Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez admitted this week that Sen. Bernie
Sanders may have to compromise and nix his ambitious Medicare for All
plan if he is elected president.
The New York congresswoman, a staunch supporter of the more
progressive single-payer healthcare system, made the revelation in an interview with HuffPost that was published Thursday.
Ocasio-Cortez noted the difficulties as president of passing
legislation, especially for a politically unpopular policy like Medicare
for All.
“A president can’t wave a magic wand and pass any legislation they want,” Ocasio-Cortez told the website.
If Sanders becomes president in 2020, “The worst-case scenario?” she
continued, “We compromise deeply and we end up getting a public option.”
She added: “Is that a nightmare? I don’t think so.”
AOC also said in the interview, though, that compromising for a
public option is not the ultimate goal for leftists like herself.
https://nypost.com/2020/02/13/aoc-admits-bernie-sanders-may-have-to-scrap-medicare-for-all-plan/
Thursday, February 13, 2020
No peak in sight as China reports 5,000 new coronavirus cases
China’s coronavirus outbreak showed no sign of peaking with health
authorities on Friday reporting more than 5,000 new cases, while
passengers on a cruise ship blocked from five countries due to virus
fears finally disembarked in Cambodia.
Policymakers pledged to do more to stimulate Asian economies hit hard
by the virus, helping Asia stock markets edge higher, with Chinese
shares headed for their first weekly gain in four.
In its latest update, China’s National Health Commission said it had recorded 121 new deaths and 5,090 new coronavirus cases on the mainland on Feb. 13, taking the accumulated total infected to 63,851 people.
Some 55,748 people are currently undergoing treatment, while 1,380 people have died of the flu-like virus that emerged in Hubei province’s capital, Wuhan, in December. The latest toll takes account of some deaths that had been double counted in Hubei, the health commission said.
The new figures give no indication the outbreak is nearing a peak, said Adam Kamradt-Scott, an infectious diseases expert at the Centre for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney.
“Based on the current trend in confirmed cases, this appears to be a clear indication that while the Chinese authorities are doing their best to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the fairly drastic measures they have implemented to date would appear to have been too little, too late,” he said.
Chinese scientists are testing two antiviral drugs and preliminary results are weeks away.
The head of a hospital in Wuhan, a city under virtual lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus, told reporters on Thursday that plasma infusions from recovered patients had shown some encouraging preliminary results.
Japan confirmed its first coronavirus death on Thursday – a woman in her 80s living in Kanagawa prefecture near Tokyo. The death was the third outside mainland China, after two others in Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Japan is one of the worst affected of more than two dozen countries and territories outside mainland China that have seen hundreds of infections.
Japanese policymakers vowed to step up testing and containment efforts after the death and confirmation of new cases, including a doctor and a taxi driver.
Passengers on another cruise ship that spent two weeks at sea after being turned away by five countries over coronavirus fears started disembarking in Cambodia on Friday.
The MS Westerdam, carrying 1,455 passengers and 802 crew, docked in the Cambodian port town of Sihanoukville on Thursday. It had anchored offshore early in the morning to allow Cambodian officials to board and collect samples from passengers with any signs of ill health or flu-like symptoms.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen greeted the passengers with handshakes and bouquets of roses as they stepped off the ship and boarded a waiting bus.
“My wife and I gave him some chocolates as a show of our appreciation,” Lou Poandel, a tourist from New Jersey, told Reuters after he disembarked and met the Cambodian leader.
Separately, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL.N) said it had canceled 18 cruises in Southeast Asia and joined larger rival Carnival Corp (CCL.N) in warning that its full-year earnings would be hit by the coronavirus outbreak.
Global health authorities are still scrambling to find “patient zero” – a person who carried the disease into a company meeting in Singapore from which it spread to five other countries.
Economists are assessing the impact of the outbreak on the world’s second-largest economy and scaling back their expectations for growth this year.
