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UnitedHealthcare announced that it will increasingly leverage data from digital devices flowing into the UnitedHealthcare Nerve Center to help people enrolled in its Medicare Advantage plans more effectively manage chronic conditions.

The data is being used to enhance secure, comprehensive health profiles for UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan participants that are generated through the UnitedHealthcare Nerve Center. UnitedHealthcare navigators use those profiles to provide personalized, holistic support for people through the Navigate4Me program, which the company is expanding in 2019.

UnitedHealthcare launched Navigate4Me in fall 2017 to better serve people enrolled in its Medicare Advantage plans who are facing complex health issues such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, multiple chronic conditions, or sudden health events such as joint replacement surgery or a new cancer diagnosis.

Navigate4Me enables holistic, whole-person care. Nurses and highly trained customer service advocates serve as health navigators who help people alleviate the burden of managing a serious health issue. Navigators provide support with both clinical and administrative needs, ranging from answering health questions and resolving claims or billing issues to helping people follow a personalized care plan, coordinating care and helping to address social determinants of health, such as connecting people with reliable transportation or housing assistance.

The Nerve Center is a digital platform and data hub that operates like a command center for UnitedHealthcare navigators, pulling data from a variety of sources, including claims, clinical and demographic information, and digital devices such as wearables and sensors, to build comprehensive health profiles for plan participants. These secure profiles give health navigators the full picture of a person’s health, including everything from routine checkups and recent emergency room visits to information transmitted via wearables and sensors showing how well they are managing their conditions or adhering to their doctor’s treatment recommendations.

Based on analysis of the health profiles, the Nerve Center helps navigators identify future health actions that could be appropriate for each person, anticipate upcoming care needs, and continuously screen for risk factors. This actionable information enables health navigators and other members of the care team to focus their engagement efforts on the people in most need of support, based on their likelihood of experiencing a negative health event such as a hospitalization or a worsening of their symptoms.

It also arms the navigators with personalized information that can help patients and care providers choose the best clinical approach and close gaps in care. When appropriate, the Nerve Center will also integrate data directly into doctors’ electronic medical records, helping them deliver more evidence-based care to their patients enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans.

The digital infrastructure feeding the Nerve Center includes devices used in the management of some of the most common and costly conditions in older adults as well as the care of people recovering from a hospitalization. Some examples:

Congestive Heart Failure: Patients use a Bluetooth-enabled tablet, scale and blood pressure monitor to manage and monitor their condition in partnership with their doctor and with support from the UnitedHealthcare care team. Daily prompts to record their weight and answer questions via the tablet can identify sudden spikes in weight that could signal that the heart isn’t pumping properly, putting the patient at risk of hospitalization.

Diabetes: UnitedHealthcare health coaches access data from connected glucose monitors, smartphones and fitness trackers. Because the data is more thorough as compared to readings from manual, intermittent finger sticks, the coaches are able to deliver more effective and personalized coaching based on lifestyle factors. For example, if the data shows that exercise following a meal helps lower glucose levels to the ideal range, the coaches can guide people to more effectively manage their symptoms through the timing of their workouts.

Post-Acute Care: People who have been discharged from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility wear a small adhesive patch that sends vital-sign data continuously through a Bluetooth sensor. The data is gathered and analyzed to help detect issues that could lead to an emergency room visit or a readmission.
The more timely engagement opportunities and proactive interventions made possible by these advances in care management are designed to improve people’s well-being while avoiding preventable hospitalizations.

“We’re building the next generation of care management by moving away from traditional models to a holistic approach that harnesses the power of real-time data and technology to deliver the right kind of individual support that can help people get well and stay well,” said Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement. “Combining new data-driven insights with the human touch of our care teams will deliver a more personalized health experience.”

Modernizing Care for Today’s Seniors and Other Beneficiaries
Navigate4Me and the Nerve Center are part of UnitedHealthcare’s efforts to modernize the way it cares for the people enrolled in its Medicare Advantage plans as the baby boomer generation continues aging into Medicare.

Nearly 40 percent of the people enrolled in UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage plans have four or more chronic conditions, and nearly the same percentage live alone. These individuals are especially vulnerable when dealing with serious health issues and trying to navigate a complicated health care system, yet many are digitally savvy and accustomed to leveraging technology and mobile tools to manage other areas of their lives.

With the support of dedicated health navigators and enhanced insight into people’s health through digital devices, UnitedHealthcare aims to personalize the health experience for Medicare beneficiaries and improve their health and quality of life.

More people have chosen UnitedHealthcare to provide their Medicare coverage than any other company.i UnitedHealthcare serves more than 12.5 million people enrolled in Medicare, including more than 4.9 million people in Medicare Advantage plans, more than 4.7 million people in stand-alone Part D prescription drug plans, and more than 4.5 million people in Medicare supplement plans.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.2 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.

Orlando – GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE) is working with Preventice Solutions to give clinician tools to follow patients with known or suspected Atrial fibrillation virtually from hospital to home. Atrial fibrillation, or AF, is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that can increase risk of stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications, and, as the population ages globally, AF is predicted to affect 6 to 12 million people in the United States alone by 2050.

The collaboration offers a single vendor solution that is integrated with MUSE for seamless order-to-reporting workflow. According to U.S. News & World Reports, 24 out of 25 top U.S. cardiac hospitals use MUSE.[i] By integrating with MUSE, data from home-based patients will be made available to clinicians on the same clinical workspace they use every day.

“This development in our relationship with Preventice creates an integrated, longitudinal view of the patient experience,” said GE Healthcare Diagnostic Cardiology General Manager Ashutosh Banerjee. “We’re enabling the ECG record to grow with a richness that will allow the clinician to see how her treatment is working for the patient at home.”

‎“This partnership is transforming connected care in the industry with our customers benefiting from a ‎consistent patient experience with enhanced clinical insight,” said Preventice Solutions Chief Executive ‎Officer Jon Otterstatter. “This alliance will help standardize the operations and workflow for healthcare ‎providers resulting in improved quality.”

GE Healthcare and Preventice Solutions are announcing this latest progression of their strategic relationship at HIMSS 2019, February 12 – 15, 2019 in Orlando.

About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare is the $19 billion healthcare business of GE (NYSE: GE). As a leading provider of medical imaging, monitoring, biomanufacturing, and cell and gene therapy technologies, GE Healthcare enables precision health in diagnostics, therapeutics and monitoring through intelligent devices, data analytics, applications and services. With over 100 years of experience in the healthcare industry and more than 50,000 employees globally, the company helps improve outcomes more efficiently for patients, healthcare providers, researchers and life sciences companies around the world. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and The Pulse for latest news, or visit our website www.gehealthcare.com for more information.

About Preventice Solutions
Preventice Solutions is a leading developer of mobile health solutions and remote monitoring services that connect patients threatened by cardiac arrhythmias. Using insights to create revolutionary monitoring technologies, this tech-enabled, service-based approach can ultimately reduce the cost of care and improve health outcomes. The Preventice wearable portfolio includes the PatientCare Platform and BodyGuardian family. For more information please visit www.preventicesolutions.com.

