November 14, 2021

Good morning, Huddler. We have some very exciting news to share.

Healthcare Huddle has officially been acquired by Workweek 🎉

Healthcare Huddle was founded right before the pandemic began. A year and a half later, Huddle is now part of Workweek. Through this acquisition, Huddle will now have access to more of the tools it needs to keep you better informed on the happenings in healthcare. Which also means more content coming soon...

Thanks for being part of our community and this journey, we’re so excited for what’s ahead. Stay tuned for more updates 🙂. For now, enjoy Huddle #100.

In today's Huddle:

J&J is saved from paying hundreds of millions of dollars for its role in the opioid crisis.
More J&J news: the company will split its company into J…&...J. But in all seriousness, check out the article.
KFF released data on how Covid-19 impacted employer-sponsored health insurance in 2021.

-- Jared Dashevsky, a Workweek Friend

PUBLIC HEALTH

J&J Saved from Paying $465M for Opioid Crisis

Oklahoma’s Supreme Court tossed out Johnson & Johnson’s $465 million opioid lawsuit. This ruling is a blow to the Oklahoma communities deeply impacted by the opioid crisis, but a win for the opioid drug maker facing thousands of opioid-related lawsuits.

The Deets
In 2019, an Oklahoma District judge ruled that J&J must pay $465 million for its role as a “public nuisance” in the opioid crisis. In this lawsuit, J&J was argued to be a public nuisance through its aggressive marketing of prescription pain pills, which led to devastating addiction and overdoses in Oklahoma communities.

Now, Oklahoma’s highest court reversed the 2019 ruling in a 5-1 vote:

“Oklahoma’s public nuisance law does not extend to the manufacturing, marketing and selling of prescription opioids,” the judges wrote. Note, however, that Oklahoma’s public nuisance law was written in 1910 when manufacturing, marketing and selling of prescription opioids wasn’t really a thing.

Don’t Be So Shocked
A California judge recently ruled that J&J and three other opioid makers cannot be held accountable for the opioid crisis. Like in Oklahoma’s ruling, the marketing and promotion of the companies’ pain medications “did not cause any public nuisance.”

Big Picture
Total overdose deaths reached a record high of nearly 97,000 from March 2020 to March 2021. That’s roughly one-fifth of all opioid-related deaths from 1999 to 2019. The opioid crisis started when pharmaceutical companies began falsely reassuring the medical community that their opioids weren’t addictive, leading to doctors prescribing them at greater rates. Opioid drugmakers, like J&J, are finding as many ways possible to evade these lawsuits.

BUSINESS

J&J Will Split Company into Two

Johnson & Johnson is separating its consumer health products from its pharmaceutical and device operations. The company’s consumer health business will be its own publicly-traded company. Its new name is TBD, but I think it should be “Johnson.”

The J&J Saga
The breakup comes when J&J balances thousands of lawsuits over its baby powder causing cancer and its role in the opioid crisis (see the above article). While Pfizer is making billions off of its Covid-19 vaccine — and thriving — J&J is still trying to gain traction with its vaccine following issues with production and clotting side effects.

But Why Split?
The split allows J&J to have a strong — but separate — focus on its core products and operations, giving the company “even more agility” and “a better opportunity for capital allocation.” J&J will now be better suited to continue serving healthcare stakeholders, including patients, while accelerating profitable growth. The consumer health business is expected to generate $15 billion in FY 2021, while the pharmaceutical and Medical Devices segments are expected to generate $77 billion.

#Trending
General Electric announced it would split up into three companies: aviation, healthcare and energy. The company’s reason for doing so is akin to J&J’s: “greater focus, tailored capital allocation, and strategic flexibility to drive long-term growth and value.” Will we see more companies following suit?

PUBLIC HEALTH

Private Insurance Premiums Bumped Up 4%

Kaiser Family Foundation released their 23rd Employer Health Benefits Survey, revealing just how the pandemic has shaped employer-sponsored health insurance. This is my second-most favorite survey, right behind the census.

Survey Deets
KFF surveyed over 1,600 private firms and non-federal government employers with three or more employees. Here are the key findings:

PPOs enrolled 46% of covered workers in 2021, the most common type of coverage.
The average single and family premiums increased 4% over the past year, right in line with workers’ wages and inflation increases. Four percent may seem small, but the average premium for family coverage has increased 47% over the last 10 years.
Employees contributed 17% of the premium for single coverage and 28% for family coverage. Those at smaller firms contributed more to their family coverage premiums than those at larger firms (37% vs. 24%).
Nearly 40% of employers with at least 50 workers changed (and improved) their mental health and substance abuse benefits since the pandemic.

Zoom Out
The pandemic shook the job market, leading to the loss of jobs and — because this is America — the loss of private insurance. The fact that insurance premiums are holding steady is a good sign.

OUTSIDE THE HUDDLE

Thirty Madison, the telehealth company, not the address, is expanding into the hair-transplant business under its Keeps brand in 2022.
Major healthcare media company Healthcare Huddle has been acquired by future media unicorn Workweek.
Biden has given Robert Califf a second chance in leading the FDA. He previously left the role in 2017 after working for about a year.
According to KFF, over three quarters of adults in the U.S. believe or are unsure about at least one false Covid-19 vaccine statement. Most closely associated with believing misinformation was being unvaccinated.
Scientists have made huge leaps in understanding memory using optogenetics and have even successfully erased memories in mice. For the curious, their study was published Thursday in Science.
Amwell’s growth in urgent care volumes has outpaced its specialty and behavioral health offerings, and that’s not a good thing. Urgent care brings in less money, leading to an overall decrease in revenue last year.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Monday: Reuters is hosting their Total Health global conference with quite the lineup of guest speakers, including GOAT Dr. Fauci.
Tuesday: Join KFF to hear experts discuss how the courts, state and federal laws and regulations are shaping policy and women’s health.
Wednesday: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute is hosting their free, Virtual Annual Meeting that brings together researchers, health care experts, thought leaders, patients and the larger health care community to discuss the most relevant topics in healthcare today. Future FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf will be there.
Thursday: National Rural Health Day! Attend some virtual events to learn more about rural health.
Friday: Fat Cat Friday. My cat is obsessed with laying on paper.

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