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☆ Star Gymnast Simone Biles Breaks With Embattled Telehealth Provider Cerebral
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Rolfe Winkler | Louise Radnofsky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The gymnast Simon Biles appeared to stop posting ads for Cerebral Inc. to her social media profiles after the spring, when controversy enveloped the company. Star gymnast Simone Biles and the embattled telehealth provider Cerebral Inc. have parted ways, the company said, after announcing a partnership last year that sought to use Ms. Biles’s mental health advocacy to power growth at the startup. Ms. Biles, who became a widely discussed mental-health symbol after her stunning mid-event withdrawal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, had been unveiled in October 2021 as the “chief impact officer” for Cerebral. The company provides online access to therapists and prescribers for mental health treatment. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

☆ DEA Alleges Online Pharmacy Truepill Wrongfully Filled Stimulant Prescriptions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said an investigation found Truepill Inc., an online pharmacy company, filled illegitimate prescriptions for stimulants such as Adderall to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The DEA said prescriptions from Truepill, which at one time was a preferred pharmacy provider for telehealth company Cerebral Inc., were unlawful because they were either written by prescribers without state licenses or surpassed 90-day supply limits.

☆ The DEA is alleging Truepill, Cerebral's former pharmacy partner, broke the law in filling prescriptions for highly regulated drugs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Blake Dodge | Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The agency alleges that the pharmacy startup unlawfully dispensed stimulants used to treat ADHD. Truepill partnered with the mental-health startup Cerebral to send prescriptions to its patients. The Order to Show Cause requires that Truepill show evidence to justify its prescribing practices for controlled substances, which are highly regulated drugs. If the evidence isn't convincing, the pharmacy startup could have its DEA license revoked, which would leave the company unable to fill prescriptions for controlled substances. In "numerous instances," the startup dispensed prescriptions that weren't issued for a legitimate medical purpose, the DEA alleges.

You can buy your pet insurance through a company you know, like Nationwide pet insurance, or seek a specialty pet insurance provider like the ASPCA. Read our review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing rightCompare the best pet insurance in CaliforniaBest overall: PumpkinPumpkin pet insurance gets about as close to a one-size-fits-all solution as you can with insurance. Best cheap pet insurance: LemonadeThe Lemonade pet insurance system is built for digital automation. Best for senior pets: SpotSpot pet insurance offers both wellness plans and accident and illness pet insurance plans. Run pet insurance quotes for comparison: Insider looks at average pricing for pet insurance products being reviewed.

Just because rural areas are less populated doesn’t mean it’s cheaper to provide health services there. She recommends that rural counties explore lower-cost, evidence-based options like distributing naloxone, funding syringe service programs, or connecting people to housing or employment. “We couldn’t function if we didn’t partner for lots of different services.”In Colorado, pooling funds is built into the state’s model for managing opioid settlement money. “Nobody has paid any attention to our rural areas and this problem for years,” Laske said. They cross-referenced the results with a list of allowable uses for the $9 million in settlement funds they’ll receive over 18 years to create a priority grid.

☆ A new wave of companies is making testosterone easily available online. The authors of a recent study say there could be risks to patients.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Sarah Braner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A recent study reviewed seven companies that prescribe testosterone therapy online. These companies say that they make treatment more accessible for people who already suspect they have low testosterone. A new study shows that DTC companies do not all follow medical guidelinesThe new study encourages patients looking to get testosterone therapy online to educate themselves before taking the leap. The study found that six out of seven of the companies tested offered testosterone therapy to the shopper. The study was not meant to evaluate companies prescribing testosterone for gender affirming hormone therapy, which is a different process than testosterone replacement therapy.

☆ Home delivery of medications can help improve access, especially when time is tight
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

As the supply of Paxlovid has grown, efforts have been made to improve timely, equitable access to the treatment. Transportation is one significant barrier to health care access for many people, experts say, but creating equitable outcomes will involve a much more comprehensive approach. The initiative is meant to increase access to Covid-19 treatment, particularly for those in socially vulnerable or medically underserved communities. “It’s a combination of things that prevent access to care,” said Werner, whose research has focused on health equity. And those may be the ones that I think would be ripe for this kind of home-based delivery system,” Werner said.

☆ Skyrocketing demand for ADHD meds is straining the U.S. health care system
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Charlotte Morabito | In Charlottemorabito | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions have been increasing across all age groups since before the days of social media. The number of ADHD diagnoses in 2010 were almost five times what they were in 1999. And between 2007 and 2016, the number of diagnoses of ADHD in adults more than doubled. "I think we've definitely moved into an area of talking about mental health that's really positive. Watch the video above to learn more about the rise in ADHD in the United States and whether the health care system can handle the increase in demand.

☆ Buzzy startups failed to fix mental-health care. Now their mistakes are fueling the space's next generation.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

In the past two years, highly funded startups have tried to disrupt mental-health care. The startups said they wanted to help solve the industry's biggest problems: Mental-health care is too expensive, and there isn't enough of it to go around. Talkspace's priority is now its division that sells mental-health care to employers, which pay recurring fees for employee access. Startups tackling more serious mental-health conditions are working with health plansThere's also a rising crop of mental-health companies tackling the costliest mental-health conditions, something the direct-to-consumer firms tend to shy away from. About half of Bicycle's patients pay with their insurance, a number he's looking to increase.

