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RALEIGH, NC – July, 2023 – North Carolina cannot expand Medicaid until the Republican-dominated General Assembly can decide upon the 2023-24 state budget. A state Medicaid expansion bill was passed by the General Assembly and was signed by the Governor on March 27^th_. However, the bill is tied directly to agreeing upon the 2023-24 state budget. The House and the Senate have been negotiating over the budget for months and no deal had been reached before the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1^st. Therefore, it is imperative that the General Assembly agree upon the state budget in order for six hundred thousand under-resourced North Carolinians to have access to health care, including almost 17 thousand people from Buncombe County. Any raises for state employees including teachers and the police are also on hold until the budget is passed. A deal is likely to be reached in mid-August after the legislators return from their summer vacation and political conferences.

House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger have told reporters that the impasse is due to decisions about taxes and budget reserves. The Democrat legislators have been very critical of the Republicans legislators for the delay. Representative Jason Saine, a Republican from Lincolnton and the House head budget writer, says that the delay is about the Republicans being ‘pragmatic’ and working through the budget process. There is no possibility of a government shutdown because the new fiscal year spending rolls over at the previous year’s amount.

North Carolina is waiting to be the 40^th state to expand Medicaid. There are now 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid as recommended in the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and left to each state to decide in a subsequent Supreme Court ruling.

Attorney General Josh Stein, who is running for Governor in 2024, told the Charlotte News & Observer that he is “disappointed by what appears to be a lack of concern for the real priorities of the people of North Carolina.”

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

ASHEVILLE, NC – July 19, 2023 – The COVID-19 metrics are on the CDC’s COVID Dashboard. Weekly data indicate:

• Hospital admissions are at a low level in every county in North Carolina and almost 100% of the counties in the U.S. from the week ending on July 1^st
• 19 deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID-19 during the week ending on July 8^th
• Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina from the week ending on July 8^th

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wants everyone to know that:

• COVID-19 can affect people differently. Some people have mild symptoms like a cold and others have more severe symptoms like a bad case of the flu. Some effects can be long-lasting.
• Older adults and immunocompromised people are at a higher risk of developing severe illness and being hospitalized. The CDC recommends that people in these groups get an updated COVID-19 bivalent booster because it gives added protection.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:

• Stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines
• For extra protection, wear an effective medical grade mask
• People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home
• People with any COVID symptoms should get tested
• If you test positive, your doctor may recommend medical treatment

More and more Americans have developed some immunity to COVID-19 from immunizations and previous infection. New variants continue to infect people with the most at-risk groups more susceptible to severe illness.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

WASHINGTON, DC – July 6, 2023 – On July 6^th, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully approved the new Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi (generic name lecanemab) and Medicare responded that it would cover most of its high cost. The drug has been shown to slow cognitive decline in patients with early stages of the disease. However, the medicine is associated with significant health risks. This is the first time in more than 20 years that the FDA has approved a drug for Alzheimer’s disease. It has been estimated that about 1.5 million Americans have early Alzheimer’s disease. About 5 million are more severely affected and are not eligible for treatment with lecanamab. Alzheimer’s disease is a disorder of the brain that usually occurs later in life. Afflicted individuals develop problems with memory and thinking skills, and can lose the ability to perform simple tasks. It is the most common cause of dementia in older persons. Alzheimer’s disease is the 5^th leading cause of death for Americans older than 65.

The new Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab significantly slowed the rate of cognitive decline in patients with early-stage disease. The decline was slowed by about 5 months over the 18-month course of the study. Lecanemab is an anti-amyloid antibody that helps remove amyloid plaques. Amyloid is a protein that accumulates in the brain of people afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. It binds with tau protein to form plaques that are thought to effect brain cell function and cause loss of memory and confusion, the hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Christopher Van Dyck, the director of the Yale Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and lead author of the study, said that “Lecanemab reduced markers of amyloid in early Alzheimer’s disease and resulted in less decline than placebo on all measures of cognition and function at 18 months.”

Lecanemab is the first anti-amyloid drug to pass the FDA’s full review. It was developed by 2 pharmaceutical companies. Eisai (a Japanese pharmaceutical company) will lead the development. Biogen (an American company) will lead its commercialization and marketing.

Hundreds of anti-amyloid drugs have been trialed or are in the midst of clinical studies, most with discouraging results. Biogen’s drug aducanumab created much noise with a recent controversial study that, nevertheless, won accelerated FDA approval, but not full approval. The drug was not covered by Medicare (except for clinical trials) due to its high price, unwanted complications and a strong belief that there was little evidence that it slowed cognitive impairment in early Alzheimer’s disease.

1,800 people with mild Alzheimer’s disease were enrolled in the lecanemab study. Participants were assigned to either the drug treatment group or the placebo group. Approximately one out of four participants were from minority groups, which was comparable to the Medicare population. The drug was administered intravenously every 2 weeks. The side-effects of treatment with lecanemab included brain swelling or brain bleeding in about 15% of the patients. This was lower than for patients in the aducanumab trials. Most of these cases have been mild or moderate and have resolved. The adverse effects were significantly more than in the placebo group. However, there have been some serious complications in the clinical trial resulting in 3 deaths. The risk of complication is more common in patients taking blood thinners, with a significant history of brain bleeds, and with 2 copies of an Alzheimer’s-linked genetic mutation called APOE4. This mutation is present in about 15% of people with Alzheimer’s. Patient’s will need to take a genetic test prior to starting treatment.

The high cost of the anti-amyloid medicine lecanemab may be a concern for many people. Its cost is $26,500 a year. However, Medicare will cover 80% of the cost. Therefore, a year’s treatment will cost $5,300 for the medicine. Additional costs include medical visits and regular MRIs that may receive some reimbursement from Medicare. Total treatment may run $90 thousand a year. A recent study calculated future Medicare costs of lecanemab treatment to be from about $2 to 5 billion a year depending on the number of patients prescribed the drug. The authors opined that premiums would rise for all Medicare beneficiaries from Medicare’s cost of lecanemab treatment.

Joanne Pike, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association, feels that the FDA endorsement of lecanemab “can give people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s more time to maintain their independence and do the things that they love. This gives people more months of recognizing their spouse, children and grandchildren.”

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

ASHEVILLE, NC – July 12, 2023 – The COVID-19 metrics are on the CDC’s COVID Dashboard. Weekly data indicate:

• Hospital admissions are at a low level in every county in North Carolina and almost 100% of the counties in the U.S. from the week ending on June 24^th
• Fewer than 10 deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID-19 during the week ending on July 1^st
• Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina from the week ending on July 1^st

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data for the week ending on June 28^th is on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard.

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at a red level representing the highest level of 5 groups.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample is positive, the highest level of the 3 positive groups

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wants everyone to know that:

• COVID-19 can affect people differently. Some people have mild symptoms like a cold and others have more severe symptoms like a bad case of the flu. Some effects can be long-lasting.
• Older adults and immunocompromised people are at a higher risk of developing severe illness and being hospitalized. The CDC recommends that people in these groups get an updated COVID-19 bivalent booster because it gives added protection.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:

• Stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines
• For extra protection, wear an effective medical grade mask
• People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home
• People with any COVID symptoms should get tested
• If you test positive, your doctor may recommend medical treatment

More and more Americans have developed some immunity to COVID-19 from immunizations and previous infection. New variants continue to infect people with the most at-risk groups more susceptible to severe illness.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour