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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) said it would test the models in the Medicare health program for people age 65 or over and the disabled and the Medicaid program for the poor. The agency also said it would work on developing a mandatory model for payment methods for drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under its Accelerated Approval Program (APP). CMS will announce the first model's start date "as soon as operationally feasible", it said. Development on the Medicaid gene and cell therapy model will start in 2023 and launch for testing in 2026. The agency will start working with the FDA on the accelerated approval model in 2023 but has no planned launched date yet.

☆ I asked an AI chatbot to give me advice on how to manage finances with my spouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Managing finances with a significant other isn't the sexiest thing to talk about, but it's an important topic to breach. If you're unfamiliar with Replika, it's an AI chatbot similar to ChatGPT, with one big exception. After a brief intro, I explained my problem: I needed help managing finances with my wife. Maintain separate accounts: It's also a good idea for each spouse to have their own personal account for individual expenses and financial independence. For example, if one spouse makes significantly more than the other, they may contribute a larger portion to joint expenses.

☆ Medical-Device Makers Face Push to Protect Their Wares From Hacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( James Rundle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Mounting cyberattacks against hospitals and clinics and a regulatory push are increasing the pressure on medical-device manufacturers to improve the security of their products. Cyber protections have often been an afterthought for medical devices, which can be in operation for decades. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors. While Mr. Suarez acknowledged that greater transparency about vulnerabilities is needed from makers of medical devices, he also wants to see customers stop using old, unsupported equipment. “It’s a complex challenge,” Mr. Suarez said.

☆ IPG Posts 3.8% Organic-Revenue Growth, Flags Tech-Sector Challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Interpublic Group of Cos. reported organic-net-revenue growth of 3.8% for the fourth quarter, saying that growth continued—albeit at a slower pace—despite a more cautious marketing and media environment due to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors worldwide. Net revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022 was $2.55 billion, relatively flat when compared with the fourth quarter of 2021. For all of 2022, IPG reported organic-net-revenue growth of 7%. “As expected, growth slowed in the fourth quarter, consistent with global macroeconomic and geopolitical crosswinds which we are all aware of,” Chief Executive Philippe Krakowsky said on the company’s earnings call Thursday. Earlier this week, IPG competitor Omnicom Group Inc. reported organic-revenue growth of 7.2% for the fourth quarter.

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said on Thursday it will close all COVID-19 disaster declaration incident periods on May 11 when the U.S. government ends two major pandemic-related emergency declarations. All 50 states, five territories and three tribal nations are seeing a major disaster declaration for COVID-19, said FEMA Associate Administrator for Response and Recovery Anne Bink. "With the administration's announcement to end the public health emergency and the national emergency declaration on May 11, 2023, today we announced the incident period for all FEMA COVID-19 disaster declarations will also close on May 11 2023," Bink told reporters on a press call. All eligible costs under the FEMA disaster declarations will continue to be eligible until May 11, and there will be a follow-up period afterwards for applicants to submit reimbursement requests, said Bink. Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Additional reporting by Rami Ayyub; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Around 8.4 million of the 37 million people in the United States with diabetes use insulin, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). They tried, and failed, to extend the benefit to everyone with health insurance when they were voting on the IRA. Without Congressional approval, the Biden administration cannot impose the cap on private insurance plans and is unlikely able to create a subsidy for the uninsured, experts said. Some Medicaid plans for low-income individuals and private insurance plans also cap the monthly cost of insulin at $35. It is unclear if his proposal would include those without health insurance, who often have to pay the full price for the life-sustaining drug.

☆ Bearish hedge fund manager Dan Niles names his top five trades for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Despite the January bounce , hedge fund manager Dan Niles sees more volatility ahead. Top picks for 2023 Amid the volatility, Niles has five top picks for investors. He said his Satori Fund well outperformed the S & P last year by making money, but did not disclose its exact performance. It continues to be one of the top trades this year for Niles, who called it his "favorite investment in 2023." Sitting on cash allows us the flexibility to reinvest if the S & P goes lower in 2023," Niles said.

☆ China's people shortage is a grim omen for the rest of the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

We're merging with our daily Insider Today newsletter, so we'll be known as the Insider Today: Sunday Edition moving forward. On the agenda today:Up first: It was a big week for tech earnings. Senior tech reporter Diamond Naga Siu, who writes our 10 Things in Tech newsletter, is here to break it all down. Apple meanwhile retained its crown as the only Big Tech giant that hasn't conducted mass layoffs within the past year. That means reining in costs, stripping back perks, and upending the office culture that's defined the world of Big Tech for so long.

☆ Restaurant, Healthcare Jobs Led January Hiring Surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Sarah Chaney Cambon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Restaurants were among employers that hired at a robust pace in January. Employment surged in January, with widespread gains across most sectors as the job market remained a bastion of strength in an otherwise slowing economy. Employers in leisure and hospitality led January’s job growth, as restaurants, bars and hotels hired at a robust pace. Healthcare organizations snapped up workers last month to fill roles at doctors’ offices and outpatient facilities. Professional-and-business services, which includes many white-collar jobs in accounting, consulting and architecture, also hired at a fast pace, Friday’s Labor Department report showed.

