our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations," she told CDC staff last summer. Public health experts said Walensky wrestled with political and technical challenges during her tenure. "Dr. Walensky was put into place at the CDC at a time when the agency was basically captive to politicians which clearly hampered her ability to lead," he said.

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday it would stop reporting or monitoring COVID-19 case data and transmission rates after the government ends the pandemic's public health emergency designation next week. The government on May 11 will end the COVID-19 public health emergency that allowed millions of Americans to receive vaccines, tests, and treatments at no cost during the pandemic. "The changes that we're discussing today are happening because the end of the Public Health Emergency means that CDC will have less authority to collect certain types of public health data," said CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Nirav Shah. The CDC will continue to provide COVID death rates but will no longer rely on aggregate case data reported by local jurisdictions and will instead use national death certificate data, Jackson said. COVID-19 surveillance will be folded into a wider integrated strategy for monitoring respiratory viruses, he said, adding that some data reporting including demographic case data, the CDC's work on long COVID, and wastewater surveillance for the virus will continue past May 11.

☆ Novo Nordisk’s chunky valuation risks crash diet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Novo Nordisk’s (NOVOb.CO) weighty valuation could be headed for a crash diet. This lofty position is thanks to its domination of the obesity market via its Wegovy drug. Obesity sales for Novo are still only expected to reach $12 billion by 2027, according to estimates from Visible Alpha. It also remains unclear how fast the obesity drug market will grow. Novo reported earnings before interest and taxes of 25 billion Danish crowns ($3.72 billion), above an average analyst forecast of 22.4 billion, according to a Refinitiv poll.

Government officials, worried about a constrained labor force in a state where population growth has stalled, have taken a cover-the-waterfront approach. After raising starting wages from $17 an hour to around $24 and overhauling hiring strategies, Drees still has 200 open jobs at this and two nearby facilities, where he is hoping to add to current staffing of 1,200. That reshuffling may be one reason the Fed is finding it harder than expected to slow a job market struggling to match workers into open positions. Minnesota has had a particularly large imbalance: The 12-month moving average of available positions last year reached 2.75 for every unemployed person. "Nowadays you look online and there are just hundreds of day-shift job positions," he said.

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - Use of the drug misoprostol on its own to terminate pregnancies is on the rise in the United States as providers seek a preemptive alternative while a ban on abortion pill mifepristone is being considered in court. Misoprostol is already part of the only medication abortion protocol approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but only when taken in combination with mifepristone. The drug, which the FDA first approved in 1988 for gastric ulcers, is often prescribed off-label to treat miscarriages or induce abortions. "If providers are forced to stop providing mifepristone, misoprostol alone is also safe and effective," said Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, a public health professor at the University of California, San Francisco. Because misoprostol is approved for medication abortion in the United States as part of the two-drug combination, prescribing it alone to terminate pregnancies would also be considered off-label.

☆ Little Journey helps children prepare for hospital procedures and clinical trials. Check out the 12-slide deck it used to raise $3.1 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

London-based Little Journey has raised $3.1 million for its children's health platform. The startup helps children and families prepare for hospital procedures and clinical trials. Check out the 12-slide deck Little Journey used to raise the fresh funds. A startup that has developed a platform to support children and their families during hospital procedures and clinical trials has just raised $3.1 million. Little Journey makes children aware of who they're meeting and where they're going and gives them coping strategies before their clinical procedures.