☆ Here's how those looking to 'age in place' can fund home health-care services
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Deborah Nason | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Halfpoint Images | Moment | Getty ImagesSome 70% of people want to age at home, yet only 10% have long-term care insurance, a recent HCG Secure/Arctos Foundation study found. Furthermore, about half of respondents had no idea how much in-home care would cost. "Basically, I try to segment the risk into a short-term need and a long-term need, and to fund them separately," he said. "And most of them can't afford long-term care insurance." Digging into any corporate retiree benefits beyond just a pension, as there's often additional services for in-home care, he said.

More than 100 groups have asked the DEA to create a registry of providers allowed to continue prescribing controlled substances online. Health startups and medical associations are lobbying for permanent permission to prescribe controlled substances remotely, part of a broader debate over the future of telehealth services that boomed during the pandemic. The push comes after some online startups faced scrutiny from lawmakers and pharmacies over their prescription practices. To maintain pandemic-era telehealth practices, more than 100 groups asked the Drug Enforcement Administration this month to create a registry of providers allowed to prescribe drugs online for conditions including opioid addiction. That would protect their operations when the Biden administration ends the Covid-19 public-health emergency, during which restrictions on telehealth have been relaxed.

☆ Amazon is down 40% this year — is now the time to buy? Market pros give their take
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Two market pros faced off on CNBC's " Street Signs Asia " on Thursday to make a case for and against buying the stock. Long-term investment story Veteran tech investor Gene Munster believes "there is no company like Amazon" when it comes to e-commerce and logistics. "We both know this has been the carrot that has been held out there forever when it comes to Amazon. It's not about revenue growth. Davidson, noted that Amazon is now a mature e-commerce company — one that requires $4.7 billion in incremental revenue just to post revenue growth of one-percentage point.

☆ 3 reasons a major health insurer just made a $2.7 billion bet on a Walgreens-backed effort to upend healthcare
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The deal would give it a stake in VillageMD, an annual dividend, and a push toward value-based care. VillageMD said this week that it plans to merge with fellow primary-care provider Summit Health-CityMD in an $8.9 billion deal funded in part by the healthcare giant Cigna. VillageMD CEO Tim Barry Courtesy VillageMD3 reasons why Cigna's investing $2.7 billion in VillageMDEvanko said the investment provides financial and strategic benefits for Cigna. That stake would provide the healthcare company, which reported profits of $5.4 billion in 2021, with an annual dividend of about 5.5% on $2 billion of the $2.7 billion investment, Evanko said, according to a transcript from Sentieo. Evernorth could take what it learns from partnering with VillageMD and extend those capabilities to other healthcare providers it works with, he said.

☆ Meet a 26-year-old tech entrepreneur who says starting a company is 'an art and creative process'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The 26-year-old, Toronto, Canada, native co-founded her first company, Ranomics, at 18. She founded her second company, Locke Bio, a "Shopify" for pharmaceutical and other companies selling FDA approved drugs, at 23. For Tie, art and creativity is not exactly as on-the-nose as writing in iambic pentameter or dancing at Lincoln Center. "That's, I think, more of an art and creative process than something that is technical." Here's how the entrepreneur, now based in Los Angeles, has leaned into her creative, big-picture thinking to find success in fields like tech and science.

☆ Trump's White House blocked government websites aimed at helping Americans vote, fighting human trafficking, easing homelessness, and stopping fraud, federal records show
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Federal agencies asked the Trump White House to approve dozens of new ".gov" websites. Such custom ".gov" website domains enhance government agencies' ability to effectively provide and market services to an American public that's all but universally connected to the internet. On December 23, 2019, the CIA asked Trump's White House to approve the website domain DataTransport.gov. Chiu/APBlock and delayIn at least one case, Trump's White House denied a website request — the United States Agency for International Development-sponsored ProsperAfrica.gov — that Biden's White House later approved. In March 2021, Office Management and Budget officials denied Insider's FOIA request, stating that "no responsive records were located."

☆ Covid-19 rebound may be more common in people who take Paxlovid, early study suggests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Covid-19 rebound also seems to be more common in people who take Paxlovid compared with those who don’t take the antiviral, although it can happen in either circumstance. In the past few months, instances of Covid-19 rebound have peppered headlines. That study found rebound happened about twice as frequently in people taking Paxlovid as in those who took the placebo. Among the 127 who took Paxlovid, about 14% saw their viral loads climb again after treatment. At least one study has documented a case of a person with rebound Covid-19 who took Paxlovid and passed the infection to an infant.

