- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
What We’re Reading: Blocking Purdue Bankruptcy Deal; Mississippi Tops in COVID-19 Deaths; Mass Shootings Increasing
The Department of Justice moves to stop Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy deal; Mississippi records the nation's highest COVID-19 death rate; the pandemic coincided with a rise in mass shootings.
Halting Purdue's Bankruptcy Deal
A Department of Justice division filed an appeal to block the controversial Purdue Pharma bankruptcy deal that would protect the Sackler family from any future liability, NPR reports. In addition, documents were filed to prevent implementation of the settlement, which was approved September 1 and granted the family immunity form opioid-related lawsuits. Those who support the settlement argued it would avoid costly litigation and help spur funding for drug treatment programs. The Sacklers, who own Purdue and earned more than $10 billion from opioid sales, are not bankrupt and have repeatedly said they have done nothing wrong and acted ethically.
Mississippi Records Highest COVID-19 Death Rate
Approximately 1 of every 320 Mississippians has died of COVID-19, meaning it has surpassed New Jersey to become the state with the highest COVID-19 death rate in the country, according to The Associated Press. The state’s top health official warned more deaths will follow as Mississippi reports over 2500 cases of COVID-19 per day. In total, over 9000 Mississippians have died of COVID-19, while the state has a population of roughly 3 million and one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country. In comparison, New Jersey saw a spike in COVID-19 deaths in the Spring of 2020 when the pandemic first began and vaccines were not yet developed.
Mass Shootings Increased During Pandemic
New research published in JAMA Network Open found large increases in mass shootings in the United States with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting the notion that mass shootings may be influenced by social and economic factors. Researchers used data from the Gun Violence Archive and assessed rates from January 2014 through June of 2021. Mass shootings were defined as those in which 4 or more people were killed or injured, excluding the perpetrator. Estimates suggest that during this time frame, there were 343 more mass shootings than expected, resulting in an additional 217 people killed and 1498 injured.
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.
Read More
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.
Listen
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.
Listen
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.
Read More