In 1990, the world was home to 95,000 centenarians, or individuals over 100-years-old. By 2015, that number had quadrupled to nearly half a million and by 2050, experts project the population will swell to over 3.7 million globally.2

With the population composition changing so dramatically, many doctors across the world are finding ways to adjust their treatment approach for elderly patients and opting for less invasive procedures.

One condition that is prominent in the aging population is aortic stenosis, which can cause breathlessness and chest pain and occurs when the aortic valve narrows and restricts blood flow. Left untreated, it can lead to serious heart problems or even death.4 There are many ways to treat this medical condition, including stopping the heart, or opening the chest to repair or replace the diseased aortic valve. However, for older patients, these options pose a variety of risks.

That’s why many doctors are turning to transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), a minimally-invasive procedure in which doctors create a small incision in a blood vessel, insert a catheter and deliver a replacement valve to the valve site through a catheter. When done correctly, there are no major cuts or chest bones manipulated in the process and it puts less strain on the body.[1] The procedure was initially developed for more fragile patients and is typically performed on individuals between 80-95 years of age (sometimes younger depending on the risk profile).

Dr. Christian Butter[2], a cardiology specialist with more than 30 years of experience at the Brandenburg Heart Center in Germany, recently treated a centenarian with aortic stenosis.

“About two years before he came to me, he had been rejected for surgery because of the huge risk associated with his age – he was well over 100-years-old at the time.” Dr. Butter explained. “For quite a while, we discussed whether it made sense to perform any type of surgery at all considering his age, but he felt strongly that it was worth the risk.”

The Brandenburg Heart Center performs more than 400 TAVI procedures a year. The procedure is growing increasingly popular in many countries around the world as the population ages. Between 2008-2014 alone, 48,353 TAVI procedures were performed in Germany alone[3].

“Replacing the heart valve without sutures and with the smallest possible incision poses a much lower risk to the patient,” said Dr. Butter. “In only 1% of cases is there such a severe complication during the procedure that we quickly have to turn to open heart surgery.”

After weighing the risks, Dr. Butter decided to proceed with the TAVI on the patient. As with all TAVIs, it was critical that this procedure took place in a safe, flexible, and sterile environment for patients and clinicians, which is why the Brandenburg Heart Center is equipped with two Hybrid ORs with Discovery IGS 730 angiography systems. This set-up allows for complete patient access and the ability to accommodate a wide range of procedures, from complex interventional to surgical procedures.

“In my opinion, no other system would have worked in this particular case. The technology helps us create a safe environment for the patient and it’s fully equipped for cardiac and interventional surgery. If there were to be any complications, we can quickly open the chest to save the patient’s life,” said Dr. Butter.

Dr. Butter performed the TAVI procedure on the 100+-year-old patient in the Hybrid OR by making a small incision in the patient’s arm and inserting a catheter. Then, using the Discovery™ IGS 730 and Valve ASSIST 2[4], to carefully plan the procedure, Dr. Butter was able to deliver a replacement valve on top of the patient’s old valve that was restricting blood flow.

Ultimately, the centenarian made a quick recovery, which Dr. Butter attributes to the minimally-invasive nature of this surgery.

When two doctors oceans apart were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in immunotherapy – the breakthrough treatment that turns the body’s own immune system against the cancer – the world cheered. Their efforts had ushered an entirely new way of treating devastating cancer and new pharmaceutical drugs that helped patients with no other hope achieve remission.

Little doubt exists about the tremendous contributions these scientists made to medicine and patients’ lives. They had succeeded where others had frequently failed, grinded through years of trials when others had given up and proved to the world the power of a previously untested therapy.

Today both say they want to continue their work to ultimately treat more patients.

But despite the rapid advancements and excitement surrounding immunotherapies, there is a looming challenge that doctors and researchers are dealing with in trying to treat their patients clinically.

Many of those patients who stand to receive the immunotherapies researchers work so hard to find may not respond to the treatment and could also experience severe side effects, such as inflammation in internal organs, infections, hormone or gland problems and more[1]. No matter how effective a treatment is in the lab or in trials, to date it has been exceedingly difficult to know which patient will respond well or reject a given treatment.

Additionally, it takes an average of 12 years[2] and costs almost two billion dollars[3] to bring a drug to market, where it can be fully administered to patients. In many cases, patients who aren’t the right match for specific treatments are recruited to participate in clinical trials, creating unnecessary expenses, severe side effects and slowing down approvals of new therapies.

“We don’t want to give a therapy that has a high likelihood of doing more harm than good. This is a big problem in immunotherapies. We’re relying on very primitive tools right now,” said Dr. Park, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Precision Oncology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Today, Dr. Park’s organization, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), announced it is forming a partnership with GE Healthcare to address this hurdle to making immunotherapy mainstream. Together, the two institutions will create Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered apps and positron-emission tomography (PET) imaging tracers to predict how individual patients will respond to immunotherapies – in advance, before treatment.

“The partnership will hopefully allow us to have more precision in who we can treat. It will allow us to predict whether they’re going to have a response and equally important, whether they are going to have any side effects,” said Dr. Park.

By creating multiple diagnostic tools, VUMC and GE Healthcare seek to enable safer and more precise cancer immunotherapies. This would help physicians to better target immunotherapies to the right patients and avoid potentially damaging, ineffective and costly courses of treatments.

This will be achieved by retrospectively analyzing and correlating the immunotherapy treatment response of thousands of VUMC cancer patients, with their anonymized demographic, genomic, tumor, cellular, proteomic and imaging data. The two organizations will co-develop AI-powered apps drawing on this data to help physicians identify the most suitable treatment for each individual patient.

“We think that there are probably answers in all of the data that we collect, and we’re going to work with GE Healthcare to sift through that data and use cutting edge technology to try and find the answers to those questions,” said Dr. Osterman.

As part of the partnership, the two institutions will also develop new PET imaging tracers. These apps and tracers will help physicians to stratify cancer patients for clinical trials, with the hope that the PET tracers will also be used to monitor the efficacy of immunotherapies in everyday practice.

The first AI app prototype will be available by the end of 2019 and the PET tracer proof of concept by the end of 2020.

The partnership adds to the increasing list of ventures between academic institutions and health tech creators to accelerate the development of potentially life-saving treatments. In August, a center jointly funded by GE Healthcare and the Swedish government announced it would help cell therapy company BioLamina develop and fine-tune its manufacturing processes so it can scale and more quickly deliver treatments to market. Similarly, inside the Center for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine’s labs in Toronto, funded by $40 million from GE Healthcare and the Ontario government, scientists are paving the way for manufacturing cells that can turn into any kinds of cell needed in therapy – in bioreactors.