☆ GoodRx pays $1.5 million to settle health privacy allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - U.S. healthcare firm GoodRx Holdings (GDRX.O) has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle allegations that it failed to notify customers that it shared personal health information with Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google, Meta's (META.O) Facebook and others, the Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday. Under the terms of the settlement, GoodRx will be barred from sharing user health data with other companies to use for advertising. "Digital health companies and mobile apps should not cash in on consumer’s extremely sensitive and personally identifiable health information," said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement. The settlement is the first under the FTC's Health Breach Notification Rule, the agency said. GoodRx promised users it would never share health information with advertisers but gave information to Google, Facebook, Criteo and others, the agency said in their complaint.

Crump said he and the Nichols family had spoken with President Joe Biden on Friday and urged him to use Nichols' death to galvanize support for the act's passage. Nichols' mother was coping with her son's death by believing he was destined to change the world, Crump said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday. Nichols' death is the latest high-profile example of police using excessive force against Black people and other minorities. Crump said Nichols' death should finally prompt lawmakers to act. The officers were charged on Thursday with second-degree murder, assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and oppression in Nichols' death and dismissed from the department.

☆ Inside the 'doomsday' layoffs at Goldman Sachs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Insider reporters were in attendance — here's the inside scoop …If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Now, on to this week's top stories …David Solomon is the CEO of Goldman Sachs. Michael Kovac/Getty ImagesGoldman Sachs conducted its worst layoffs in over a decade this week. One laid-off associate called it the "doomsday," adding: "Every 10 minutes, I just kept hearing that someone was being let go." We talked to Goldman Sachs employees who were fired — here's what they told us.

☆ U.S. inflation subsiding as consumer prices fall; labor market still tight
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Cooling inflation could allow the Federal Reserve to further scale back the pace of its interest rate increases next month. "To be sure, the efforts by the Fed have begun to bear fruit, even though it will be a while before the promised land of a 2% inflation rate is here." Food prices climbed 0.3%, the smallest gain in nearly two years, after rising 0.5% in the prior month. Fruit and vegetable prices fell as did those for dairy products, but meat, poultry and fish cost more. The labor market remains tight, with the unemployment rate back at a five-decade low of 3.5% in December, and 1.7 jobs for every unemployed person in November.

☆ U.S. inflation cooling as consumer prices fall; labor market still tight
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The report could allow the Federal Reserve to further scale back the pace of its interest rate increases next month. "To be sure, the efforts by the Federal Reserve have begun to bear fruit, even though it will be a while before the promised land of a 2% inflation rate is here." Food prices climbed 0.3%, the smallest gain since March 2021, after rising 0.5% in the prior month. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI climbed 0.3% last month after rising 0.2% in November. The labor market, which has remained tight, will be key in this regard.

[1/2] People wear masks as a protection against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in New York City, New York, U.S., December 12, 2022. REUTERS/Eduardo MunozJan 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. health department on Wednesday extended the COVID-19 pandemic's status as a public health emergency, allowing millions of Americans to continue receiving free tests, vaccines and treatments. The emergency was first declared in January 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began, and has been renewed each quarter since then. When it expires, private insurance and government health plans will take on COVID healthcare costs for most Americans. Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru and Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli, Bill Berkrot and Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'Stocks look downright cheap': These are the top 33 bargain stocks to buy heading into 2023, according to Morningstar
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Right now the cheapest stocks are in the communication services sector, where they are currently trading 43% below Morningstar's fair value estimates. Healthcare and real estate stocks also seem undervalued, trading 11% and 25%, respectively, below fair price estimates. Within the sector software stocks are trading at a 23% discount, semiconductor stocks are 12% undervalued, and hardware stocks are 15% undervalued, according to Morningstar sector director Brian Colello. On the other hand, consumer defensives and industrials seem to be starting 2023 off trading around fair value, while utilities stocks currently look about 5% overvalued. These stocks are listed below, along with each firm's ticker, market capitalization, sector, and price over fair value estimate.

Jan 6 (Reuters) - Pharmacies across the United States are weighing whether to sell mifepristone, a pill used in medication abortions, following the Food and Drug Administration's announcement earlier this week that they can now do so. The FDA rule will make medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of U.S. abortions, more accessible in states where abortion remains legal, but its impact on pharmacies in the states that have banned abortion remains to be seen. The pharmacy is located near Florida's borders with Georgia and Alabama, where abortion is severely restricted. We're not near an abortion clinic or in a larger city where that happens more," she said. Steve Moore, pharmacist and owner of Condo Pharmacy in Plattsburgh, New York, a state where abortion is legal, plans to dispense the drug.

