#25 • A Healthy Dose of Healthcare News • April 16, 2021
J&J vaccine, Texas' Medicaid waiver rescinded, human-monkey chimeras, NIH funding for fetal tissue research, major home care merger, Lyft rides to the hospital, Microsoft and AXA partnership
In this edition, you will read about:
#25.1. The FDA and CDC hitting pause on the J&J vaccine;
#25.2. HHS rescinding Texas’ Medicaid waiver;
#25.3. Human-monkey chimeras made by Chinese and American scientists;
#25.4. NIH reinstating federal funding of research using aborted fetal tissue;
#25.5. A major home and hospice care merger;
#25.6. Lyft offering patient-led non-emergency transportation; and
#25.7. Microsoft and AXA partnering on a digital health platform.
#25.1. Joint CDC and FDA Statement on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine
The CDC and FDA paused the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine on April 13 after 6 women between 18 and 48 years old suffered from blood clots. The announcement puts a dent not only in the distribution of the vaccine, but also in the confidence of the American people in vaccines against COVID-19, which were all approved by the FDA under emergency use authorization. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is currently the only authorized vaccine that necessitates just one shot, which makes it a particularly good candidate for the vaccination of individuals who face barriers to access to care, such as those who are homebound, homeless, or incarcerated.
#25.2. Feds rescind health care funding agreement that would have paid for care for uninsured, poor Texans after 2022 (The Texas Tribune)
Last week, we saw that Wisconsin and Michigan’s Section 1115 Medicaid waivers had been revoked. It’s Texas’s turn this week. HHS stated that its Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) “materially erred” when they processed and approved Texas’ Medicaid waiver. 1115 waivers serve to promote innovation in the provision of healthcare services to underserved communities in the states, and Texas was planning to use the funds to pay hospitals for the care they provide to uninsured patients. It had been in place since 2011.
#25.3. Human-Monkey Hybrid Embryo Created by Joint China–U.S. Scientist Team (Newsweek)
For the first time in the history of mankind, scientists have decided to inject human stem cells into macaque monkeys. Previous research involved injecting human cells into sheep and pig embryos. Mixed-species embryos are called “chimeras,” which is the name of a part-lion, part-goat, and part-snake creature in Greek mythology. The human-monkey embryos, of which there were 132, survived up to 20 days. Upon conducting the experiment and gathering information that will allow for more such endeavors, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences in La Jolla, California, told NPR that “[they] were very, very excited.”
#25.4. NIH reverses Trump administration's ban on fetal tissue research (The Hill)
In 2019, the Trump Administration banned the use of aborted fetal tissue in federally-funded research. Yesterday, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra hinted at the fact that there would be an announcement about the policy. It came today: Biden’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) rescinded the policy. It also announced that it would no longer pursue the establishment of a Human Fetal Fetal Tissue Research Ethics Advisory Board.
#25.5. BrightSpring Health Services Acquires Abode Healthcare (Business Wire/Press Release)
This merger constitutes a major consolidation in the home and hospice care industry. BrightSpring (headquartered in Kentucky) is the “leading provider” of home- and community-based healthcare services for patients with severe and chronic conditions. Abode Healthcare (headquartered in Colorado) is a home health and hospital business. The joint company will operate in 17 states.
#25.6. Lyft launches health care transportation program (The Verge)
“Lyft Pass for Healthcare” lets clients (healthcare providers) send patients a voucher for transportation that allows them to book their own ride to and from the clinic or hospital. Such a system already exists, but it puts healthcare providers and payers in charge of booking the rides. With the Lyft Pass, such organizations will continue to control the times at which the rides are taken, locations, and costs. Non-emergency medical transportation itself is a multibillion-dollar industry, but missed appointments is where the money’s at: the shortfall is estimated to be as high as $150 billion. Lyft’s solution is essentially the same as Uber Health, which launched in 2018.
#25.7. AXA and Microsoft join forces to build digital healthcare platform (Healthcare IT News)
European insurance giant AXA is rolling out a full-service virtual health platform with Microsoft that will include a blend of self-assessment, telemedicine services, and an appointment booking service. While fragmentation sounds like an American problem, it isn’t: the Old Continent experiences it as well. The platform will seek to help patients navigate the increasingly-complex healthcare landscape, and it will include patient-focused electronic health record capabilities. US patients won’t be accessing it anytime soon, however, as the launch is limited to a handful of European countries for the time being.