“As we become more adept at treating and preventing cancers, the disease will no longer be a life-ending tragedy for so many patients. Rather, cancer will become a chronic condition that can be effectively managed without limiting a person’s vitality or lifespan,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

NEW YORK & SUMMIT, N.J., – Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) and Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Bristol-Myers Squibb will acquire Celgene in a cash and stock transaction with an equity value of approximately $74 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Celgene shareholders will receive 1.0 Bristol-Myers Squibb share and $50.00 in cash for each share of Celgene. Celgene shareholders will also receive one tradeable Contingent Value Right (CVR) for each share of Celgene, which will entitle the holder to receive a payment for the achievement of future regulatory milestones. The Boards of Directors of both companies have approved the combination.

The transaction will create a leading focused specialty biopharma company well positioned to address the needs of patients with cancer, inflammatory and immunologic disease and cardiovascular disease through high-value innovative medicines and leading scientific capabilities. With complementary areas of focus, the combined company will operate with global reach and scale, maintaining the speed and agility that is core to each company’s strategic approach.

Based on the closing price of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock of $52.43 on January 2, 2019, the cash and stock consideration to be received by Celgene shareholders at closing is valued at $102.43 per Celgene share and one CVR (as described below). When completed, Bristol-Myers Squibb shareholders are expected to own approximately 69 percent of the company, and Celgene shareholders are expected to own approximately 31 percent.

“Together with Celgene, we are creating an innovative biopharma leader, with leading franchises and a deep and broad pipeline that will drive sustainable growth and deliver new options for patients across a range of serious diseases,” said Giovanni Caforio, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb. “As a combined entity, we will enhance our leadership positions across our portfolio, including in cancer and immunology and inflammation. We will also benefit from an expanded early- and late-stage pipeline that includes six expected near-term product launches. Together, our pipeline holds significant promise for patients, allowing us to accelerate new options through a broader range of cutting-edge technologies and discovery platforms.”

Dr. Caforio continued, “We are impressed by what Celgene has accomplished for patients, and we look forward to welcoming Celgene employees to Bristol-Myers Squibb. Our new company will continue the strong patient focus that is core to both companies’ missions, creating a shared organization with a goal of discovering, developing and delivering innovative medicines for patients with serious diseases. We are confident we will drive value for shareholders and create opportunities for employees.”

“For more than 30 years, Celgene’s commitment to leading innovation has allowed us to deliver life-changing treatments to patients in areas of high unmet need. Combining with Bristol-Myers Squibb, we are delivering immediate and substantial value to Celgene shareholders and providing them meaningful participation in the long-term growth opportunities created by the combined company,” said Mark Alles, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Celgene. “Our employees should be incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together and excited for the opportunities ahead of us as we join with Bristol-Myers Squibb, where we can further advance our mission for patients. We look forward to working with the Bristol-Myers Squibb team as we bring our two companies together.”

Compelling Strategic Benefits
Leading franchises with complementary product portfolios provide enhanced scale and balance. The combination creates:
Leading oncology franchises in both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies led by Opdivo and Yervoy as well as Revlimid and Pomalyst;
A top five immunology and inflammation franchise led by Orencia and Otezla; and
The #1 cardiovascular franchise led by Eliquis.
The combined company will have nine products with more than $1 billion in annual sales and significant potential for growth in the core disease areas of oncology, immunology and inflammation and cardiovascular disease.

Near-term launch opportunities representing greater than $15 billion in revenue potential. The combined company will have six expected near-term product launches:
Two in immunology and inflammation, TYK2 and ozanimod; and
Four in hematology, luspatercept, liso-cel (JCAR017), bb2121 and fedratinib.
These launches leverage the combined commercial capabilities of the two companies and will broaden and enhance Bristol-Myers Squibb’s market position with innovative and differentiated products. This is in addition to a significant number of lifecycle management registrational readouts expected in Immuno-Oncology (IO).

Early-stage pipeline builds sustainable platform for growth. The combined company will have a deep and diverse early-stage pipeline across solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, immunology and inflammation, cardiovascular disease and fibrotic disease leveraging combined strengths in innovation. The early-stage pipeline includes 50 high potential assets, many with important data readouts in the near-term. With a significantly enhanced early-stage pipeline, Bristol-Myers Squibb will be well positioned for long-term growth and significant value creation.
Powerful combined discovery capabilities with world-class expertise in a broad range of modalities. Together, the Company will have expanded innovation capabilities in small molecule design, biologics/synthetic biologics, protein homeostasis, antibody engineering and cell therapy. Furthermore, strong external partnerships provide access to additional modalities.
Compelling Financial Benefits

Strong returns and significant immediate EPS accretion. The transaction’s internal rate of return is expected to be well in excess of Celgene’s and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s cost of capital. The combination is expected to be more than 40 percent accretive to Bristol-Myers Squibb’s EPS on a standalone basis in the first full year following close of the transaction.
Strong balance sheet and cash flow generation to enable significant investment in innovation. With more than $45 billion of expected free cash flow generation over the first three full years post-closing, the Company is committed to maintaining strong investment grade credit ratings while continuing its dividend policy for the benefit of Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene shareholders. Bristol-Myers Squibb will also have significant financial flexibility to realize the full potential of the enhanced late- and early-stage pipeline.
Meaningful cost synergies. Bristol-Myers Squibb expects to realize run-rate cost synergies of approximately $2.5 billion by 2022. Bristol-Myers Squibb is confident it will achieve efficiencies across the organization while maintaining a strong, core commitment to innovation and delivering the value of the portfolio.
Terms and Financing

Based on the closing price of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock on January 2, 2019, the cash and stock consideration to be received by Celgene shareholders is valued at $102.43 per share. The cash and stock consideration represents an approximately 51 percent premium to Celgene shareholders based on the 30-day volume weighted average closing stock price of Celgene prior to signing and an approximately 54 percent premium to Celgene shareholders based on the closing stock price of Celgene on January 2, 2019. Each share also will receive one tradeable CVR, which will entitle its holder to receive a one-time potential payment of $9.00 in cash upon FDA approval of all three of ozanimod (by December 31, 2020), liso-cel (JCAR017) (by December 31, 2020) and bb2121 (by March 31, 2021), in each case for a specified indication.

The transaction is not subject to a financing condition. The cash portion will be funded through a combination of cash on hand and debt financing. Bristol-Myers Squibb has obtained fully committed debt financing from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc. and MUFG Bank, Ltd. Following the close of the transaction, Bristol-Myers Squibb expects that substantially all of the debt of the combined company will be pari passu.

Accelerated Share Repurchase Program
Bristol-Myers Squibb expects to execute an accelerated share repurchase program of up to approximately $5 billion, subject to the closing of the transaction, market conditions and Board approval.

Corporate Governance
Following the close of the transaction, Dr. Caforio will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Two members from Celgene’s Board will be added to the Board of Directors of Bristol-Myers Squibb. The combined company will continue to have a strong presence throughout New Jersey.

Approvals and Timing to Close
The transaction is subject to approval by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene shareholders and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene expect to complete the transaction in the third quarter of 2019.