After the extended Lunar New Year holiday, many migrant workers may still be stuck in their hometowns, far from their factories. Analysts at Nomura estimated only about 21% had returned as of Thursday.
China’s economy will grow at its slowest rate since the global financial crisis in the current quarter, according to a Reuters poll of economists who said the downturn will be short-lived if the outbreak is contained.
“China is already easing its monetary policy and providing more liquidity while more stimulus is likely. Factories are starting to reopen albeit with some delays,” said Yukino Yamada, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.
The duration of the disruption to international travel and trade is a key factor in some economists’ predictions for a slowdown in global growth in the short term.
Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, is bracing for a sharp slowdown and some analysts expect another contraction in the current quarter as the virus outbreak hurts exports, output and consumption.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health/no-peak-in-sight-as-china-reports-5000-new-coronavirus-cases-idUSKBN20804J
In its latest update, China’s National Health Commission said it had recorded 121 new deaths and 5,090 new coronavirus cases on the mainland on Feb. 13, taking the accumulated total infected to 63,851 people.
Some 55,748 people are currently undergoing treatment, while 1,380 people have died of the flu-like virus that emerged in Hubei province’s capital, Wuhan, in December. The latest toll takes account of some deaths that had been double counted in Hubei, the health commission said.
The new figures give no indication the outbreak is nearing a peak, said Adam Kamradt-Scott, an infectious diseases expert at the Centre for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney.
“Based on the current trend in confirmed cases, this appears to be a clear indication that while the Chinese authorities are doing their best to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the fairly drastic measures they have implemented to date would appear to have been too little, too late,” he said.
Chinese scientists are testing two antiviral drugs and preliminary results are weeks away.
The head of a hospital in Wuhan, a city under virtual lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus, told reporters on Thursday that plasma infusions from recovered patients had shown some encouraging preliminary results.
Japan confirmed its first coronavirus death on Thursday – a woman in her 80s living in Kanagawa prefecture near Tokyo. The death was the third outside mainland China, after two others in Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Japan is one of the worst affected of more than two dozen countries and territories outside mainland China that have seen hundreds of infections.
Japanese policymakers vowed to step up testing and containment efforts after the death and confirmation of new cases, including a doctor and a taxi driver.
CAMBODIA WELCOMES CRUISE PASSENGERS
A cruise liner quarantined off a Japanese port has more than 200 people confirmed with the disease. Authorities have said they will allow some elderly people to disembark on Friday.Passengers on another cruise ship that spent two weeks at sea after being turned away by five countries over coronavirus fears started disembarking in Cambodia on Friday.
The MS Westerdam, carrying 1,455 passengers and 802 crew, docked in the Cambodian port town of Sihanoukville on Thursday. It had anchored offshore early in the morning to allow Cambodian officials to board and collect samples from passengers with any signs of ill health or flu-like symptoms.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen greeted the passengers with handshakes and bouquets of roses as they stepped off the ship and boarded a waiting bus.
“My wife and I gave him some chocolates as a show of our appreciation,” Lou Poandel, a tourist from New Jersey, told Reuters after he disembarked and met the Cambodian leader.
Separately, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL.N) said it had canceled 18 cruises in Southeast Asia and joined larger rival Carnival Corp (CCL.N) in warning that its full-year earnings would be hit by the coronavirus outbreak.
Global health authorities are still scrambling to find “patient zero” – a person who carried the disease into a company meeting in Singapore from which it spread to five other countries.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The rise in China’s reported cases on Thursday reflected a decision by authorities there to reclassify a backlog of suspected cases by using patients’ chest images, and did not necessarily indicate a wider epidemic, a World Health Organization official said on Thursday.Economists are assessing the impact of the outbreak on the world’s second-largest economy and scaling back their expectations for growth this year.
After the extended Lunar New Year holiday, many migrant workers may still be stuck in their hometowns, far from their factories. Analysts at Nomura estimated only about 21% had returned as of Thursday.
