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What We're Reading: Reconsidering Deferred Action Elimination; CDC Advises Against Vaping; Sanders Eyes Medical Debt
The Trump administration reconsiders eliminating the deferred deportation of immigrants receiving life-saving treatment; CDC and FDA urge vapers to stop usage amid correlating lung illnesses; Sanders hints at proposal to eliminate medical debt.
Faced With Criticism, Trump Administration Reverses Abrupt End to Humanitarian Relief
The Trump administration announced yesterday that it would reconsider its decision to deport immigrants facing life-threatening illnesses to their home countries, according to The New York Times. Last month, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services eliminated a “deferred action” program allowing immigrants to avoid deportation while they or their relatives received lifesaving medical treatment. This controversial move was met with backlash by the public and by the medical establishment, who condemned the program. Whether the program will be reintroduced in the future as a limited version of the original is still under review.
CDC Urges Vapers to Beware as Toll of Lung Cases Rises to 215
The CDC and FDA advised vapers to stop their vape usage amid an epidemic of mysterious lung illnesses that has grown to at least 215 cases, Politico reports. Both federal agencies reported that 25 states have exhibited a serious respiratory illness that has been linked to vaping, with many patients attributing their vape usage to marijuana related products like tetrahydrocannabinol or cannabidiol. The CDC issued a health alert that urged clinicians to look for indications of pulmonary disease for any patient who had used vapes in the last 90 days.
Sen. Bernie Sanders Teases Plan to Cancel $81 Billion in Americans’ Medical Debt
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders plans to announce a proposal to cancel $81 billion worth of medical debt attached to financially struggling Americans. The Washington Post reports that Sanders plans to finance this proposal, and other ideas such as a Medicare-for-all system, through new taxes on wealthy businesses and individuals, as well as middle class Americans. Details of the medical debt eliminating proposal are still to be determined, but Sanders hinted at the federal government’s potential role in negotiating and paying off all in collection past-due medical bills reported to credit agencies.
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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