Advisors
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is serving as lead financial advisor to Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Evercore and Dyal Co. LLC are serving as financial advisors to Bristol-Myers Squibb. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as Bristol-Myers Squibb’s legal counsel. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as lead financial advisor and Citi is acting as financial advisor to Celgene. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is serving as legal counsel to Celgene.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol-Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

About Celgene
Celgene Corporation, headquartered in Summit, New Jersey, is an integrated global biopharmaceutical company engaged primarily in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases through next-generation solutions in protein homeostasis, immuno-oncology, epigenetics, immunology and neuro-inflammation. For more information, please visit www.celgene.com. Follow Celgene on Social Media: @Celgene, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK) today announced they have entered into an agreement to create a premier global consumer healthcare company with robust iconic brands. The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction under which Pfizer will contribute its consumer healthcare business to GlaxoSmithKline’s existing consumer healthcare business. The 2017 global sales for the combined business were approximately $12.7 billion.

“We are pleased to announce this new joint venture for Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, delivering on our commitment to complete the strategic review for this business in 2018,” stated Ian Read, Chairman and current Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “Pfizer and GSK have an excellent track record of creating successful collaborations, and we look forward to working together again to unlock the potential of our combined consumer healthcare businesses.”

Under the terms of the transaction, Pfizer will receive a 32% equity stake in the joint venture, entitling Pfizer to its pro rata share of the joint venture’s earnings and dividends, which will be paid on a quarterly basis. Pfizer will have the right to appoint three out of the nine members of the joint venture’s board. The transaction is expected to deliver $650 million in peak cost synergies and to be slightly accretive for Pfizer in each of the first three years after the close of the transaction, which is anticipated during the second half of 2019, subject to receipt of GSK shareholder approval and regulatory approvals, and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

As Pfizer will own less than 50% of the joint venture, Pfizer anticipates deconsolidating Pfizer Consumer Healthcare from its financial statements following the closing of the transaction. In the near- to medium-term, this deconsolidation is not expected to have a material impact on Pfizer’s top-line growth. In addition, given the Consumer Healthcare business records lower margins than Pfizer’s other businesses, the deconsolidation is expected to have a slight positive impact on Pfizer’s operating margins over the next several years.

Following the integration of the combined business, GSK intends to separate the joint venture as an independent company via a demerger of its equity interest to its shareholders and a listing of the Consumer Healthcare business on the UK equity market. GSK will have the sole right to decide whether and when to initiate a separation and listing for a period of five years from closing of the proposed transaction. GSK may also sell all or part of its stake in the joint venture in a contemporaneous IPO.

Should a separation and listing occur during the first five years after closing, Pfizer has the option to participate through the distribution of its equity interest in the joint venture to its shareholders or the sale of its equity interest in a contemporaneous IPO. After the fifth anniversary of the closing of the proposed transaction, both GSK and Pfizer will have the right to decide whether and when to initiate a separation and public listing of the joint venture.

“The combination of these leading businesses with distinct regional and category strengths will be more sustainable and broader in scope than either company individually,” said Albert Bourla, Chief Operating Officer and incoming Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “We believe that this joint venture is a great opportunity to ensure the future success of Pfizer Consumer Healthcare while unlocking meaningful after-tax value for Pfizer shareholders.”

The joint venture will be a category leader in pain relief, respiratory, vitamin and mineral supplements, digestive health, skin health and therapeutic oral health and will be the largest global consumer healthcare business. In addition, the joint venture is expected to be the first or second largest consumer healthcare player in key geographies, including the United States, Europe, China, India and Australasia. The joint venture will operate globally under the GSK Consumer Healthcare name.

“The transaction is a testament to the success of our Consumer Healthcare business, including its excellent reputation, talented colleagues, high-quality products and market reach,” said Chris Slager, President, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. “The dedication and hard work of the Pfizer Consumer Healthcare team is impressive and inspiring. I am proud of our colleagues around the world who are passionate about the success of this business and the important role it plays in empowering consumers to take health and wellness into their own hands.”

Emma Walmsley, GSK CEO, will be Chair of the new joint venture. Brian McNamara, currently CEO GSK Consumer Healthcare, will be CEO of the new joint venture and Tobias Hestler, currently CFO GSK Consumer Healthcare, will be CFO.

Until separation, the joint venture will be consolidated in GSK’s financial statements.

For the year ended December 31, 2017, the Pfizer Consumer Healthcare business recorded revenues of approximately $3.5 billion and the GSK Consumer Healthcare business recorded revenues of approximately $9.2 billion.

GSK has agreed to pay a break fee of $900 million if (i) the GSK Board of Directors changes, withdraws or qualifies its recommendation of the transaction to its shareholders for approval; (ii) GSK’s shareholders vote on the proposed transaction and do not approve it; or (iii) GSK’s shareholders do not approve the proposed transaction by September 30, 2019 (subject to extension in certain circumstances).

Osaka, Japan – December 5, 2018 – Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE: 4502) (“Takeda”) today announced the results of the shareholder votes at its Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (“EGM”) regarding the recommended acquisition of Shire plc (“Shire”) (“the Acquisition”).

Takeda’s proposal to delegate to the Takeda Board the decision regarding the offering terms for the issuance of the new Takeda shares required to implement the proposed Acquisition was approved as originally proposed by at least 88 percent* of the votes exercised in respect of this proposal. The Takeda shareholder approval condition required for the Acquisition to be implemented has therefore been satisfied.

“We are delighted that our shareholders have given their strong support to our acquisition of Shire,” said Christophe Weber, President and Chief Executive Officer of Takeda. “With shareholder approval secured, we are looking forward to closing the acquisition in the coming weeks to create a more competitive, agile, highly profitable, and therefore more resilient company, poised to deliver highly innovative medicines and transformative care to patients around the world.”

The Acquisition remains subject to approval by Shire shareholders at meetings expected to be held later today, and to the sanctioning of the Shire scheme of arrangement by the Jersey Court at a hearing expected to be held on January 3, 2019. Subject to receipt of the necessary Shire shareholder approvals and the sanction of the scheme of arrangement by the Jersey Court, it is expected that completion of the Acquisition will take place on January 8, 2019.

In addition, Takeda’s proposal to appoint three of Shire’s existing external directors (namely Ian Clark, Olivier Bohuon and Steven Gillis) to the Takeda Board with effect from closing was also approved as originally proposed (such directors will be external directors and “Directors who are not Audit and Supervisory Committee Members”). Each of these appointments was approved by at least 87 percent* of the votes exercised in respect of this proposal.

Takeda is in the process of calculating the detailed shareholder vote results from the EGM and expects to release the final voting results without delay.

NEW YORK, N.Y. —
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) will host its annual Investor Conference with analysts and institutional investors in New York City on Tuesday, November 27, 2018, beginning at 8:00 a.m. ET. At the meeting, senior leaders will discuss the Company’s strategy, performance and outlook, including reviewing trends and initiatives related to its various businesses.

The Company will livestream the presentation and management question and answer portions of this meeting and will make conference materials available on its Investors page at www.unitedhealthgroup.com. A replay of the conference will be available on the Company web site through January 2, 2019.