China’s economy will grow at its slowest rate since the global financial crisis in the current quarter, according to a Reuters poll of economists who said the downturn will be short-lived if the outbreak is contained.
“China is already easing its monetary policy and providing more liquidity while more stimulus is likely. Factories are starting to reopen albeit with some delays,” said Yukino Yamada, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.
The duration of the disruption to international travel and trade is a key factor in some economists’ predictions for a slowdown in global growth in the short term.
Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, is bracing for a sharp slowdown and some analysts expect another contraction in the current quarter as the virus outbreak hurts exports, output and consumption.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health/no-peak-in-sight-as-china-reports-5000-new-coronavirus-cases-idUSKBN20804J
Pulse Biosciences discloses NSE letter from FDA on CellFX system
Pulse Biosciences (NASDAQ:PLSE) -25.2%
after-hours following the disclosure of a “Not Substantially
Equivalent” letter from the Food and Drug Administration related to its
CellFX system.
Pulse says the FDA letter indicated that the
company had not demonstrated that the CellFX System is substantially
equivalent to the predicate device.
“We look forward to continuing to work with FDA to
obtain a clearance for the CellFX system in dermatology [and] will
continue to generate additional clinical data in support of that
effort,” the company says.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3542079-pulse-biosciences-discloses-nse-letter-from-fda-on-cellfx-systemICER methods could be illegal in US, claims US think tank
The method used by the US Institute for Clinical and Economic
Review (ICER) to gauge whether drugs are cost-effective would violate
US law if used in state Medicaid programmes, says a new report.
The report by the Pioneer Institute – a privately-funded think tank – claims that the quality-adjusted life year (QALY) measurement could lead to treatment being prioritised for a non-disabled person over a person with “a disability, mental illness or life-threatening chronic condition.”
QALYs are used by the ICER to assess the value of new therapies, and determine whether the price being charged is warranted by their clinical benefits. The measure is widely used by other health technology assessment (HTA) agencies around with the world, including NICE in the UK.
“Our legal analysis suggests that using QALY in state Medicaid programmes would violate the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) on at least two separate, but related grounds,” says the report.
It would decrease the availability of effective treatments for people living with a disability, and also increase the risk of institutionalisation of some people with mental disability, according to the Institute.
It goes on to say that many people in these categories “may never experience full restoration to a certain quality of life defined by QALY.”
The report comes as states in the US are looking into ways to control the cost of healthcare, and as some policymakers are calling for the introduction of ICER-like reviews for Medicaid, a federal and state system that helps with medical costs for people on limited incomes.
Pioneer suggests that legal challenges to any adoption of ICER’s QALY methodology by state Medicaid programmes on ADA grounds “seems almost certain.”
For its part, ICER insists that use of independent drug value reports based on benchmarking measures like QALYs can help prevent price-gouging, pointing in a recent blog post to increasing use by both private insurers in the US as well as state Medicaid programmes.
“Independent drug value reports provide the fair benchmark by which to gauge the reasonableness of prices that drug manufacturers set and often increase unilaterally, with limited or no justification,” it says.
State-level action on drug pricing – such as a New York law passed in 2017 that allows Medicaid to demand supplemental rebates from pharma companies for expensive drugs that is estimated to have saved $85 million – could be the key to curbing excessive prices as the federal government remains deadlocked over the issue, according to ICER.
That shift towards a more European style of assessment is polarising opinion among US lawmakers, and comes as politicians from both sides of the US political divide are making medicine pricing a key issue in the forthcoming elections.
It’s also an interesting wrinkle as the UK and US prepare for trade talks post-Brexit, with a lot of attention focused on whether the US will press for the UK to reduce controls on the price of medicines bought by the US.
Reducing the focus on QALYs – loathed on the whole by industry – could be one negotiating point for the US as a way to make the UK more ‘pharma friendly.’ The UK government has so far insisted it won’t be swayed on the cost-effectiveness threshold issue.
