Tuesday Tidbits

David Ermer–FDA, Federal employment benefits, Mental health care, OPM, Rx coverage, U.S. Healthcare, Uncategorized–
Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

From Washington DC —

  • FedScoop reports
    • “Amid scrutiny of the retirement services division within the Office of Personnel Management, congressional inquiries to the agency have grown drastically, according to a February letter sent by Retirement Services Associate Director Margaret Pearson.
    • “According to the missive, which was sent in response to questions from House lawmakers, OPM’s Congressional, Legislative, and Intergovernmental Affairs branch received more than 9,000 congressional inquiries in 2022, compared with more than 3,000 in 2020. In other words, the number of inquiries from Congress to the agency has approximately tripled in three years.”
  • Fedsmith adds
    • “The latest data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) show that the backlog of outstanding retirement claims now stands at 17,047, 4.1% higher than at the end of June. The number of incoming claims was much higher in July than in June, 7,261 versus 4,854, respectively, a difference of 50%. Although OPM still processed nearly the same number of claims in July (6,584) as in June (6,609), this served to drive the backlog higher.
    • “Another contributing factor was that the monthly average processing time was higher in July than in June. It took OPM 85 days on average in July to process retirement applications versus 74 days in June. July was the second-highest monthly average processing time so far in 2023, second only to January (93 days).”
  • The Labor Department’s Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security, Lisa Gomez, blogs about the ACA regulator’s proposed amendments to the federal mental health and substance use disorder rule. Why must all of the pressure to improve mental health care be placed on health plans?
  • Federal News Network says,
    • “The Postal Service is falling short of its goal to turn around its financial losses this year, but is pointing to an ongoing shakeup of its nationwide delivery network as a critical part of its plan to break even by the end of the decade.
    • “Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said Tuesday that “more aggressive cost reductions to operations” are needed to keep USPS’ long-term financial goals within reach — and that USPS reshaping its nationwide delivery network is key to those savings.
    • “This undertaking is massive and long overdue, and time is of the essence if we wish to enjoy the benefits of this cherished institution for years to come,” DeJoy told the USPS Board of Governors.
    • “USPS reported a $1.7 billion net loss for the third quarter of fiscal 2023, and is expected to see a net loss for the entire fiscal year.”

