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ASHEVILLE, NC – January 8, 2025 – There is a surge of respiratory viral infections, like COVID-19, influenza (the flu) and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), as people spend more time indoors during the cold winter months and due to an increase in indoor gatherings and travel during the holidays. However, the COVID pandemic has made us aware that we can take steps to reduce spreading respiratory viruses. Therefore, we must protect at-risk groups, like older adults and the immunocompromised, who remain susceptible to getting severely ill.

The CDC’s COVID Dashboard for the week ending on January 3^rd shows:  

• Between 1-9 of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the lowest level of 6 groups.
• Emergency department visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina, representing 1% of all visits, and with a moderate increase since last week.

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. Due to the holiday schedule, the Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater monitoring dashboard was not updated this week. Wastewater monitoring data for more respiratory illnesses will be obtained during the respiratory illness season. During the week of December 22-28, the level of RSV viral activity in the North Carolina wastewater, measured at 3 sites, was high.

The CDC’s weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending on December 28^th indicates that levels are either high or very high in 43 of the 48 continental states, particularly in the South and the West. North Carolina is at a high level.

The CDC reports that the weekly percent of positive tests for RSV in Region 4 (which are the states in the southeast U.S. including North Carolina) had climbed to more than 10% from November 16^th to the present, reaching a peak of more than 15% just before Christmas. The most recent report on the week of December 28^th shows that percent positivity is almost 15%. Positive test levels for RSV were above 10% last winter from October 7^th to December 9^th.

The weekly North Carolina Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard was last updated for the week ending on December 28^th. Almost 15% of all emergency room patients had symptoms of a respiratory viral illness and these have increased since last week. There were more than 17 hundred hospital admissions from the emergency department for people who had a diagnosis, or symptoms, of respiratory viral infection and they have increased since last week. These are at the highest levels since last winter.

 

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

 

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, NC – December 25, 2024 – An October study of Hurricane Helene by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) found that climate change accounted for an increase in rainfall by 10%. The organization is a collaboration of academicians from Europe and the U.S. that study the impact of climate change on extreme weather events.

Factors that contributed to the rainfall increase was the rise in sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and atmospheric warming. There is more water evaporation because the ocean is warmer, and a warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapor. According to the World Meteorological Association, for every 1 degree Celsius of atmospheric warming, there is 7% more rainfall. However, the actual rainfall can vary depending on local geography and climate. Therefore, global warming due to climate change can increase rainfall for each storm.

Buncombe County is situated in the Southern Appalachian region which is more vulnerable to rainfall when moist air runs into the Blue Ridge Mountains. Moisture-ladened air rises after it strikes the steep mountains and quickly releases the moisture as rain. Therefore, more rainfall can be associated with more episodes of flooding if the region is not able to drain off the increased amount of rain.

Atmospheric temperatures have increased since the mid-20^th century and are associated with a rise in greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. The 10 most recent years have been the warmest since records have been kept from the mid-1800’s. 2023 was the hottest year ever. Temperatures are close to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels of the 1850’s.

Climate change is a world-wide problem that is driven by the human activity of burning fossil fuels particularly gas-powered vehicles, coal-burning power plants and factories. Carbon dioxide is a major fossil fuel combustion product. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide is at its highest level in more than 3 million years.

Most scientists feel that the solution to global warming is to drastically reduce the amount of fossil fuel combustion, like coal and gas. Measures include increasing renewable energy, like solar and wind power.

 

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 – December 25, 2024 – For the first time ever, Medicare can negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies over the cost of drugs. On August 15^th, the results of negotiations between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and pharmaceutical companies over the price of ten expensive and commonly prescribed medicines were announced. The discounts range from about 40 to 80% of last year’s cost. The bargaining process took almost 1 year to complete. The new prices will begin on January 1, 2026.

Drug cost negotiation is one of the provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that will make health care more affordable for seniors. The government sought to obtain the lowest maximum fair price while allowing the drug companies to make a profit. Thirty more drugs will be selected over the next 2 years for price negotiation.

Drugs were selected from 2 categories. Each has either been on the market for at least 7 years without a competing generic version or is a physician-administered “biologic” drug that has been on the market for at least 11 years. The drugs are: Eliquis & Xarelto (blood thinners), Jardiance, Januvia and Novolog (for diabetes treatment), Farxiga (for the treatment of diabetes and heart failure), Entresto (for heart failure), Enbrel (for the treatment of autoimmune disease), Imbruvica (for the treatment of blood cancer) and Stelara (for psoriasis and other inflammatory disorders).