That’s not to say that all the parameters used by HTAs in new drug appraisals are set in stone and can’t be updated.
NICE recently launched a review of the methods it uses to make cost-effectiveness recommendations, although it is understood that doesn’t involve a retreat from the use of QALYs, or a lowering of the threshold for cost-effectiveness.
The report by the Pioneer Institute – a privately-funded think tank – claims that the quality-adjusted life year (QALY) measurement could lead to treatment being prioritised for a non-disabled person over a person with “a disability, mental illness or life-threatening chronic condition.”
QALYs are used by the ICER to assess the value of new therapies, and determine whether the price being charged is warranted by their clinical benefits. The measure is widely used by other health technology assessment (HTA) agencies around with the world, including NICE in the UK.
“Our legal analysis suggests that using QALY in state Medicaid programmes would violate the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) on at least two separate, but related grounds,” says the report.
It would decrease the availability of effective treatments for people living with a disability, and also increase the risk of institutionalisation of some people with mental disability, according to the Institute.
It goes on to say that many people in these categories “may never experience full restoration to a certain quality of life defined by QALY.”
The report comes as states in the US are looking into ways to control the cost of healthcare, and as some policymakers are calling for the introduction of ICER-like reviews for Medicaid, a federal and state system that helps with medical costs for people on limited incomes.
Pioneer suggests that legal challenges to any adoption of ICER’s QALY methodology by state Medicaid programmes on ADA grounds “seems almost certain.”
For its part, ICER insists that use of independent drug value reports based on benchmarking measures like QALYs can help prevent price-gouging, pointing in a recent blog post to increasing use by both private insurers in the US as well as state Medicaid programmes.
“Independent drug value reports provide the fair benchmark by which to gauge the reasonableness of prices that drug manufacturers set and often increase unilaterally, with limited or no justification,” it says.
State-level action on drug pricing – such as a New York law passed in 2017 that allows Medicaid to demand supplemental rebates from pharma companies for expensive drugs that is estimated to have saved $85 million – could be the key to curbing excessive prices as the federal government remains deadlocked over the issue, according to ICER.
That shift towards a more European style of assessment is polarising opinion among US lawmakers, and comes as politicians from both sides of the US political divide are making medicine pricing a key issue in the forthcoming elections.
It’s also an interesting wrinkle as the UK and US prepare for trade talks post-Brexit, with a lot of attention focused on whether the US will press for the UK to reduce controls on the price of medicines bought by the US.
Reducing the focus on QALYs – loathed on the whole by industry – could be one negotiating point for the US as a way to make the UK more ‘pharma friendly.’ The UK government has so far insisted it won’t be swayed on the cost-effectiveness threshold issue.
That’s not to say that all the parameters used by HTAs in new drug appraisals are set in stone and can’t be updated.
NICE recently launched a review of the methods it uses to make cost-effectiveness recommendations, although it is understood that doesn’t involve a retreat from the use of QALYs, or a lowering of the threshold for cost-effectiveness.
ICER methods could be illegal in US, claims US think tank
Robots used to prevent spread of coronavirus
Digital and robotic technology is playing an important part in preventing the spread of coronavirus, according to press reports.
Evidence so far suggests that the virus is spread by coughs and sneezes and from surfaces, so it’s important for healthcare professionals to avoid direct contact with patients.
The best way to prevent further infections is limit patients’ movement and treat them in isolation.
With many people in quarantine to minimise spread of the disease, clinicians are using telehealth and robotics to interact with patients according to press reports.
CNN reports that the first person diagnosed with the Wuhan coronavirus in the US is being treated by a small crew of medical workers using a robot.
The robot is equipped with a stethoscope and is helping doctors with their observations and allowing them to communicate with him through a large screen.
The patient is being treated at the Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington State after arriving at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on 15th January from Wuhan.
“The nursing staff in the room move the robot around so we can see the patient on the screen, talk to him,” said Dr George Diaz, of the hospital’s infectious disease division.
