The FEHBlog is back in DC this week.

And speaking of Washington, DC —

• The Senate and the House of Representatives are on State / District work breaks for two weeks beginning tomorrow.

• The U.S. Supreme Court has ten decisions to issue from its October 2022 term. Last week, the Supreme Court issued seven decisions. Its next decision day is Tuesday, June 27.

• Last Friday, the President issued an Executive Order on Strengthening Access to Affordable, High Quality Contraception and Family Planning Services.
  • “Sec. 2.  Improving Access and Affordability Under the Affordable Care Act.  (a)  The Secretaries of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (Secretaries) shall consider issuing guidance, consistent with applicable law, to further improve Americans’ ability to access contraception, without out-of-pocket expenses, under the Affordable Care Act.  In doing so, the Secretaries shall consider actions that would, to the greatest extent permitted by law:
  •           “(i)   ensure coverage of comprehensive contraceptive care, including all contraceptives approved, granted, or cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, without cost sharing for enrollees, participants, and beneficiaries; and
  •           “(ii)  streamline the process for patients and healthcare providers to request coverage, without cost sharing, of medically necessary contraception.
  •      “(b)  The Secretaries shall consider additional actions, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to promote increased access to affordable over-the-counter contraception, including emergency contraception.”

• From the public health / medical research front –

• Bloomberg Prognosis offers guidance on Covid boosters.
  • In April, a CDC advisory committee on immunization practices showed just how rapidly we can lose the protections vaccines offer, Wallace points out. A review of data from 20 states revealed the bivalent booster’s effectiveness in those 65 and older fell to 65% in the first two months. That dropped to 45% in four months and plummeted to 22% in six months.
  • Those numbers are part of the reason higher-risk people are offered second doses of the bivalent shot.
  • “If people are in these groups, I would not hesitate to take advantage of this additional protection, as well as considering taking other prevention strategies, like masking in indoor public spaces,” says Wallace.
  • If you’re unsure, a healthcare provider can explain which dosing strategy is right for you. 

• Medscape informs us
  • Can common anti-depressants prevent COVID-19 infection? That’s the suggestion of research in BMC Medicine, based on infection trends among more than 5,600 mental health care patients in the United Kingdom from April to December 2020.
  • The report says that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were particularly effective in blocking COVID-19 transmission.
  • “Mental health patients with a recent (previous 90 days) prescription for an SSRI had an almost 40% reduction in the likelihood of a positive COVID-19 test,” wrote the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota.
  • Research showed that 27.7% of COVID-19-negative patients had taken at least one antidepressant medication within the last 90 days before they were admitted to a mental health care facility, compared to just over 16% of COVID-19 positive patients.  * * *
  • “The results of this study hint at the potential clinical benefit” of SSRIs on COVID-19 infection, said the lead author, Oleg Glebov of King’s College London, in a press release.

• The Raleigh News Observer reports
  • “Until recently, if a heart stopped beating, it couldn’t be donated. Donor hearts typically come from patients determined to be brain dead, from which doctors can extract the beating organ and transplant it into its new owner. But a new study from Duke researchers found that using a heart that has been “reanimated” by a machine works just as well as traditional transplants. This method could expand the pool of heart donors by 30%, said Dr. Adam DeVore, a Duke researcher and author on the paper. DeVore said this method allows doctors to salvage hearts from a group of patients who previously had been unable to donate.
  • “Duke’s own heart transplant clinic has greatly benefited by drawing from this new pool of donors. DeVore said the program has doubled in size in the last year, which he credits in part to the new method.”

• Emergency room physician Edwin Leap writes in his blog that heart attacks are on the rise in younger people.
  • “While I certainly try not to inflame anyone’s fears, I write this to say that people should be attentive to their symptoms. Even a person who is relatively young should be cautious if they have chest pain, difficulty breathing, profound weakness or dizziness/passing out. Of course, associated symptoms can include nausea, unexpected sweating (or diaphoresis), numbness or tingling in arms or face, or pain into jaw, neck or back. Of course, symptoms in women can be more subtle can can simply involve profound fatigue.
  • “What may be equally important is the idea that we should be take good care of ourselves. In the face of an increased level of risk for heart disease, it’s a good time to lose weight, exercise, stop smoking and eat a healthy diet. I would also suggest that everyone take their existing prescriptions, try hard to control their blood glucose in diabetes, manage their blood pressure and all the rest. We can’t control all of our health risks, but the ones which we can, we certainly should.
  • “Furthermore, even young people should find a primary care physician if possible, and establish a relationship with that physician. The screening exams that they perform, the regular exams, the attention to your health that they provide can truly be lifesaving.”
• In the FEHBlog’s view, health plans should help all of their members connect with a primary care physician. Leverage that network.

From the Rx coverage front —

• The Wall Street Journal confirms‘ that Novo Nordisk is preparing to request Food and Drug Administration approval for a Wegovy weight loss pill.
  • “Later this year, Novo Nordisk plans to ask U.S. and European drug regulators to approve the tablet.  Novo already sells a tablet form of semaglutide, Rybelsus, to treat Type 2 diabetes, though some people use it off-label for weight loss.
  • “Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy therapies and Lilly’s Mounjaro have emerged as viral sensations—touted by celebrities and discussed on Facebook and TikTok—because of their potential to help people lose significant weight.
  • “These types of drugs, first approved to treat diabetes, work by mimicking gut hormones that play a role in regulating blood sugar and, it has turned out, appetite. A key gut hormone is called glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1. * * *
  • “BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan David Seigerman estimated that pill forms of weight-loss drugs could make up about 15% of the total market, which he predicts will reach $100 billion in annual sales worldwide in coming years.”

From the wellness front —

• Fortune Well interviews longevity expert Dr. Peter Attia.
  • While Dr. Peter Attia, author of New York Times bestseller Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, said there’s no “silver bullet” to increase one’s health span and life span, there are still a variety of longevity-linked habits that may work for you to stave off age-related disease and early mortality. 
  • “People have so much more agency over this than they will ever believe if they don’t take the step to educate themselves on it,” Attia tells Oprah Winfrey this week for a series called The Life You Want on Oprah Daily. “A lot of people think, ‘Well, this is my lot in life’…It’s not the case at all.”
  • Exercise, nutrition, sleep, and managing emotional health by engaging with others and trying new hobbies are all associated with a longer, healthier life. 
  • For Attia, moving without distraction and staying outside is his secret sauce. 
• and
  • offers guidance on the best timing for dinner from a health standpoint.

• The Wall Street Journal discusses the health importance of controlling salt intake.