- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
What We’re Reading: Amgen to Buy Horizon for $27.8B; Indoor Masks Back Due to “Tripledemic”; Juul to Settle Vaping Cases for $1.7B
Amgen will buy Horizon Therapeutics for $27.8 billion as the largest health care merger of 2022; high levels of 3 respiratory illness incite reassessment of domestic indoor mask guidelines; Juul Labs is reported to pay $1.7 billion over 500 settlements that claim that e-cigarette addiction level is higher than advertised.
Amgen to Purchase Horizon Therapeutics for $27.8 Billion
Amgen Inc. will purchase Horizon Therapeutics PLC for $27.8 billion, making it the biggest health care merger of 2022, according to The Wall Street Journal. Amgen will purchase each share from Horizon at $116.50, which is a premium of 19.7% more than Friday’s closing price of the stock at $97.29 per share and almost 50% more than the trade price last month upon the announcement of the sale. The acquisition of Horizon gives Amgen the opportunity to add more rare immune-disease drugs to Amgen’s docket, and as per Jefferies & Co., the addition of Horizon gives Amgen the ability to increase its income by about $4 billion by 2024.
Masking Indoors Being Highly Recommended Amidst the “Tripledemic”
Emerging levels of 3 respiratory viruses are prompting public health officials to reassess indoor masking, NPR reported. In recent weeks, COVID-19, the flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have infected millions of Americans, caused cold medicine shortages, and burdened emergency rooms, leading to several health epidemics to coin the term “tripledemic.” These illnesses have been overtaxing health care systems across the United States and incited renewed recommendations to wear masks indoors in select “high” infection areas as per the CDC’s interactive map measuring COVID-19 community levels.
Juul Vaping Settlement Rumored at $1.7 Billion
Due to claims that the addiction level of Juul Labs’ e-cigarettes was higher than advertised, the company will pay $1.7 billion to over 5,000 lawsuits enacted by school districts, local governments, and individual, reported The New York Times. Marketing restrictions towards young people are now in place for the company. Last week, settlement terms were reached but not yet released, and Juul has made no expressions of wrongdoing or admitted to targeting minors when coming to other settlements with plaintiffs. Juul products are still being sold in the United States despite ongoing FDA review.
Health Care Utilization and Cost of Diagnostic Testing for Respiratory Infections
September 17th 2025Syndromic reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction tests for respiratory infections were associated with lower health care resource utilization and costs, implicating potential for improved value in patient care.
Read More
Preventing Respiratory Illness and Death Through Tighter Air Quality Standards
June 1st 2021On this episode of Managed Care Cast, a research scholar at the Marron Institute of Urban Management at New York University discusses the latest findings in the Health of the Air report, which was presented at the recent American Thoracic Society 2021 International Conference.
Listen
Rurality, Long Travel Times Limit Access to Tobacco Treatment for Patients With COPD Who Smoke
August 30th 2025Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who smoke were less likely to receive tobacco dependence treatment (TDT) if they lived in rural areas or had longer travel times to care, highlighting persistent geographic disparities in access.
Read More
Multidisciplinary Approaches to Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Review of Respiratory Therapies
August 13th 2025The treatment of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is moving toward a personalized, multidisciplinary approach that combines surgical options with a growing number of nonsurgical alternatives, to better address the unique needs of each child.
Read More