According to the website Medical Device Network, a robot is also being used to interact with quarantined people in China.
More than 300 people suspected of having the virus are being isolated in a hotel in Hangzhou and the robot is being used to deliver food to their bedrooms.
In Guangzhou City, at the Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, autonomous delivery robots are being used to transport drugs around the hospital.
After being loaded with medicines and given instructions about where to go, the robots head to their destination unaided and are able to open and close doors without any human assistance.
Forbes has reported that another robot manufactured by Xenex, is minimising the spread of infection in hospital rooms where there have been suspected cases of the new coronavirus.
The robot uses pulsed xenon ultraviolet-C light to wipe out pathogens, and can take as little as five minutes to clean rooms.
Another robot from LA-based Dimer UVC Innovations, has developed a robot that could be used to sanitise aeroplanes, and has offered its services to three US airports to address the coronavirus outbreak.
The robot, known as GermFalcon, also uses UVC light to kill viruses and bacteria and can be pushed down the aeroplane’s aisle, with wings hanging over the seats that expose all services to the light.
Evidence so far suggests that the virus is spread by coughs and sneezes and from surfaces, so it’s important for healthcare professionals to avoid direct contact with patients.
The best way to prevent further infections is limit patients’ movement and treat them in isolation.
With many people in quarantine to minimise spread of the disease, clinicians are using telehealth and robotics to interact with patients according to press reports.
CNN reports that the first person diagnosed with the Wuhan coronavirus in the US is being treated by a small crew of medical workers using a robot.
The robot is equipped with a stethoscope and is helping doctors with their observations and allowing them to communicate with him through a large screen.
The patient is being treated at the Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington State after arriving at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on 15th January from Wuhan.
“The nursing staff in the room move the robot around so we can see the patient on the screen, talk to him,” said Dr George Diaz, of the hospital’s infectious disease division.
According to the website Medical Device Network, a robot is also being used to interact with quarantined people in China.
More than 300 people suspected of having the virus are being isolated in a hotel in Hangzhou and the robot is being used to deliver food to their bedrooms.
In Guangzhou City, at the Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, autonomous delivery robots are being used to transport drugs around the hospital.
After being loaded with medicines and given instructions about where to go, the robots head to their destination unaided and are able to open and close doors without any human assistance.
Forbes has reported that another robot manufactured by Xenex, is minimising the spread of infection in hospital rooms where there have been suspected cases of the new coronavirus.
The robot uses pulsed xenon ultraviolet-C light to wipe out pathogens, and can take as little as five minutes to clean rooms.
Another robot from LA-based Dimer UVC Innovations, has developed a robot that could be used to sanitise aeroplanes, and has offered its services to three US airports to address the coronavirus outbreak.
The robot, known as GermFalcon, also uses UVC light to kill viruses and bacteria and can be pushed down the aeroplane’s aisle, with wings hanging over the seats that expose all services to the light.
Robots used to prevent spread of coronavirus
Ochsner to pay tuition for future doctors, nurses who pledge to 5 years with system
New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System created a $10 million tuition
fund to grow its own workforce amid current labor market challenges,
according to The Advocate, a Louisiana news outlet.
The system will begin by paying tuition for a cohort of 30 primary care physicians and psychiatrists. The physicians must commit to working in Louisiana with the health system for at least five years to receive the funding.
Ochsner has plans to offer similar scholarship opportunities for employees who want to become licensed practical nurses or registered nurses. It plans to ultimately cover tuition for about 1,000 employees, according to the report.
Read the full story here.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-physician-relationships/ochsner-to-pay-tuition-for-future-physicians-nurses-who-pledge-to-5-years-with-system.html
The system will begin by paying tuition for a cohort of 30 primary care physicians and psychiatrists. The physicians must commit to working in Louisiana with the health system for at least five years to receive the funding.
Ochsner has plans to offer similar scholarship opportunities for employees who want to become licensed practical nurses or registered nurses. It plans to ultimately cover tuition for about 1,000 employees, according to the report.
