Queer Calendar For March 9

 

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – March 1, 2023 –  On March 1^st, the drugmaker Eli Lilly announced price cuts for some of its older insulin medicines and a monthly cost cap. According to the American Diabetes Association, between 8 and 9 million Americans need insulin to control their blood sugar. However, more than 1.3 million adults either skipped or had to ration doses because of the high cost of insulin. Therefore, this new policy will eliminate the financial barrier to obtain these life-saving medicines. The drugmaker has been under pressure from patients, patient advocates, and elected officials to keep insulin affordable.

Lilly will lower the list prices for Humalog (the most commonly prescribed insulin) and Humulin insulin by 70 percent. Patients with high deductible health insurance and without health insurance will save a lot of money because they frequently pay the list price.

The drugmaker will cap the monthly out-of-pocket cost at $35 for people with private health insurance. Uninsured people can get their insulin at the same monthly cap cost by obtaining a savings card at the insulinaffordability.com website.

The company said in a press release, “Lilly is taking these actions to make it easier to access Lilly insulin and help Americans who may have difficulty navigating a complex healthcare system that may keep them from getting affordable insulin.”

Lilly’s new insulin price controls come after a recent surge in public and political interest about the cost of insulin tripling over the past 20 years. The Inflation Reduction Act, recently passed by Congress, has capped the monthly insulin prices for Medicare Part D beneficiaries at $35. However, persons younger than 65 were excluded from the cost savings. Therefore, at his recent State of the Union speech in February, Biden proposed that Congress pass a bill to cap the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for everyone.

After hearing about Lilly’s insulin price reduction, President Biden responded, “It’s a big deal, and it’s time for other manufacturers to follow.” Only about 30% of Americans with diabetes who take insulin use insulin manufactured by Lilly. Other prominent insulin manufactures have not yet followed Lilly’s lead.

Almost 11% of Americans, about 34 million people, have diabetes, a chronic disease. If untreated, the blood glucose level becomes too high leading to short-term problems (like frequent urination, blurred vision and fatigue) and long-term problems (like heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, frequent infections, and nerve damage). Keeping blood sugar under good control is very important to avoid complications. Our body converts food into glucose which is converted into energy as needed. Insulin is a vital hormone that is produced in the pancreas. It regulates the amount of glucose in the blood and, indirectly, controls the amount of energy produced. People with type 1 diabetes produce little or no insulin and must take this medicine every day. Some people with type 2 diabetes require insulin.

Dr. Robert Lash, chief medical officer of the Endocrine Society, said  “Insulin is one of those medicines, particularly for those with Type 1 diabetes, that’s in the must-have category. If you don’t have it, you die.”

 

 

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

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RALEIGH, NC – March 2, 2023 – At a March 2^nd press conference, Senator President pro tem Phil Berger (R-Eden) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain), the leaders in the N.C. General Assembly, announced an agreement to go forward with Medicaid Expansion (ME) legislation. This includes major provisions from House Bill (HB) 76, that recently passed a House vote, as well as several Certificate of Need reform measures included in last year’s senate ME bill. They will make the specifics public in the future. The deal is not likely to be voted on for at least one month. The bill will be tied directly to the 2023-24 state budget. The budget must be signed by December 31 (the end of this legislative session) to become law on January 1, 2024.

North Carolina is one of 11 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. Expanding Medicaid will enable 6 hundred thousand under-resourced North Carolinians to have access to health care including almost 17 thousand people from Buncombe County. Most of the registered voters in N.C. are in favor of expanding Medicaid by a 3:1 margin. The Medicaid expansion issue stalled during last year’s legislative session. Each chamber passed their own version, but they couldn’t agree on additional provisions to be attached to the core proposal.

The House passed House Bill (HB) 76 with a wide bipartisan majority which features expanding Medicaid. It was sponsored by Representative Donny Lambeth (R-eastern Forsyth County). The bill includes provisions for job training for the unemployed, for hospitals to cover the remainder of the state’s cost to expand Medicare, and a program for loan forgiveness for doctors and nurses that choose to practice in underserved areas.

The new agreement includes loosening the Certificate of Need (CON) laws that would increase health care competition and lower health care costs. This measure can increase the number of facilities and personnel for more people to access health care.

Moore said at the press conference, “What a huge policy direction this is that will provide help for so many in this state, but it’s going to do it in a way that’s fiscally responsible.”

 

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

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ASHEVILLE, NC – March 8, 2023 – The CDC reports that the community level for Buncombe County remains at a low level for the week ending February 27^th. 90% of the counties in North Carolina are low. More than 4 out of 5 counties in the U.S. are at a low level with about 2% at a high level.

The Buncombe County COVID-19 metrics are on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard. Data from the week ending on February 25^th indicate:

• Last week’s total cases are down 10% from the previous week to the lowest level in almost 11 months
• 68% of the total population have received their initial vaccination series.
• 32% of people with their initial vaccination series have had the updated booster.
• The seven-day daily average of COVID-19 hospitalizations has increased by 4 and of ICU patients has increased by 1 from last week.

An updated COVID-19 booster is now available for eligible persons 6 months and older. It is more effective at protecting against severe illness and death from the new variants.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:

• Stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines and the updated booster.
• People with any COVID symptoms should get tested
• People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home

For a county at a low community level, like Buncombe County, the CDC recommends:

• If you are at high risk for getting sick, wear a high-quality mask in a public indoors space.
• If you plan on being with someone at high risk for getting sick, consider self-testing for COVID-19 infection and wear a high-quality mask when indoors with them.

 

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