In conjunction with the meeting, the Company will discuss its financial outlook. Revenues for 2018 are expected to approximate $226 billion, with net earnings to approach $12.10 per share and adjusted net earnings to approach $12.80 per share, consistent with the Company’s most recent outlook provided with its third quarter 2018 earnings release. Adjusted net earnings exclude from net earnings only the after-tax non-cash amortization expense pertaining to acquisition-related intangible assets.

UnitedHealth Group will also introduce its 2019 outlook, including revenues of $243 billion to $245 billion, net earnings of $13.70 to $14.00 per share, and adjusted net earnings of $14.40 to $14.70 per share. Cash flows from operations are expected to range from $17.3 billion to $17.8 billion in 2019.

About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and helping make the health system work better for everyone. UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which provides information and technology-enabled health services. For more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at www.unitedhealthgroup.com or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on Twitter.

Non-GAAP Financial Information
This news release presents non-GAAP financial information provided as a complement to the results provided in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). Adjusted net earnings exclude amortization expense of approximately $0.90 and $0.95 per share and the related tax impact of $0.20 and $0.25 per share for the years ending December 31, 2018 and 2019, respectively, pertaining to acquisition-related intangible assets.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —
UnitedHealthcare will expand its fitness program for people enrolled in its Medicare Advantage plans to North Carolina and 11 additional states in 2019. The company is also enhancing the program with new features and rebranding it as Renew Active.

Renew Active is a fitness program for body and mind designed to help people live their best lives and achieve their health and wellness goals. It provides access to an extensive choice of more than 6,000 fitness locations, including national, regional and local options, at no additional cost. In North Carolina, this includes participating Anytime Fitness, Curves, Fitness Connection, Gold’s Gym, LA Fitness, Life Time and Snap Fitness locations. Locations also include local participating YMCAs.

Through Renew Active, people can take advantage of an in-person fitness orientation to help them get started toward reaching their goals as well as all of the benefits of a standard membership at participating fitness locations, including a wide variety of equipment, amenities and group exercise classes.

UnitedHealthcare is also adding new features to Renew Active so that plan participants can challenge themselves both physically and mentally. The program will offer online exercises and activities to help people keep their minds active.

Renew Active is available at no additional cost to people enrolled in eligible UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans.

“We know that our health and well-being are closely connected not just to the care we receive from our doctors but also to the way we live our lives,” said Tommy O’Connor, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement in North Carolina. “With Renew Active, we hope to make it easier, more convenient and more affordable for people in North Carolina to stay active, both physically and mentally.”

UnitedHealthcare introduced its fitness program in 2017 because of the important role that exercise plays in health and quality of life as people age. The response from people enrolled in its Medicare Advantage plans has been overwhelmingly positive, prompting the company to significantly expand the program.

In 2019, Renew Active will be newly available to people enrolled in select Medicare Advantage plans in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina and Utah. These people will join the nearly 1.1 million Medicare Advantage plan participants in 11 other states who currently have access to the program.

“Anytime Fitness and Self Esteem Brands have helped thousands of seniors become more physically fit through our participation in the Renew Active network,” said Chuck Runyon, CEO of Anytime Fitness. “We look forward to providing more fitness choices to UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members in 2019 when Renew Active expands to North Carolina.”

“At Life Time, we help our members achieve their health objectives and fitness goals, no matter their age,” said Mark Laylin, senior vice president, national sales, Life Time. “We’re eager to bring our world-class facilities and programming to North Carolina seniors and support their health journey through our participation in the Renew Active program in 2019.”

The rebranding of the program – previously known as Optum Fitness Advantage – aligns it with Renew by UnitedHealthcare, the company’s members-only health and wellness experience.

Renew by UnitedHealthcare encourages and inspires people to take an active role in their health and happiness through a variety of resources including recipes, videos, quizzes, educational courses, interactive health tools and tips to infuse more positivity into their day. People can earn rewards through Renew for making healthy choices and completing certain health care activities.

UnitedHealthcare is the exclusive provider of AARP-branded Medicare plans. The company serves one in five Medicare beneficiaries nationwide: nearly 4.8 million people through Medicare Advantage plans, more than 4.7 million people through stand-alone Part D prescription drug plans, and more than 4.5 million people through Medicare supplement plans. More people have chosen UnitedHealthcare for their Medicare coverage than any other company.

For more information about Renew Active, visit www.MyRenewActive.com.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.2 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.

BOSTON, MA – The GE Foundation is announcing the final piece of its groundbreaking $25 million commitment to global safe surgery by supporting the expansion of Safe Surgery 2020 into Southeast Asia, with the inclusion of Cambodia and Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The investment is critical to accelerating access to surgical care in Southeast Asia as the region has one of the lowest levels of surgical provision in the world, with 97% of people currently unable to access safe surgical care.

At the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, GE Foundation officially partnered with Cambodia’s Ministry of Health to strengthen surgical systems through Safe Surgery 2020’s programs on workforce development and targeted innovations and equipment support. Safe Surgery 2020 will collaborate with Calmette Hospital and the University of Health Sciences to develop a training hub that will develop the surgical workforce.

“Safe Surgery 2020 is strengthening the foundations of the surgical system so that essential surgical care will become safe and accessible. The initiative will focus on building the capacity of Cambodian institutions to continue transforming surgical care long into the future,” said Ann R. Klee, President, GE Foundation. “The Cambodian government is committed to improving quality and increasing access to health care in the country, and GE Foundation is pleased to be collaborating with the Ministry of Health to advance surgical care.”

“We are delighted to be selected as one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to run the Safe Surgery program. It provides new, exciting training opportunities for our current, and aspiring surgeons – it will also further support, and hopefully speed up the roll out of a universal health coverage program in the near-future,” said HE Prof. Mam Bunheng, Minister of Ministry of Health.

Safe Surgery 2020 was established in 2015 with the goal of reducing preventable deaths and accelerating access to safe surgery and anesthesia worldwide. Safe Surgery 2020’s key objectives are:
Impact: Reduce preventable deaths from surgically-treatable conditions by enhancing quality of care and increasing the surgical volume in Safe Surgery 2020-supported facilities;
Innovation: Introduce and test innovative models for implementation in global health; and
Scale: Build and strengthen sustainable ecosystems for essential and emergency surgery in low-resource areas.

Safe Surgery 2020 launched in Ethiopia in 2016, and in Tanzania in 2017. The initiative has supported the Ethiopian and Tanzanian governments to develop national surgical strategies, known respectively as Saving Lives through Surgery, and the National Surgical, Obstetric and Anesthesia Plan. Through the portfolio of Safe Surgery 2020 programs, specific primary hospitals have increased surgical volume by 50% and decreased mortality and infection rates by up to a third. Reaching over 1200 workers in East Africa already, Safe Surgery 2020 empowers surgical teams to work well together, follow best practices like the WHO safe surgery checklist, better repair and sterilize surgical equipment.