Read the full story here.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-physician-relationships/ochsner-to-pay-tuition-for-future-physicians-nurses-who-pledge-to-5-years-with-system.html
Deadly US fungal cases exceed 1,000; EPA registers first disinfectants
Cases of deadly fungus Candida auris in the U.S. rose to 1,018 by the end of 2019, the CDC reported.
The number of cases jumped by about 80 since Oct. 31, when the CDC reported 941 cases of the infection in the country.
New York has seen the highest number of C. auris cases in the country with 465, followed by Illinois with 292 and New Jersey with 177. C. auris cases have also been documented across the world, including Australia, Canada, China, Germany and Kenya.
C. auris tends to be resistant to antifungal drugs and can be hard to treat. Last year, three patients were identified in New York with cases of pan-resistant C. auris infections, that is, resistant to all three classes of commonly prescribed antifungal drugs. C. auris can live on surfaces in healthcare environments, which can result in it spreading quickly among patients.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registered 11 products that can be used to disinfect surfaces against C. auris Feb. 12 — the first disinfectants to be specifically developed for use against the deadly fungus.
Here are the product brand names for the disinfectants registered:
• Avert Sporicidal Disinfectant Cleaner
• Blondie
• Dagwood
• Micro-Kill Bleach Germicidal Bleach Wipes
• Oxivir 1
• Oxivir 1 Wipes
• Oxivir Wipes
• Oxycide Daily Disinfectant Cleaner
• Virasept
• Wonder Woman Formula B Germicidal Wipes
• Wonder Woman Formula B Spray
“The global emergence of C. auris in recent years is concerning for a number of reasons — it causes severe and sometimes deadly illness, it’s very hard to treat, and it’s difficult to prevent it from spreading within healthcare facilities,” said Tom Chiller, MD, chief of the CDC’s mycotic diseases branch. “We are encouraged by the progress being made to study new agents and methods for eliminating C. auris from surfaces in healthcare environments, and we need to continue to be vigilant and respond rapidly to be able to control this organism.”
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/deadly-us-fungal-cases-exceed-1-000-epa-registers-first-disinfectants.html
The number of cases jumped by about 80 since Oct. 31, when the CDC reported 941 cases of the infection in the country.
New York has seen the highest number of C. auris cases in the country with 465, followed by Illinois with 292 and New Jersey with 177. C. auris cases have also been documented across the world, including Australia, Canada, China, Germany and Kenya.
C. auris tends to be resistant to antifungal drugs and can be hard to treat. Last year, three patients were identified in New York with cases of pan-resistant C. auris infections, that is, resistant to all three classes of commonly prescribed antifungal drugs. C. auris can live on surfaces in healthcare environments, which can result in it spreading quickly among patients.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registered 11 products that can be used to disinfect surfaces against C. auris Feb. 12 — the first disinfectants to be specifically developed for use against the deadly fungus.
Here are the product brand names for the disinfectants registered:
• Avert Sporicidal Disinfectant Cleaner
• Blondie
• Dagwood
• Micro-Kill Bleach Germicidal Bleach Wipes
• Oxivir 1
• Oxivir 1 Wipes
• Oxivir Wipes
• Oxycide Daily Disinfectant Cleaner
• Virasept
• Wonder Woman Formula B Germicidal Wipes
• Wonder Woman Formula B Spray
“The global emergence of C. auris in recent years is concerning for a number of reasons — it causes severe and sometimes deadly illness, it’s very hard to treat, and it’s difficult to prevent it from spreading within healthcare facilities,” said Tom Chiller, MD, chief of the CDC’s mycotic diseases branch. “We are encouraged by the progress being made to study new agents and methods for eliminating C. auris from surfaces in healthcare environments, and we need to continue to be vigilant and respond rapidly to be able to control this organism.”
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/deadly-us-fungal-cases-exceed-1-000-epa-registers-first-disinfectants.html
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