DAILY UPDATE: PBMs and Healthcare A.I. as All Major Market Indexes Drop

Posted on December 18, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

MEDICAL EXECUTIVE-POST – TODAY’S NEWSLETTER BRIEFING

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Stat: 97%. That’s how many healthcare leaders think A.I. will become important in healthcare over the next five years.

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Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are once again under pressure from federal leaders. A group of Democratic and Republican congresspeople proposed legislation that would attempt to prevent pharmacies from also owning PBMs. The three largest PBMs—CVS Health’s Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts, and UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Rx—currently operate pharmacies and administer more than 80% of the prescriptions in the US, and officials have linked this practice to drug price increases.

CITE: https://tinyurl.com/2h47urt5

US stocks fell across the board on Tuesday, with the Dow logging its biggest losing streak in 46 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) finished the session down roughly 0.6%, registering its ninth straight day of losses. The last 9-day losing streak for the Dow was Feb. 1978. Prior to that, the index suffered an 11-day losing streak in 1974 and another in 1971.

The other major indexes dropped in tandem on Tuesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) falling around 0.4% and the NASDAQ Composite (^IXIC) losing about 0.3% after the tech-heavy index closed at a record high on Monday.

CITE: https://tinyurl.com/tj8smmes

Visualize: How private equity tangled banks in a web of debt, from the Financial Times.

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UNITEDHEALTHGROUP: Recent Pros and Cons of UNH

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

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A class action lawsuit has been filed in Minnesota against UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) over allegations that the health insurer and its subsidiary, NaviHealth, used a faulty algorithm to deny rehabilitation care for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. California-based Clarkson Law Firm filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota on Tuesday following an investigative report published by the health-focused news site Stat.

It alleges that UnitedHealth and its subsidiary, NaviHealth, used the computer algorithm named nH Predict to “systematically deny claims” of patients recovering from debilitating illnesses in nursing homes. According to the lawsuit, despite its 90% error rate, the company used the algorithm to deny claims, knowing that only 0.2% would appeal its decision. According to Stat, Humana (HUM), the nation’s second-largest player in the Medicare Advantage market behind UnitedHealth (UNH), also uses nH Predict. UnitedHealth (UNH) denied it used the NaviHealth predict tool to arrive at coverage decisions.

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Ironically, UnitedHealth’s (NYSE:UNH) Optum Rx unit announced plans to move eight insulin products to “preferred” status on formularies to further expand the number of patients benefiting from $35 or less monthly out-of-pocket costs for the lifesaving therapy.

Optum Rx, UNH’s pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), said that effective January 1, 2024, all short- and rapid-acting insulins will move to Tier 1 in commercial formularies, a list of drugs the company maintains to indicate coverage for insured patients.

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource

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DAILY UPDATE: Hims & Hers, MSFT-AI, Neuralink, FDIC and New Market Highs

Posted on May 22, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

MEDICAL EXECUTIVE-POST – TODAY’S NEWSLETTER BRIEFING

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Essays, Opinions and Curated News in Health Economics, Investing, Business, Management and Financial Planning for Physician Entrepreneurs and their Savvy Advisors and Consultants

“Serving Almost One Million Doctors, Financial Advisors and Medical Management Consultants Daily“

A Partner of the Institute of Medical Business Advisors , Inc.

http://www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com

SPONSORED BY: Marcinko & Associates, Inc.

***

http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

Daily Update Provided By Staff Reporters Since 2007.
How May We Serve You?
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Microsoft unveiled new PCs with AI-powered features.

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource

Hims & Hers stock soared as much as 38% on the news that it’ll provide GLP-1 injections with the same active ingredient as Ozempic or Wegovy for just $199/month—an 85% discount compared to Wegovy’s ~$1,350 monthly price tag (without insurance).

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FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg will resign after an investigation found widespread sexual harassment at the agency. But he won’t step down until a successor is named.

CITE: https://tinyurl.com/2h47urt5

The FDA granted Elon Musk’s neurotech company Neuralink, approval to place its brain chip into a second human test subject using a new method designed to correct issues that arose after its inaugural insertion in January, per the Wall Street Journal.

And, Optum Rx is shaking up its pharmacy model. The business says it will make drug costs more predictable and transparent for clients.

CITE: https://tinyurl.com/tj8smmes

  • All three indexes ended the day higher after Fed Governor Christopher Waller stopped by CNBC and mentioned he doesn’t think raising interest rates is in the cards, even if the Fed is waiting for more data before making cuts. The NASDAQ continued to hit new all-time highs today as investors place their bets before Nvidia’s earnings announcement tomorrow afternoon, and the S&P 500 hit yet another record.
  • Copper continued to rise as the market comes to terms with the metal’s importance, while oil fell on the news that the Biden administration will release 1 million barrels of gasoline this summer from the Northeast reserve. Meanwhile, ethereum continued to climb on the news that a new ETF may be joining the fray.

Here’s where the major benchmarks ended:

  • The S&P 500 index rose 13.28 points (0.3%) to 5,321.41; the Dow Jones Industrial Average® ($DJI) gained 66.22 points (0.2%) to 39,872.99; the NASDAQ Composite advanced 37.75 points (0.2%) to 16,832.62.
  • The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) lost more than 2 basis points to 4.414%.
  • The CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX) fell 0.29 to 11.86.

Banking and consumer staples were among the market’s strongest performers Tuesday, while utility shares extended a sharp upswing over the past month. The Dow Jones Utility Average® ($DJU) added 0.5% and closed at a 12-month high. Transportation companies were among the weakest performers.

In other markets, Gold (/GC) futures slipped from Monday’s record high above $2,454 per ounce, while Silver (/SI) futures ended near a 12-year high around $32.21. Gold futures are still up 17% this year due to several factors, including reports of China’s central bank buying actual gold as well as escalating conflict in the Middle East. Gold is viewed by some as a safe-haven asset during periods of heightened geopolitical tension.

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