From the public health and Rx coverage fronts–

  • STAT News informs us
    • “The momentum around weight loss drugs is about to get even bigger in the wake of Novo Nordisk’s announcement that its semaglutide drug Wegovy cut the risk of cardiovascular disease by 20% in its large SELECT trial.
    • “The full results of the study, funded by Novo, will be presented at the American Heart Association meeting in November. Doctors and researchers say they expect the findings to have a big impact on how clinicians approach the treatment of both obesity and cardiovascular disease, as well as increase the likelihood that prescriptions for obesity drugs will be covered by insurance.
    • “But experts who spoke with STAT also cautioned that the long-term safety and efficacy of Wegovy and other weight loss drugs remain unknown. The SELECT study has yet to be peer-reviewed, and not enough information is yet available to make independent assessments of the results.”
  • The Wall Street Journal adds,
    • “The surging demand for GLP-1s has prompted analysts to raise their forecasts for the global obesity market, with Morgan Stanley recently revising its estimate to $77 billion in annual sales by 2030, up from $54 billion.
    • “For now, doctors are prescribing more of Mounjaro and Wegovy than the companies can make, with a lack of manufacturing capacity frequently leading to shortages. Eli Lilly on Tuesday reported $980 million in Mounjaro sales in the second quarter, trouncing analyst estimates of $740 million on FactSet. The Mounjaro beat allowed the company to raise its annual guidance as well. Mounjaro is approved for diabetes and is expected to receive Food and Drug Administration approval for obesity treatment this year, though doctors are already prescribing it off-label.”
  • The Wall Street Journal also lets us know,
    • “Women are closing a gender gap, but it isn’t a good one: They’re catching up to men when it comes to problem drinking.
    • “Women’s drinking, on the rise for the past two decades, jumped during the pandemic as women reported more stress. Although men still drink more alcohol than women and have higher alcohol-related mortality rates, doctors and public health experts say women are narrowing that divide.
    • “Alcohol-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations and deaths are increasing faster for women than for men. And studies suggest that women are more susceptible to alcohol-related liver inflammation, heart disease and certain cancers.”
  • Independence Blue Cross announced,
    • ” Independence Blue Cross (Independence) and the Colorectal Cancer Alliance (the Alliance) announced the launch of 45+ Reasons, a campaign to get more than 5,000 Black Philadelphians ages 45-75 screened for colorectal cancer to reduce the significantly higher incidence and mortality rates of Black Americans. The campaign supports the Cycles of Impact initiative launched by Independence and the Alliance in 2022.
    • T”he campaign is a flagship program of Philadelphia’s Accelerate Health Equity, a city-wide initiative to produce tangible improvement in health inequities, and ultimately achieve measurable, positive changes in health outcomes in Philadelphia. Colorectal cancer screening and treatment is a priority area for Accelerate Health Equity.”
  • The All of Us Program released its August 2023 newsletter.
  • Fierce Healthcare tells us,
    • “There has been a 2% rise in maternity care deserts since 2020—meaning 1,119 additional counties, a new analysis suggests.
    • “The latest 2022 report on maternity care deserts, put together by nonprofit March of Dimes (PDF), relied mostly on 2019-20 data for its analysis.
    • “It classified more than a third of all U.S. counties as maternity care deserts in the report. These were defined as counties with no hospitals or birth centers offering obstetric care and no obstetric providers. 
    • “Nationwide, 5% of counties have less maternity access than two years ago while 3% shifted to higher access. Florida had the most women impacted by improvements to maternity care access, while Ohio had the most women impacted by overall reductions in access to care.” 

From the U.S. healthcare business front —

  • BioPharma Dive relates
    • “Eli Lilly became the most valuable healthcare company in the U.S. after a stock price surge Tuesday morning propelled the Indianapolis drugmaker’s market value above $500 billion for the first time in its 147-year history.
    • “Shares jumped 15% on second-quarter earnings that showed the company’s revenue rose by 28%, driven by fast sales of its diabetes medicine Mounjaro. The drug has attracted intense interest for its potential as an obesity treatment, a use for which it’s expected to earn Food and Drug Administration approval later this year.”
  • STAT News reports that Sage Therapeutics finds itself under financial pressure due to the FDA’s decision to approve its new drug for postpartum depression but not other types of depression.
    • “Sage’s chief business officer, Chris Benecchi, declined to name a price or a price range for Zurzuvae, saying that the company is working together with its partner Biogen to “determine adjustments for thinking on price given the PPD label.” Sage expects the drug to be available in the fourth quarter following its scheduling by the Drug Enforcement Administration because of the drug’s low potential for misuse.
    • “Sage hosted the pre-market call without Biogen, raising analysts’ eyebrows as the two companies signed a commercialization deal in 2020 valued at over $1.5 billion, predicated on the hope that zuranolone would become a blockbuster drug for major depression. Despite many questions about what exactly would be needed for the drug to get FDA approval for major depression and whether Biogen would continue its partnership with Sage, Greene declined to give any insight into how committed Sage and Biogen are to pursuing the MDD indication, or whether Biogen was going to vacate the partnership.”
  • Healthcare Dive offers five takeaways from the health insurers’ second-quarter earnings.
    • “Major health insurers saw their shares dip coming into the second quarter, as investors prepared themselves for skyrocketing medical costs due to seniors returning for outpatient care.
    • “But health insurers generally outperformed market expectations in the quarter, helped by cost control measures.”
  • Meanwhile, the American Hospital Association’s President takes these health insurers to task in U.S. News and World Report for imposing cost control measures.