The proposal is aimed at protecting woman who live in states where abortion is illegal who travel out of state to have the procedure done - something thousands of women are already doing, research shows. It is unclear whether the proposed rule would actually stifle criminal investigations. The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) covers most health insurance and other company benefit plans and generally preempts state laws on abortion-related coverage. But it does not prevent states from prosecuting plans, sponsors, administrators and their employees in all instances. Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Heather Timmons; Editing by Heather Timmons and Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/4] A pack of birth control pills is displayed in this illustration picture taken in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 11, 2022. REUTERS/Hannah Beier/IllustrationApril 10 (Reuters) - Over 300 biotech and pharmaceutical industry executives, including Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) CEO Albert Bourla, signed an open letter on Monday calling for reversal of a federal judge's decision to suspend sales of the abortion pill mifepristone. Last week's ruling by Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk undermines the FDA's authority, the letter's authors wrote, adding that it ignores decades of scientific evidence and legal precedent. The ruling could open the possibility to the banning of vaccines and contraception for women, said Levin. "It's the single worst threat to the industry in over 50 years."

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - A federal judge's decision last week to suspend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of abortion pill mifepristone could severely weaken the agency if allowed to stand, health policy and legal experts said. The FDA approved mifepristone, part of a two-drug regimen that accounts for more than half of U.S. abortions, over 20 years ago. Banning its sale calls into question the FDA's power to regulate all drugs nationwide, the experts said. The challenge was brought by a coalition of anti-abortion groups and doctors seeking withdrawal of the FDA's mifepristone approval before Kacsmaryk, who is himself a conservative former Christian activist. Plaintiffs are arguing that the FDA in its 2000 approval did not adequately consider the drug's safety when used by girls under age 18 to terminate a pregnancy.

Any impact on the FDA will depend on details of the judge's ruling in the case known as Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The challenge was brought by a coalition of anti-abortion groups and doctors seeking withdrawal of the FDA's mifepristone approval before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas, a conservative former Christian activist. The court could order mifepristone pulled from the market while it considers a final ruling. It would call into question the entire drug approval process, said Laurie Sobel, associate director for Women's Health Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation. 'SO MUCH UNCERTAINTY'The possibility of its approvals being overruled would likely see the FDA become more cautious, Lee said.

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. government announced on Friday a lower than expected 1.1% average cut of 2024 reimbursement rates for health insurers that offer coverage through the Medicare Advantage program, boosting shares of the market's largest players. Health insurers who operate Medicare Advantage plans have come under pressure after the government last month proposed new rules for an audit program to avoid overpaying them. The companies are among the largest players in the Medicare Advantage market in which private insurers are paid a set rate by the government to manage member healthcare. Medicare Advantage covers nearly half of the 65 million people enrolled in the government's Medicare program for people aged 65 and older or disabled. The agency pegged the spending increase in the traditional Medicare program, which in previous years was the main factor determining how much the agency pays Medicare Advantage insurers, at 2.3%, up from 2.1% in its initial proposal.

☆ Candida auris fungus spreading in U.S. hospitals - CDC
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FollowMarch 21 (Reuters) - Potentially deadly fungal infections with Candida auris are spreading rapidly in U.S. healthcare facilities, with cases nearly doubling between 2020 and 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. A high fever with chills that does not get better after taking antibiotics may be a sign of Candida auris infection. The CDC noted that spread of the infections in 2021 may have been exacerbated as the healthcare system was hit by pandemic-related stressors, such as staff and equipment shortages. Other countries have also reported increased spread of the fungus, the researchers said. Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; editing by Caroline Humer, Nancy Lapid and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Alzheimer's Association and the pharmaceutical industry say the drug companies are not directly involved in the campaign. But the Alzheimer's Association says patients simply don't have the time to spare. The agency did not address the Alzheimer's Association campaign. Association members have met 30 times with staffers for the state's 20 members of Congress, Ryan Schiff, the chapter's public policy manager, said. Spokespeople for all three companies said they do not work with the Association on its campaign to expand Medicare coverage of the drugs.

"Starting on April 1, Medicare beneficiaries will pay lower coinsurance for Part B drugs that raise prices faster than inflation," White House Domestic Policy Adviser Susan Rice told reporters on a press call. Companies that raise prices higher than the inflation rate will be required to pay Medicare the difference in the form of a rebate. The government will start invoicing the companies for the rebates in 2025 but Medicare will start reducing out-pocket-costs for members in April. Medicare began examining the price increases in October 2022 for Medicare Part B drugs, often used in the hospital, that are complicated biologic drugs or drugs with only one manufacturer. Price increases for half of all drugs covered by Medicare outpaced inflation from 2019 to 2020, which averaged 1% that year.

☆ How to position your portfolio following the Silicon Valley Bank fiasco — and why markets are wrongly anticipating a Fed pivot — according to a researcher whose clients include Wall Street's top money
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were shut by regulators in recent days. Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank over the last few days, some market participants are expecting the Federal Reserve to back off from its hawkish stance. Goldman Sachs' Chief US Economist Jan Hatzius said on Sunday night that he expects the Fed not to hike rates at its next meeting before resuming them later in the spring. The Fed's next moves are relevant to recent events because higher interest rates contributed to the downfall of Silicon Valley Bank. For example, Jeffrey Gundlach, the CEO of DoubleLine Capital, told CNBC on Monday that the central bank will hike rates by 25 basis points at its next meeting.

[1/3] A pharmacist holds a bottle of the drug Eliquis, made by Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer, at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S. January 9, 2020. The government will launch the negotiation process in September by naming the first drugs it plans to target. "We couldn't have the other parts of the IRA without this Medicare negotiation," said Sean Dickson, director of the West Health Policy Center, a non-partisan healthcare think tank. Eliquis, which Bristol Myers (BMY.N) shares with Pfizer (PFE.N), Ibrance, and Imbruvica, sold by AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), appear on every list. Pfizer, Novo Nordisk and J&J declined to comment on the likelihood their drugs would be included in the first round of negotiations.

☆ States and healthcare organizations join forces to help people prepare for Medicaid redeterminations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Unitedhealthcare | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

As many as 18 million Americans may lose Medicaid coverage this year. Over the past three years, Medicaid recipients remained eligible thanks to a Congressional bill that provided funds to maintain continuous Medicaid coverage. But this April marks the end of this pandemic-era policy that helped people maintain their Medicaid coverage. That means the continuous enrollment provision will expire and states will return to their pre-pandemic policies of requiring people to renew their Medicaid coverage annually. Any individuals or families who lose Medicaid coverage through this redetermination process will need assistance securing replacement health insurance coverage.

☆ Insulin cuts make drug prices a little less bazaar
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

If drug companies don’t play along, insurance companies will go elsewhere. The list price of Sanofi’s (SASY.PA) insulins rose 143% between 2012 and 2021, but the net price fell 54%. Amgen (AMGN.O) offered an autoimmune disease drug earlier this year with two prices. American politicians have been pressuring drug companies to lower prices, and President Joe Biden welcomed the move. In theory, lower list prices mean everyone pays less out of pocket at the pharmacy.

☆ Most Gulf markets open lower on weak oil prices, rate-hike bets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Most major Gulf markets opened lower on Monday, tracking Asian peers and weaker oil prices, as fears of further rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve dampened investors' risk appetite. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI) fell 0.2%, extending losses to a seventh consecutive session. The Qatari Stock index (.QSI) eased 0.1%, dragged down by losses in financial stocks. Bucking the trend, Dubai's benchmark index (.DFMGI) rose 0.4%, lifted by gains in property and banking shares. ($1 = 3.7519 riyals)Reporting by Shamsuddin Mohd in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen SorengOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Amazon delivers a regulatory breather to Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it won’t challenge Amazon.com’s (AMZN.O) $3.9 billion acquisition of physician network One Medical. As the deal moves forward, deal-hungry technology giants can take a small breather. One Medical’s revenue accounted for just 0.2% of all U.S. healthcare spending in 2021, according to Amazon. And while the FTC’s concerns about Big Tech seemed limitless, its resources aren’t. Letting the One Medical deal move forward frees up staff to focus on ones that pose a clearer threat to consumers.

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