☆ These are the 12 Democrats who voted to end the official COVID-19 emergency Biden has used to extend student-debt relief
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Senate voted to end the government's COVID-19 emergency declaration. The emergency status was a key tool Biden has used to give student-loan borrowers debt relief. The resolution had 36 nays, all from Democratic lawmakers, but 12 Democrats joined Republicans to end the emergency declaration. Along with extending student-debt relief, the government has used the emergency status to extend customs deadlines, along with increasing access to telehealth providers. Here are the 12 Democrats who voted to end the pandemic's emergency declaration:

☆ Amazon’s New Telehealth Service to Offer Care for Common Conditions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Amazon Clinic, Amazon’s new telehealth service, allows people in 32 states to get care for common conditions. Amazon .com Inc. launched a new telehealth service Tuesday, the e-commerce company’s latest effort to expand its healthcare offerings. Amazon Clinic allows customers in 32 states to get virtual care for common conditions such as allergies, acne, hair loss and heartburn, according to the company.

☆ Amazon announces new virtual healthcare service to help with allergies, acne and hair loss
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon is expanding its healthcare offerings following its deal to buy One Medical, this time by opening a new virtual care option to help with common conditions like allergies, acne and hair loss. The service does not yet accept insurance, but customers can use insurance to help pay for medications prescribed by a licensed clinician through the platform. To use the service, customers select the condition they're interested in speaking about and then choose a preferred provider. Customers can also use money from flexible spending accounts and healthcare spending accounts to pay for the service. The new program comes just a few months after Amazon announced it was shutting down Amazon Care, a different telehealth service, by the end of the year.

☆ Amazon is taking another shot at offering healthcare — and this time, it plays to the tech giant's key strengths
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"Amazon Clinic" plays to Amazon's strengths as an ecommerce behemoth. On Tuesday, Amazon announced "Amazon Clinic," a virtual care service that will treat patients' common conditions such as allergies and hair loss. The launch comes just a couple of months after the tech giant said it was shuttering Amazon Care, a telehealth service that provided care through people's employers. By contrast, Amazon Clinic could have more success doing what it knows best, especially if it can lure Prime members. Amazon Clinic.

☆ Amidst the layoffs at Amazon, the company's ultra-secretive research lab is at risk of being shut. It's a sign things are changing 'dramatically' at the company.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Early last month, members of Amazon's secretive in-house research lab, Grand Challenge, were called into an unexpected video meeting. Weibel announced 3 of the 5 projects Grand Challenge was working on would shut down, effective immediately. When other team employees wanted to collaborate with the team, they needed additional approvals from its leadership. Amazon Glow was among the Grand Challenge projects to be discontinued at the end of this year. Getting support promoting Grand Challenge projects was a challenge too.

☆ A top Cigna exec shares 3 key reasons the health insurer just bet $2.7 billion on Walgreens-backed primary-care upstart VillageMD
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cigna is putting $2.7 billion behind primary-care company VillageMD's merger with Summit Health-CityMD. The deal would give it a stake in VillageMD, an annual dividend, and a push toward value-based care. VillageMD said this week that it plans to merge with fellow primary-care provider Summit Health-CityMD in an $8.9 billion deal funded in part by the healthcare giant Cigna. VillageMD CEO Tim Barry Courtesy VillageMD3 reasons why Cigna's investing $2.7 billion in VillageMDEvanko said the investment provides financial and strategic benefits for Cigna. Evernorth could take what it learns from partnering with VillageMD and extend those capabilities to other healthcare providers it works with, he said.

☆ Telehealth is soaring. Here's how telecommunications companies are racing to help patients through 5G technology.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Nicholas Fearn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

During the difficult months of lockdown, many healthcare professionals conducted nonemergency appointments remotely to protect their patients and prevent COVID from spreading even further. Sanjiv Gossain, the group vice president and head of EMEA at Verizon Business, said that 5G technology will help the healthcare industry solve some of its biggest challenges. 5G use is increasing in health servicesMore companies are joining the effort to make healthcare more accessible through 5G technology. Joe Drygas, the vice president of healthcare solutions at AT&T, said that 5G will allow even more people to access healthcare globally. While cost and infrastructural challenges remain, 5G technology has already begun to transform healthtech and patient care.

☆ With $10.5 million in supergiant seed funding, Caraway launches to bring personalized telehealth to Gen Z women in college
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Samantha Stokes | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Caraway is a healthtech startup for college women that offers mental, physical, and reproductive care. This woman's experience is one example of how Caraway says it is working to provide personalized mental, physical, and reproductive health services via telehealth to Gen Z women in college. Care specialists provide direct education for students on mental health too, such as techniques to de-escalate stress and anxiety flare-ups. Other startups like Mantra Health, which raised a $22 million Series A last year, also focus on mental health for college students. So far, the startup has 13 "Caraway Campus Ambassadors," or interns, on college campuses in the states it's currently operating in.

Across the United States, cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and influenza are increasing. Influenza activity continues to increase in the US – the number of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths so far this season nearly doubled in the past week. RSV cases are also increasing nationally, although there are regional differences in the circulation of these viruses, Romero said. In the South and Mountain West, RSV cases appear to have peaked in October. There are signs that RSV cases are slowing in the southern region of the US, but test positivity rates and cases continue to rise in other regions, especially the Midwest.

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