Based on the Centers for Disease Control’s Covid Data Tracker and using Thursday as the first week, here is the FEHBlog’s updated weekly chart of new Covid cases for 2022:
The enormous surge on the right is the original Omicron strain. Its sibling variants follow. The CDC’s weekly review of its Covid stats is back this week:
As of September 7, 2022, the current 7-day moving average of daily new cases (70,488) decreased 18.8% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (86,853).
CDC Nowcast projections* for the week ending September 10, 2022, estimate that the combined national proportion of lineages designated as Omicron will continue to be 100% with the predominant Omicron lineage being BA.5, projected at 87.5% (95% PI 86.2-88.7%).
Here is the CDC’s current chart of daily trends of new Covid hospitalizations:
The CDC’s weekly review adds “The current 7-day daily average for August 31–September 6, 2022, was 4,620. This is a 10.5% decrease from the prior 7-day average (5,163) from August 24–30, 2022.”
Here’s the FEHBlog’s weekly chart of new Covid deaths for 2022 which also is trending down.
The CDC’s weekly review adds “The current 7-day moving average of new deaths (314) has decreased 28.1% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (437).”
Here’s the FEHBlog’s chart of Covid vaccinations distributed and administered from the beginning of the Covid vaccination era (51st week of 2020) through the 36th week of 2022.
The CDC’s weekly review adds
As of September 7, 2022, 610.7 million vaccine doses have been administered in the United States. Overall, about 263.1 million people, or 79.2% of the total U.S. population, have received at least one dose of vaccine. About 224.4 million people, or 67.6% of the total U.S. population, have been fully vaccinated.*
Of those fully vaccinated, about 109.0 million people have received a booster dose,* but 50.0% of the total booster-eligible population has not yet received a booster dose. Booster dose eligibility varies by age and health condition. Learn more about who is eligible.
Last week, according to the CDC’s stat review, the CDC’s Covid community level evaluations saw an 8.6% decrease in high-level communities and a 10.2% increase in low-level communities.
To check your COVID-19 Community Level, visit COVID Data Tracker. To learn which prevention measures are recommended based on your COVID-19 Community Level, visit COVID-19 Community Level and COVID-19 Prevention.
In other Covid news, Benefits Pro discusses a Brookings Institution report on long Covid’s impact of the U.S. workforce, and the Society for Human Resource Management offers an article confirming the FEHBlog’s take on the recent federal appellate court decision concerning the federal government’s stayed vaccine mandate on federal government contractors.
In other federal litigation news —
- The Wall Street Journal reports
A federal judge grilled the Justice Department on Thursday over its antitrust claims that UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s $13 billion acquisition of health-technology firm Change Healthcare Inc. would suppress competition and limit innovation in health insurance markets.
During closing arguments, U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols questioned the department’s arguments that he should block the deal because it would limit competition for technology used in claims processing and would give UnitedHealth access to sensitive industry data that it could use to harm competitors. * * *
Judge Nichols is expected to issue his ruling in the coming weeks.
- STAT News reports
Home improvement retailer Home Depot and two other, smaller employers are appealing a recent $2.67 billion settlement that covers allegedly anticompetitive behavior from Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers.
The appeals could potentially delay the release of the funds and the broader terms of the settlement, which U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor finalized in August.
STAT News also tells us from Capitol Hill
Negotiations are intensifying over massive, multibillion-dollar legislation to fund the Food and Drug Administration, with just weeks left before the current agreement expires, four sources following the talks said. * * *
Talks are still fluid, and there is no final agreement yet. Lawmakers are aiming to finalize a package by early next week.
The FDA agreement could ride along with a government funding package before the end of September, when government funding runs out. There’s a chance the user fee legislation could pass on its own, however, if there is a bipartisan deal. The Democrats’ user fee offer was a full five-year agreement, not a shorter-term deal.
From the fraud, waste, and abuse front, Beckers Hospital Review informs us
A small number of primary care providers have been responsible for most of the recent growth in remote patient monitoring, though it’s not known how much their patients needed that type of potentially expensive care, a new Health Affairs study found.
Remote patient monitoring grew fourfold during the pandemic’s first year, according to the analysis of OptumLabs Data Warehouse data from January 1, 2019, to March 31, 2021. The database includes Medicare Advantage claims that total about 20 million people annually.
Out of a group of 342 high-volume providers, 0.1 percent accounted for 69 percent of all general remote patient monitoring claims, the Sept. 6 study found.
But the Harvard University researchers said they didn’t observe that the high-volume providers targeted patients with more severe or uncontrolled disease. They said growth rates “indicate that total spending on remote patient monitoring could quickly escalate” and potentially burden CMS and other payers financially.
“More research is needed to identify which patients and use cases benefit most from remote patient monitoring,” the study’s authors wrote. “In the meantime, payers and policymakers should closely monitor its use and be prepared to establish appropriate controls as informed by new evidence.”
From the mental healthcare front, the American Hospital Association relates
The Department of Health and Human Services today reported a 45% increase in call volume and improved answer rates and wait times for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline this August compared to a year ago. The 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in July transitioned to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, meaning individuals experiencing a suicide, mental health or substance use crisis can simply call, chat or text 988 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration also announced a $35 million grant opportunity to better support 988 Lifeline services in tribal communities, which face unique challenges to accessing technology and crisis services.