GE Foundation’s investment in surgery in Southeast Asia builds on over ten years of work in region to improve underserved and rural communities’ access to quality healthcare. Over that time, GE and GE Foundation has provided $12 million in funding to bring in modern medical equipment, develop an in-country biomedical engineering equipment technician training program (BMET) in collaboration with Duke University and Engineering World Health, and increase access to safe water by sponsoring water purification systems with training for healthcare facilities. The programs have supported more than 40 hospitals in 25 provinces.

“Safe Surgery 2020 complements well the GE Foundation-supported healthcare program we launched in Cambodia in 2009. While that initiative focused on providing medical essentials such as training, and equipment, to under resourced hospitals, this specialist skill focused program offers long-term benefits for our surgical teams nationwide,” said Dararith Lim, Country Leader, GE in Cambodia.

About Safe Surgery 2020:
Safe Surgery 2020 brings together innovations, global expertise, and local experience to make surgical care safe and accessible for all. Working across Africa and South Asia, the initiative trains the surgical workforce, supports governments to strengthen national surgical systems, and develops scalable solutions to infrastructure barriers. Safe Surgery 2020 is hosted by Dalberg, implemented by Jhpiego, Harvard’s Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, Assist International, and local professional societies and universities. The initiative was seeded by the GE Foundation. For more details on Safe Surgery 2020, visit: https://www.safesurgery2020.org/.

About the GE Foundation:
GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of GE, is committed to transforming our communities and shaping the diverse workforce of tomorrow by leveraging the power of GE. GE Foundation is developing skills by bringing innovative learning in community health globally and STEM education, scaling what works, and building sustainable solutions. GE Foundation is inspiring others to act by connecting GE people with communities through matching gifts and United Way, leading on emerging issues such as the opiate crisis, and convening community leaders to maximize our impact. Learn more at www.gefoundation.com or follow us on Twitter at @GE_Foundation.

On Wednesday, Secretary Alex Azar met with representatives of specialty-physician and patient groups to discuss the Trump Administration’s efforts to offer new tools for Medicare Advantage plans to negotiate lower drug prices for patients.

The groups included the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network, the American College of Rheumatology, the American Society of Clinical Oncologists, and Patients for Affordable Drugs. Secretary Azar was joined by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Principal Deputy Administrator Demetrios Kouzoukas, Senior Advisor for Drug Pricing Reform Dan Best, and Advisor to the Secretary John O’Brien.

Both Secretary Azar and the organizational representatives expressed appreciation for the opportunity to share their views with each other on the recent announcement that Medicare Advantage plans will be able to use step therapy or prior authorization to negotiate lower drug prices for patients. Most of the groups with representatives in attendance have expressed concerns about the new policy.

Representatives offered their individual views on the new policy, included concerns about the complexity and challenges their organizations’ members have faced in prescribing drugs for patients covered by plans that use prior authorization or step therapy. A number of individuals also expressed their support for the administration’s attention to the issue of prescription drug pricing.

Secretary Azar emphasized the department’s interest in innovations and solutions that can address the high price of prescription drugs, and individual attendees offered a number of ideas, including noting their support for concepts put forth in President Trump’s American Patients First blueprint. He also shared his openness to solutions that may alleviate the burden that could be imposed on physicians by the new negotiation tools.

NISKAYUNA, NY and WASHINGTON D.C – Wednesday, September 5, 2018 – Could non-invasive devices replace drugs and regular insulin injections in the future treatment of diabetes? This is a central question a team of GE scientists are exploring as part of a research project with DARPA worth up to $2.9 million. GE researchers will be demonstrating the technology this week at DARPA’s D60 symposium in Washington, DC.

As part of the 3-year program, the GE Bioelectronic medicine team aims to demonstrate that a novel, non-invasive, stimulation technique can be used to reverse or treat diabetes in pre-clinical models, instead of the typical drugs associated with treatments today. The team hopes that the results indicate the ability to prevent the onset of metabolic dysfunction (associated with the onset of diabetes), and that the GE team can progress toward safely testing and applying this technology in the clinic.

“Today’s drug treatments and monitoring methods for diabetes can be uncomfortable and time consuming, and create side-effects for patients,” said Victoria Cotero, a PhD and Biologist at GE Global Research who contributes to the DARPA project. “Our project with DARPA aims to find a better alternative that treats diabetes with non-invasive medical devices without the side effects associated with drug treatments.”

This project is part of a growing body of research in the field of bioelectronic medicine that is exploring new ways to treat chronic diseases such as diabetes by using electronic devices to correct dysfunctions in the nervous system that are believed to be key contributing factors to these diseases. GE scientists have developed a novel, potentially breakthrough approach that could restore nerve signals to a healthy state using non-invasive devices that stimulate metabolic biosystems and produce drug-like effects, but with greater precision than traditional treatments, and with fewer side effects.

The GE Bioelectronic medicine team is located at GE’s Global Research Center in Upstate New York. This interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers works at the intersection of biology, physics and engineering and has deep connections to other top academic and clinical collaborators in the field.

Recently, members of the GE team were part of groundbreaking work led by the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research to read and interpret nerve signals in the body. The projects with DARPA and Feinstein are part of a growing number of research initiatives that the Bioelectronic medicine team is exploring to transform the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of diseases.

“Given GE’s decades of innovation in medical imaging modalities, our growing body of research and published work in biomedical research and our considerable network of academic and clinical collaborators, GE Global Research is in a unique position to help drive the emerging field of non-invasive neuromodulation and enable revolutionary new treatments for diabetes and other chronic diseases,” Chris Puleo, a GE biomedical engineer and principal investigator of the DARPA project said.

About GE Global Research
GE Global Research is GE’s innovation powerhouse where research meets reality. We are a world-class team of 1,000+ scientific, engineering and marketing minds (600+ Ph. Ds), working at the intersection of physics and markets, physical and digital technologies, and across a broad set of industries to deliver world-changing innovations and capabilities for our customers.

DES MOINES, Iowa —
UnitedHealthcare and Optum, the health benefits and services companies of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), are taking action to help people affected by the recent tornadoes that swept through parts of central Iowa.

Support includes assisting health plan participants who may need to make alternate arrangements to access care and early prescription refills, as well as offering a free emotional-support line to help people who might be affected.

Help Finding a Network Care Provider, Early Refills: Plan participants who need help finding a care provider in the UnitedHealthcare network or obtaining early prescription refills can call customer care at the number located on the back of their medical ID cards.

For plan participants who may have misplaced their medical ID cards, call 866-633-2446, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. (in the local time zone), Monday through Friday. People enrolled in Medicaid, employer-sponsored and individual health plans (except Medicare) who have a smartphone can download the free Health4Me app, which provides instant access to their ID card, network care providers, their personal health benefits and more. The Health4Me app is available as a free download at the Apple iTunes App Store and the Android Market on Google Play.

Free Help Line: Optum, a leading health and behavioral health services company, is offering a free emotional-support help line.

The toll-free number, 866-342-6892, will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for as long as necessary. The service is free of charge and open to anyone. Specially trained Optum mental health specialists help people manage their stress and anxiety so they can continue to address their everyday needs. Callers may also receive referrals to community resources to help them with specific concerns, including financial and legal matters.

