Friday catch up

Pre-existing conditions, drug development, COVID-related GI problems, and marketing screwups…

First up, pre-existing conditions

Yesterday President Trump issued an executive order affirming “it is the official policy of the United States government to protect patients with pre-existing conditions.”

Well, yeah. It is today, because the ACA/Obamacare – which specifically protects patients with pre-existing conditions – is the law of the land, despite dozens of GOP efforts to overturn it. 

Couple other key issues.

1. Without legislation signed into law, the Federal government – and the President – can’t enforce a “policy”.
2. The executive order wasn’t released, so we don’t know what it actually says.
3. The Trump Administration backs a lawsuit that would overturn the ACA and thereby eliminate pre-existing condition protections. 

What this means – don’t watch what someone says, watch what they do.

For more details on GOP and Democratic healthcare plans, click here.

Super-useful research on healthcare prices paid by private healthplans – kudos to RAND for updating their ongoing analysis. RAND compares prices paid by privately insurers – including work comp – to Medicare, allowing you to compare relative prices for individual facilities.

Thanks to Michael Costello for the link.

One takeaway – HCA hospitals are pretty expensive…(you can find prices for pretty much any hospital on RAND’s map)

Drug development

Pretty much all new drugs developed over the last decade relied on research you – the taxpayer – paid for.

That includes $6.5 billion of taxpayer dollars invested in remdesivir, one of the very few drugs found to be useful in treating COVID19.

COVID19

Alarming piece in JAMA yesterday reported patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome caused by COVID19 are at significantly higher risk for major gastrointestinal problems. Pretty solid science behind the research.

An earlier article highlighted the opioid epidemic during the COVID19 pandemic; there are definite limitations to the research due to small sample size and possible clinician bias. With those provisos, key takeaways include:

• ER drug tests found significantly higher use of fentanyl and methamphetamines from March to July
• one ER reported the number of non-fatal opioid overdoses more than doubled during that period
• Black individuals were more likely to overdose during the pandemic than before it; this adds to the research indicating people of color – including Latinx folks – are more severely affected by the pandemic than Whites.

Good news – J&J will start Phase 3 trials of its vaccine. Unlike some other vaccines, it is a single shot and can be stored in a refrigerator for up to 3 months (others require two shots and must be stored at ultracold temps).

Marketing malfeasance

And lastly, an excellent article in the Harvard Business Review about marketing in current times.  A critical takeaway – do NOT just talk about social responsibility; DO it. Kudos to Starbucks; after mandating that workers could not wear anything with Black Lives Matter while working, the company realized it screwed up and reversed course.

For the umpteenth time, if you do screw up, apologize fully and without dissembling.  None of these “I’m sorry if anyone is offended” non-apology apologies; from the article:

With “cancel culture” as pervasive as it is, a one-time reaction is as good as letting an issue get ahead of you. Instead, treat apologies or mea culpas as the first steps of an ongoing dialogue designed to bring about thoughtful and meaningful progress.

Here’s hoping the White Sox turn things around in the upcoming series with the Cubs…and your team wins this weekend.

Be well.