After receiving approval earlier this month from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate a commercial drone fleet that will carry small metal boxes, UPS announced this week that it’s expanding drone-delivery services to include CVS Pharmacy, Kaiser Permanente, wholesale pharmaceutical distributor AmerisourceBergen and the University of Utah health system.  UPS is hitting the healthcare business on all sides, from patients to providers and suppliers, for faster deliveries of lab testing, prescriptions and medical supplies. UPS expects the unmanned aircraft to cut down a 30-minute truck drive to 3 minutes and 15 seconds.

The opioid crisis cost the U.S. economy $631 billion from 2015 through last year, according to a study by the Society of Actuaries. The biggest driver of the cost over the four-year period is unrealized lifetime earnings of those who died from the drugs, followed by healthcare costs. While more than 2,000 state and local governments have sued the drug industry over the crisis, the report finds that governments bear less than one-third of the financial costs. The rest are borne by individuals and the private sector.

An analysis of new census data shows the number of children in the United States without any kind of insurance rose by more than 400,000 between 2016 and 2018 after decades of progress, the N.Y. Times reports. The article indicates that there is growing evidence that administrative changes and rising fears of deportation in immigrant communities are pushing large numbers of children out of coverage under federal programs.

Pennsylvania and three other states have reached an $8 billion deal with five companies over their roles in fueling the deadly opioid epidemic, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced this week. An agreement in principle was reached with Cardinal Health, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, Johnson & Johnson and Teva that will provide $22.25 billion in cash and another $26 billion for medication-assisted treatment drug provision and distribution over 10 years. The deal also includes North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. The $26 billion in generic suboxone product, product distribution, and data-tracking measures will be distributed to the four states over a 10-year period.  The states chose the settlements as a way to get the resources necessary to combat the opioid crisis rather than endure the delays of a lengthy court process and post-trial settlements. Still pending is a lawsuit filed last month by Shapiro against the Sackler Family, whose Purdue Pharma has been sued by states and local governments across the country for the role of OxyContin in the opioid epidemic.

On October 15, 2019,the Pennsylvaia Department of Human Services (DHS) released the Pennsylvania HealthChoices Physical Health Medicaid Managed Care request for applications (RFA). Reflecting the current framework, Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) will serve the five HealthChoices zones covering all 67 counties: Southeast, Southwest, LehighCapital, Northwest, and Northeast. Contracts are worth nearly $13 billion. Pennsylvania failed to implement new contracts and negated awards from 2016 as well as the awards from the 2017 rebid. As a result, the HealthChoices program is currently operating under extensions of contracts originally awarded in 2012. The most recent awards in early 2017, which would have been for a three-year, $12 billion contract, were protested by Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, and AmeriHealth Caritas, leading the state to cancel the RFA and reissue the procurement. Applications are due December 17, 2019, and contracts are expected to begin January 2021, running for five years, with an option to extend for an additional period of three years. An award date was not announced.

Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman announced Pennsylvania’s approved 2020 individual and small group ACA health insurance rates, highlighted increased marketplace competition within several counties and noted a decrease in counties with only one carrier. Click here to see the press release. Pennsylvania will have seven insurers in the health insurance market offering individual plans for 2020.

• Ambetter
• Capital Blue Cross
• Geisinger Health Plan
• Highmark
• Independence Blue Cross
• Oscar
• UPMC

On October 11, 2019, two District Courts issued nationwide preliminary injunctions to stop the Trump Administration’s public charge rule, which would have taken effect Oct. 15, 2019.  This proposal was opposed by NACHC, PACHC and many other organizations that expressed concern about the proposal’s impact on immigrant families and refugees. An article further explaining the ruling can be found here. A Kaiser Family Foundation study showed Community Health Centers   reported that immigrant patients have declined to enroll in or renew Medicaid coverage out of fear of becoming a public charge, even those patients who are not covered by this rule.

The Pennsylvania Department of State this announced a brand new public facing Licensure Processing Guide. The guide breaks down the licensing process into three phases and provides the average length of time each phase will take as of the previous quarter. It also offers recommendations for how to shorten processing times. Additionally, new to the department’s website are two short videos, “How to Apply for a Professional License” and “What Happens to My Application.” The first boards featured in the Licensure Processing Guide are the Cosmetology, Nursing and Osteopathic Medicine Boards. More licensing boards will be built and additional licenses will be added to existing boards on a rolling basis, with the Medical, Real Estate and Engineering Boards in process now.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has announced that it will collect unwanted vaping devices during its National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow at collections sites throughout the United States. The announcement comes as updated CDC data shows the number of cases of a lung illness officials believe is linked to e-cigarette use and vaping has reached 1,604. (Sources: NPR’s “Shots,” 10/25; CNN, 10/24)

Cleveland Clinic this week released its annual list of the top 10 medical innovations the health system predicts will “transform health care” in 2020. The list includes a dual-acting osteoporosis drug, an oral immunotherapy to reduce the effect of peanut allergies, and more. (Source: Becker’s Health IT & CIO Report, 10/24)