Along with the toll-free help line, emotional-support resources and information are available online at www.liveandworkwell.com.

About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health and well-being company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and helping to make the health system work better for everyone. UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which provides information and technology-enabled health services. For more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at www.unitedhealthgroup.com or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on Twitter.

According to a new study released in RSNA’s June issue of the journal Radiology, doctors reported the combination of 2D and 3D mammography to be more effective at finding breast cancer compared to 2D alone.

When it comes to fighting breast cancer, mammography screening is often considered the first line of defense. Many medical association guidelines, such as the American Cancer Society and the European Society of Breast Imaging, recommend that women between 40 and 50 years of age start receiving regular breast cancer screenings every one to three years. Finding breast cancer early reduces a woman’s risk of dying from the disease by 25-30 percent or more[1].

The study, conducted by radiologists and scientists in charge of the breast cancer screening program in Reggio Emilia, Italy, tests the effectiveness of 3D mammography for screening by combining it with 2D mammography to see if the combination could have a beneficial impact on patient prognosis compared with 2D alone. In Europe, 2D mammography is currently the standard for population-based screening programs.

The study is the first European clinical study of 2D and 3D mammography to be conducted as a population-based, prospective, randomized trial. The researchers conducted breast cancer screening exams on roughly 20,000 women using GE Healthcare mammography technology, comparing results from the 3D and 2D combination to those from 2D alone.

By adding 3D to 2D mammography for screening, the researchers detected 90 percent more cancers than with 2D alone – and with a similar recall rate. By adding 3D mammography, the percentage of false positive results was lowered by 25 percent compared to 2D alone, helping to avoid additional exams and anxiety for women called back for further tests despite not having a cancer diagnosis.

The study also found the addition of 3D mammography provided similar detection rates in all breast density classes, with roughly a 70 percent increase in detection in women with dense breasts. Additionally, it showed a 94 percent increase in detecting small invasive cancers, which are usually more treatable, and a 122 percent increase in detecting medium-sized invasive cancers.

This research is part of a larger study looking at interval cancers, or those detected between screening exams, and cumulative incidence of advanced cancers.

MINNETONKA, Minn. — UnitedHealthcare honored 10 employers with the company’s “Well Deserved” award for implementing innovative, industry-leading workplace well-being programs that help improve their employees’ health.

This year’s Well Deserved award winners demonstrated their commitment to creating a healthier culture by offering a variety of workplace programs and services such as mindfulness and stress reduction courses, onsite health centers and fitness classes, discounts at local fitness centers, financial well-being initiatives, onsite produce delivery, healthy snack challenges, sit-stand workstations, and an onsite mammogram van.

“Well Deserved award winners successfully established a culture of well-being by implementing worksite wellness programs to help lower costs and improve employee health and engagement,” said Ann Marie O’Brien, RN, UnitedHealthcare’s national director of health strategies. “An increasing number of companies recognize that valued well-being programs help employee health, satisfaction and productivity, and differentiate themselves as employers from other organizations.”

Among this year’s award winners, Northfield, Illinois-based Medline Industries, Inc., received a Well Deserved Leadership award. The award recognizes employers for their innovation, thought leadership and sustained results in helping employees improve their health and well-being.

Three employers received Golden Apple awards for winning a Well Deserved award for the second time, demonstrating a sustained commitment to employee health and wellness:

Gallup, Omaha, Neb.
Keller Independent School District, Keller, Texas
Parkway School District, Chesterfield, Mo.
First-time Well Deserved award winners include:

Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colo.
De Nora Tech, LLC, Concord, Ohio
Fort Bend Independent School District, Sugar Land, Texas
Grange Insurance, Columbus, Ohio
Webster University, St. Louis, Mo.
Wright-Patt Credit Union, Inc., Beavercreek, Ohio
Honorable Mention recipients include:

Broward County Government, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Charter Manufacturing Company, Inc., Mequon, Wis.
County of Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wis.
Florida League of Cities
Methodist Health System, Dallas, Texas
NK Parts Industries, Inc., Sidney, Ohio
OCLC, Inc., Dublin, Ohio
Phillips Edison & Company, Cincinnati, Ohio
Racine Unified School District, Racine, Wis.
SIRVA Inc., Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
This is UnitedHealthcare’s 10th year honoring employers that have implemented innovative well-being programs to support their employees’ health goals. UnitedHealthcare worked with an external broker review panel to review and judge all applicants.

UnitedHealthcare analysis reveals that when compared to their peers, employees of Well Deserved award winners show lower costs and better engagement in key areas such as wellness and preventive screening compliance, selecting appropriate care settings, and using care providers that are highly ranked for quality care and cost-efficiency.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.2 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter

MINNEAPOLIS and BURLINGTON, N.C. — UnitedHealthcare and LabCorp (NYSE: LH) have renewed their long-term strategic partnership as the two organizations focus on ways to create more personalized care recommendations and a simpler consumer experience for the more than 48 million people enrolled in UnitedHealthcare plans. LabCorp will continue to serve as UnitedHealthcare’s exclusive national laboratory provider until Jan. 1, 20191.

As part of the expanding relationship, UnitedHealthcare and LabCorp will collaborate on a variety of value-based programs, bringing the same aligned incentives and enhanced patient experience to lab services as exist today in accountable care arrangements between UnitedHealthcare and more than 1,100 hospitals and 110,000 physicians. Working together, UnitedHealthcare and LabCorp will strategically change the way they are able to support consumers’ health care needs by using real-time data sharing to help better anticipate people’s care options – and reducing gaps in care – similar to the model UnitedHealthcare already uses to integrate medical and pharmacy data.

“Lab data is quickly becoming the personalized roadmap that identifies the path to the next best action for individual patients,” said Dan Schumacher, President and Chief Operating Officer, UnitedHealthcare. “The expansion of our relationship with LabCorp will enable us to work together on an even broader scale, and we appreciate that LabCorp has helped develop a value-based approach to lab services that will focus on improving patient outcomes, better coordinating care with physicians, and meaningfully reducing costs.”

“At the heart of our partnership has been a commitment to collaborative innovation for the benefit of patients, consistent with LabCorp’s mission of improving health and improving lives,” said David P. King, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LabCorp. “We are pleased with the agreement to extend and expand our long-standing partnership with UnitedHealthcare, and with the terms of the agreement. This relationship exemplifies our strategic alignment with UnitedHealthcare and our commitment to maximizing the value we deliver to patients, care providers and shareholders.”

The two companies’ long-term collaboration also sets the foundation for the development of more modern benefit designs focused on incenting individuals to use high-quality, cost-effective in-network labs while setting industry-leading standards for ease of access and the patient experience.

LabCorp offers nearly 5,000 frequently requested and specialty tests, including a wide range of clinical, anatomic pathology, genetic, and genomic tests, delivered through LabCorp’s broad patient access points, including a growing retail presence.

