Health Industry Headlines: Medicare Coverage, Vaccination Plans, and Market Movements

Recent health news highlights Biogen's ALS drug coverage for Medicare plans, discussions on ending childhood vaccination programs, and label updates for Novo Nordisk's Ozempic. Additionally, concerns over Intercept's liver drug, tax credit expectations under Trump, job cuts at Editas Medicine, and Congo's mpox vaccine reception are noted.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has mandated that private insurers offering Medicare Advantage plans include coverage for Biogen's ALS drug, Qalsody. This decision follows reports of denied coverage due to its classification as 'experimental'. Despite the FDA's accelerated approval last year, many plans were not providing the necessary coverage.

In political news, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump expressed intentions to discuss the termination of childhood vaccination programs with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This was revealed in an interview where Trump highlighted rising autism rates as a potential concern linked to vaccinations, signaling a potential policy shift.

Moreover, Novo Nordisk has received the green light from the European Medicines Agency to declare that its diabetes drug, Ozempic, reduces risks of kidney disease progression. This label change follows a trial demonstrating significant benefits of semaglutide in managing kidney disease.

(With inputs from agencies.)