The cost for these 10 drugs was about 20% of the total spending for Medicare enrollees, over $50 billion, for the year between June 1, 2022, through May 31, 2023, not including rebates and discounts. Medicare covered most of the cost. However, almost 9 million Medicare beneficiaries had to spend almost $3.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs.

CMS estimates that people enrolled in Medicare prescription drug coverage can save $1.5 billion, taxpayers can save $6 billion, and drug coverage premiums will decrease.

According to research from the Commonwealth Fund, almost 1 out of 10 Medicare enrollees ages 65 and older did not fill their prescription or skipped taking a drug dose due to cost in 2021. In a statement last year by President Biden, “Millions of Americans are forced to choose between paying for medicines they need to live or paying for food, rent, and other basic necessities. Those days are ending.”

 

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

 

RALEIGH, NC – December 11, 2024 – About one year ago, on December 1, 2023, North Carolina officially became the 40^th state to expand Medicaid, the federal program for health insurance for low-resource individuals. This legislative achievement was due to the strong grassroots support by many organizations and the efforts of Governor Cooper and both houses of the General Assembly. ME was in the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and left to each state to decide in a subsequent Supreme Court ruling.

ME increases health care access to eligible North Carolinians ages 19-64 and their families by relaxing the program’s strict eligibility requirements. There have been almost 590 thousand people who have been enrolled since the law took effect including more than 14 thousand residents of Buncombe County. It is estimated that 600 thousand North Carolinians are eligible for ME, with 15.5 thousand from Buncombe County. The state is already more than 98% of the way to enrolling all eligible persons and Buncombe County is more than 90% of the way there.

In a recent interview with North Carolina Health News, Governor Cooper said, “When I ran for governor, one of my top priorities was creating a North Carolina where people were healthier and could get the care that they need to have lives of purpose and abundance.” He added, “We knew that Medicaid expansion was an important way of making that happen, because there were a lot of hardworking people in North Carolina who were making too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough money to qualify for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.”

 

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

 

RALEIGH, NC – August 7, 2024 – Each of the state’s 99 hospitals have signed up for a new state program to reduce medical debt. On July 1^st, Governor Cooper announced an initiative to increase federal payments to participating hospitals who agree to forgive medical debt for low- and middle-income patients. The sign-up deadline for hospitals was August 9^th. The medical debt program is believed to be the first of its kind in the United States. Uncollectible medical debt dating back to 2014 will be forgiven. Our local hospitals, Mission Hospital, AdventHealth Hendersonville, and Pardee Memorial Hospital have signed on.

There is a medical debt crisis in North Carolina. According to 2022 credit bureau data analyzed by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit organization that shapes economic and social policy through research, 20% of North Carolina’s residents has medical debt in collections, the fourth highest state in the country. Black and Hispanic persons and people living in rural areas are disproportionately affected by having medical debt.

The medical debt program will be funded by federal money coming from the Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program (HASP) because the state Medicaid program shifted to managed care. It is estimated that 2 million low- and middle-income North Carolinians will have $4 billion of medical debt forgiven.

Former patients do not have to take any action now, because the hospitals will work with a third-party vendor to identify who is eligible for relief.

 

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

 

WINSTON-SALEM, NC – October 4, 2024 – Staying healthy during major floods is a challenge. About a week after Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina, I heard a timely interview on a Winston-Salem radio station. WFDD’s David Ford interviewed Dr. Christopher Ohl, a professor of internal medicine and infectious diseases at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The doctor offered some great tips on how to stay healthy during major floods and recommended ways of being prepared for major catastrophic events.

We must have water. Here’s how water can keep us healthy:
• Hydration
• Personal hygiene, bathing, and brushing teeth
• Washing hands before eating and after going to the bathroom will reduce the risk of getting sick
• Food preparation
• Washing clothes and dishes
• Flushing toilets

Here’s what you can do to be ready for a major flood:
• Stockpile food and water
• Stay up to date with vaccination for respiratory illnesses
• Have an evacuation plan like staying out-of-town with friends or relatives
• Have strong mental health services available

The mental health impact after floods may be the biggest health problem in the long run because it may last longer than other health problems. Natural disasters, like floods, can cause someone to feel helpless, grief stricken, and anxious. Grief reactions can occur from personal loss. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with the trauma following a major catastrophe. Anxiety and panic attacks can occur as can depression and suicide.

 

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