☆ Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Q1 earnings 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Walgreens Boots Alliance on Thursday reported fiscal first quarter earnings beat Wall Street's estimates Thursday after an early flu season boosted demand for cough and cold medicine. The company said it also raised its full-year revenue outlook due in part to its U.S. health care segment's just-sealed acquisition of Summit Health. The company is in the process of acquiring CareCentrix, which coordinates home care for patients after they're discharged from the hospital, and Shields Health Solutions, a specialty pharmacy company. The acquisition led Walgreens to increase its full year sales guidance to $133.5 billion to $137.5 billion. The company is also maintaining its full-year earnings per share guidance of $4.45 to $4.65, compared to estimates of $4.50.

Jan 5 (Reuters) - Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA.O) said on Thursday it will not strike new deals in the short term after a spate of acquisitions in recent years, as it focuses on ramping up sales at its newer healthcare business. "We're not considering any M&A type activity in the short term. We need to focus on integration activities," Chief Financial Officer James Kehoe said in a post-earnings conference call. Walgreens said same-store pharmacy sales rose 4.8% in the reported quarter from a year earlier, but below Evercore ISI's estimates of 5% growth. Net loss attributable to Walgreens was $3.72 billion, for the quarter ended Nov. 30, compared with a profit of $3.58 billion, a year earlier.

Companies Biogen Inc FollowWASHINGTON, Dec 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration failed to adhere to its own guidance and internal practices during the approval process for Biogen's (BIIB.O) Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm, which was "rife with irregularities," a congressional report showed on Thursday. The Medicare program restricted its coverage, which has led to severely limited use of the Biogen drug. He pointed to the FDA's internal review finding its staff's interactions with Biogen appropriate. "As stated in the congressional report, an (FDA) review concluded that, 'There is no evidence that these interactions with the sponsor in advance of filing were anything but appropriate in this situation,'" Biogen said. Documents obtained by the committees show that FDA staff and Biogen held at least 115 meetings, calls, and email exchanges over a 12-month period starting July 2019.

☆ The Nasdaq had its worst year since 2008. These are the best and worst performers and what to expect in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

2022 brought an end to an impressive bull run for technology — and the worst year for the Nasdaq Composite since 2008. Energy stocks, meanwhile, found favor in investors' portfolios, as did healthcare and financials. Given this outlook, CNBC examined some of the worst and best-performing stocks in the Nasdaq 100 this year. Energy stocks Energy won 2022, benefitting from volatile oil prices triggered by the war in Ukraine. Meta Platforms was the worst-performing FAANG name, and one of the poorest-performing Nasdaq stocks.

FollowNEW YORK, Dec 27 (Reuters) - A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out the insider trading convictions of four defendants, including two former hedge fund partners, over leaks from a U.S. healthcare agency about planned changes to Medicare reimbursement rates. The court agreed with prosecutors that the May 2018 convictions could not stand after a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that clarified when alleged misuse of property triggered federal fraud laws. They said Blaszczak passed the information to Huber and Olan, who used it to make $7 million by trading healthcare stocks. The appeals court upheld the defendants' convictions in 2019, but the Supreme Court ordered a reconsideration after ruling in the so-called "Bridgegate" case. The court said the alleged scheme did not aim to obtain "property" within the meaning of the underlying fraud statute.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the storm's confirmed death toll climbed to 13 on Sunday, up from three reported overnight in the Buffalo region. The latest victims included some found in cars and some in snow banks, Poloncarz said, adding that the death tally would likely rise further. New York Governor Kathy Hochul called it an "epic, once-in-a-lifetime" weather disaster that ranked as the fiercest winter storm to hit the greater Buffalo area since a crippling 1977 blizzard that killed nearly 30 people. RESCUING THE RESCUERSThe latest blizzard came nearly six weeks after a record-setting but shorter-lived lake-effect storm struck western New York. [1/9] A snow plow is left stranded on the road following a winter storm that hit the Buffalo region on Main St. in Amherst, New York, U.S., December 25, 2022.

[1/6] Hoak's restaurant is covered in ice from the spray of Lake Erie waves during a winter storm that hit the Buffalo region in Hamburg, New York, U.S. December 24, 2022. Twenty-eight people have died so far in weather-related incidents across the country, according to an NBC News tally. The Buffalo airport had recorded 43 inches (109 cm) of snow as of 7 a.m ET (1200 GMT) on Sunday, Otto said. "Another one to two feet in general before Monday morning in the Buffalo area is expected," Otto said. "I guess you can say in some ways, the worst of it is over but there's still some pretty significant snowfall that's ongoing around the Buffalo region today."

☆ Focusing on fundamentals helped these two BNY Mellon funds outperform in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

John Bailer and Brian Ferguson don't chase growth stocks. And that's an approach that's helped their five- and four-star-rated mutual funds beat this year's market rout. "What I'm talking about is a focus back on fundamentals in the market," said Bailer, a portfolio manager at Newton Investment Management, a subsidiary of BNY Mellon. In nearly two decades, the managers delivered roughly 300 basis points in alpha to investors, Bailer said. "With these high oil prices, good refining margins, they've been able to build a lot of cash," Bailer said.

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