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What We’re Reading: Abortion Rate Drops; Rebound of COVID-19 Symptoms; Marketplace Enrollment Opens
The legal abortion rate has fallen 6% since the overturning of Roe v Wade; 30% of patients with COVID-19 experienced a rebound in symptoms after 2 consecutive days without; open enrollment for Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance begins this week.
Abortion Rates Fall in Wake of Roe v Wade Decision
According to a report from the Society of Family Planning, the decision on Dobbs v Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization led to a 6% decrease in legal abortions between April and August 2022. This number amounted to 10,670 fewer abortions that occurred in July and August 2022, with the national abortion rate having decreased from 14 per 1000 women of reproductive age in April to 13 per 1000 in August. Despite the decrease overall, abortions in virtual-only clinics increased from 2830 in April 2022 (3% of all abortions) to 3780 in August 2022 (4.7% of all abortions), an increase of 33%.
Rebounding Symptoms in Patients With COVID-19
Thirty percent of patients with untreated COVID-19 found that their symptoms rebounded after they were symptom free for at least 2 consecutive days, according to CIDRAP. The researchers studied the effects of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir on rebounding symptoms. A total of 68% of patients reported symptom resolution, of which 44% (30% of all patients) reported having a reoccurrence of at least 1 of 13 symptoms. The most common symptoms to rebound were cough (44%), fatigue (35%), and headache (35%). The study took place before COVID-19 vaccines were available.
Open Enrollment for ACA Plans Begins This Week
Coverage for 2023 will be affected by the steps taken by the Biden administration and Congress to change the premiums and subsidies as open enrollment for coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) begins this week, according to KHN. Among the changes in coverage this year, families who haven’t qualified for subsidies could now be eligible, as a new rule expanded the number of families with job-based insurance who can forgo their coverage and qualify for subsides to get an ACA plan instead. Varying state coverage for abortion, existing debts not preventing coverage, and easier comparison shopping are among the other changes in ACA coverage.
Urticaria Diagnosis Challenged by Overlapping Pruritic Skin Conditions
April 23rd 2025Urticaria is complicated to diagnose by its symptomatic overlap with other skin conditions and the frequent misclassification in literature of distinct pathologies like vasculitic urticaria and bullous pemphigus.
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New Research Challenges Assumptions About Hospital-Physician Integration, Medicare Patient Mix
April 22nd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Brady Post, PhD, lead author of a study published in the April 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, challenges the claim that hospital-employed physicians serve a more complex patient mix.
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Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
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ACOs’ Focus on Rooting Out Fraud Aligns With CMS Vision Under Oz
April 23rd 2025Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are increasingly playing the role of data sleuths as they identify and report trends of anomalous billing in hopes of salvaging their shared savings. This mission dovetails with that of CMS, which under the new administration plans to prioritize rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.
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