About LabCorp
LabCorp (NYSE: LH), an S&P 500 company, is a leading global life sciences company that is deeply integrated in guiding patient care, providing comprehensive clinical laboratory and end-to-end drug development services. With a mission to improve health and improve lives, LabCorp delivers world-class diagnostic solutions, brings innovative medicines to patients faster, and uses technology to improve the delivery of care. LabCorp reported net revenues of over $10 billion in 2017. To learn more about LabCorp, visit www.labcorp.com, and to learn more about Covance Drug Development, visit www.covance.com.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.2 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is releasing the second year of funding to 50 states, four U.S. territories, and the free associated states of Palau and Micronesia, totaling $485 million to continue the Nation’s efforts to combat the opioid crisis.

“The Trump Administration is partnering with states and territories to accelerate the deployment of this historic level of resources provided by the Congress to fight the epidemic,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “These funds will help support evidence-based efforts at the state level to prevent misuse of opioids in the first place, expand access to effective treatment options for people in need, and support recovery for those who have prevailed.”

The Opioid State Targeted Response (STR) grants, which were created by the 21st Century Cures Act, are administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within HHS.

Dr. Elinore F. McCance-Katz, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use said, “Within the first year, we have already seen states use the funding to support innovative models to connect Americans with the evidence-based programs and practices proven to help people who have opioid use disorders.”

Grantees have used first year funding to implement effective medication-assisted treatment, promote the use of naloxone and key prevention strategies, and build sustainable systems of recovery support services across the country. Prevention efforts include communications campaigns along with use of proven community-based strategies. People in recovery, friends, and family members with personal experience are helping enhance recovery support.

This funding is just one more step in implementing HHS’ comprehensive five-pronged strategy to address the opioid crisis. Within the next few months, SAMHSA will release details of a separate $1 billion grant funding opportunity for states, territories, and tribes hardest hit by the crisis. This new funding is expected to be awarded in September 2018.

On Thursday, HHS Secretary Alex Azar held a listening session with state officials who work on prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) in the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Secretary was joined by Acting CDC Director Anne Schuchat and staff from other parts of HHS, including CDC and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

The gathering follows President Trump’s Monday announcement in New Hampshire of the administration’s new opioid addiction initiative, as well as travel and meetings by top HHS officials in seven states this week.

Secretary Alex Azar holding a listening session with state officials who work on prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) in the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia
Participants discussed ways in which their states have developed and enhanced PDMPs, including efforts to make programs interoperable between states, raise rates of provider and prescriber participation, and make the best use possible of data generated. A number of participants individually shared the importance of combating stigma surrounding addiction, an issue Secretary Azar has made a priority.

Secretary Azar noted that PDMPs are an important part of ensuring the appropriate prescribing and use of legal opioids, a key piece of the three-point administration opioids strategy unveiled on Monday, which covers addiction prevention, supply interdiction, and treatment provision. The strategy proposes a nationally interoperable PDMP network, building on work HHS already does to promote and support PDMPs, including through CDC’s Prevention For States grant program.

Secretary Azar thanked the participants for their valuable insights and tireless work in confronting the challenge of opioid addiction. He emphasized President Trump’s personal commitment to taking bold action against the crisis, and emphasized that the federal government will continue to engage with state officials and support their work.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the availability of $260 million in a new funding opportunity for the Title X family planning program to help improve and expand quality care. The funding opportunity will assist in the establishment and/or operation of voluntary family planning projects that will offer a broad range of family planning methods and services, including information, education and counseling related to family planning, preconception care, contraception, natural family planning and infertility services.

Recognizing the announcement has been delayed, HHS is committed to ensuring that services continue unabated. Current grantees received notification today inviting them to submit a request for grant extension, so there is no gap in services.

“We encourage all qualified organizations to apply, especially those proposing innovative strategies that would increase the number of clients served and the quality of services provided,” said Assistant Secretary for Health Brett P. Giroir, M.D. “We are committed to ensuring that we provide access to quality family planning services to the women and men who depend on this vital public health program.”

In particular, this year’s funding opportunity is seeking applicants that offer a broad range of family planning and related health services tailored to the individual needs of the client and that promote optimal health outcomes. As emphasized in the statutory language governing the program, “none of the funds appropriated under this title shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”

The funding opportunity further requires that all Title X grantees develop monitoring and reporting policies, consistent with state law, in order to expand assurances that those who enter a Title X service site and who may be victims of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, incest, intimate partner violence or human trafficking, are afforded the help and legal protection to which they are entitled. For the first time, the funding opportunity requires that all staff are annually trained to respond to such needs.

Further, building on several years of HHS work to streamline the process of applying for Title X grants and ease burdens on applicants, interested organizations can now submit one application that covers multiple geographic service areas, rather than having to submit multiple applications for different service areas. This year will involve just one annual funding competition, rather than multiple competitions.

This funding announcement covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the six Pacific jurisdictions. The awards are expected to be issued in September of this year.

The HHS Office of Population Affairs oversees the Title X family planning program, which currently funds 84 grantees that support nearly 4,000 family planning sites nationwide and provides services to more than 4 million women and men each year. Title X service sites serve a population of mostly female, low-income and young clients. Title X grants are awarded through a competitive process to public and private nonprofit entities. Services funded with Title X grants are provided by state and local public health departments and/or community health, family planning and other private nonprofit agencies.

Applications for the Title X family planning services grants are due at 6:00 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, May 24, 2018. Technical assistance will be provided to those who are interested in applying for grants.

A receiver appointed to liquidate the assets of Filefax, Inc. has agreed to pay $ 100,000 out of the receivership estate to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in order to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. Filefax, located in Northbrook, Illinois, advertised that it provided for the storage, maintenance, and delivery of medical records for covered entities. Although Filefax shut its doors during the course of OCR’s investigation into alleged HIPAA violations, it could not escape its obligations under the law.

On February 10, 2015, OCR received an anonymous complaint alleging that an individual transported medical records obtained from Filefax to a shredding and recycling facility to sell on February 6 and 9, 2015. OCR opened an investigation, which confirmed that an individual had left medical records of approximately 2,150 patients at the shredding and recycling facility, and that these medical records contained patients’ protected health information (PHI).

OCR’s investigation indicated that between January 28, 2015, and February 14, 2015, Filefax impermissibly disclosed the PHI of 2,150 individuals by leaving the PHI in an unlocked truck in the Filefax parking lot, or by granting permission to an unauthorized person to remove the PHI from Filefax, and leaving the PHI unsecured outside the Filefax facility.

“The careless handling of PHI is never acceptable,” said OCR Director Roger Severino. “Covered entities and business associates need to be aware that OCR is committed to enforcing HIPAA regardless of whether a covered entity is opening its doors or closing them. HIPAA still applies.”

Filefax is no longer in business. In 2016, a court in unrelated litigation appointed a receiver to liquidate its assets for distribution to creditors and others. In addition to a $100,000 monetary settlement, the receiver has agreed, on behalf of Filefax, to properly store and dispose of remaining medical records found at Filefax’s facility in compliance with HIPAA.