Missouri State of Mind

The political maneuvering around declaring COVID over and done is absolutely fascinating. But, today, I am interested in the official end of the declaration of public health emergency by the federal government. So much hinges on the termination date: HIPAA requirement waivers; nursing home staffing standards waivers, are two that loom large. Today, I learned the official termination of the federal pronouncement of the public health emergency has been extended until January 1, 2023.

One business analysis article implies it is a no brainer and an obvious brand expansion for Walgreens and others to expand into the home health industry. OK, so maybe this is promising for industry, but would it be good for consumers? Or, is it CMS’s proposed home health payment rule that is triggering much of this?

Who wants to take a field trip to Best Buy in November? Word is, their new in-store sale centers for OTC will be up and running by then. The New York Times wonders how hearing aid dependent audiology practices will adjust to the pivot to selling hearing aid support for equipment purchased elsewhere. I do as well. Might their resources be turned to helping more intensively those beyond mild to moderate hearing loss — the target demographic for OTC hearing aids? The hearing aid industry is ripe for disruption in the moderate to severe hearing loss group as well.

https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/

Those with mild to moderate hearing loss will lead the way, when we see a spike in OTC hearing aid sales in sixty days. You heard it here.

You can find me here.

The Naloxone Bike makes a difference, both in education about the administration of Naloxone and in the dangers of recreational drug use in a society awash with Fentanyl and unknowing Fentanyl consumers.

It has taken a while, but the FTC has spoken out against the anti-competitive effects of Certificates of Public Advantage Laws, those state laws that extend an antitrust shield to merging acute care hospital entities seeking to merge or affiliate in the name of the greater good. COPAs are beyond having a moment and have, over the past few decades, become decidedly fashionable. In light of this, the FTC’s bottom line that the states should stop, turn about face, and repeal these statutes seems curiously pie in the sky. Are COPAs the source of rising health costs and declining competition in the acute care hospital sector or an attempt at a quasi-regulatory fix?

Paul Krugman frames the questions and surveys the book well here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/28/opinion/technology-progress-innovation-satisfaction.html

Yes, at least in part. Now we will have to decide if state by state sole source contracting for WIC enrollees is also problematic.