Articles related to PUBLIC HEALTH

Massachusetts ended its statewide requirement for all students to wear masks in public schools in February 2022, and numerous school districts in the state later relaxed their masking regulations. Only the Boston and neighboring Chelsea districts in the greater Boston area maintained masking requirements through June 2022. In the 15 weeks following the cancellation of the statewide masking policy, there were an additional 44.9 COVID-19 cases per 1,000 students and staff in school districts in the greater Boston area.

Aniruddha Hazra, MD, of Howard Brown Health in Chicago, and colleagues found that of 90 people who tested positive for monkeypox following a single dose of Jynneos, 77% of the cases happened within 14 days of the first dose and 14% occurred within 14-28 days of the first dose. Five positive tests were returned following a second dose of the modified vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN) vaccine in the eight cases that occurred 28 days after vaccine initiation.

In a three-page letter, Kathryn A. Coleman, director of the agency’s Medicare Drug and Health Plan Contract Administration Group, stated that CMS is immediately stepping up its examination of marketing materials, which are required to be submitted in accordance with its legal “File and Use” authority for Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans, and “may exercise its authority to prohibit” their use. As of right now, Medicare Advantage marketing materials are allowed to go live five days after being submitted, as long as the company submitting them “certifies the material complies with all applicable standards.” Starting January 1, 2023, however, no television advertisements will be eligible for submission under its “File and Use” authority, meaning that the advertisements will not air until CMS approves them.

All eligible Medicare beneficiaries who received treatment at Mayo facilities in Arizona and Florida over the previous three years were sent letters this past fall urging them to sign up for original Medicare and a supplement. When asked about the purpose of the letters, Kevin Punsky, the Mayo communications manager, said that they are meant to act as “a courtesy reminder” at the start of the annual Medicare re-enrollment window, which started on October 15.

In a 2021 poll conducted by West Health and Gallup, 7% of American respondents said they had difficulty paying for at least one prescription drug in the previous three months. The same survey also found that 1 in 10 Americans had skipped medication doses in the previous year in order to save money. The well-known billionaire Mark Cuban is aiming to alter that with the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, which will lower the cost and provide access to hundreds of prescriptions for people all around the nation. “Everyone should have safe, affordable medicines with transparent prices.” Mark Cuban

Elham Hatef, MD, a clinical informatician at the Johns Hopkins Center for Population Health IT, discussed the findings of her recent study, “Outcomes of in-person and telehealth ambulatory encounters during COVID-19 within a large commercially insured cohort,” in this Q&A with Psych Congress Network.