UnitedHealth is setting its sights on hospitals

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm healthcare editor Leah Rosenbaum, and today in healthcare news:

• UnitedHealth has a new plan to partner with hospital systems;
• A highly anticipated boosters trial found that J&J shot recipients got a better immune response with Pfizer and Moderna;
• Merck could make billions of its COVID-19 pill.

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Comments, tips? Email me at lrosenbaum@insider.com or tweet @leah_rosenbaum. Let's get to it...

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Optum CEO Andrew Witty

Reuters

UnitedHealth has made a fortune from its sprawling network of doctors and clinics. Now it's setting its sights on hospitals.

• UnitedHealth Group has made a fortune owning medical clinics and keeping patients out of hospitals.
• But the healthcare giant is increasingly looking at hospitals as a source of revenue.
• Last week, UnitedHealth struck a deal with health system SSM Health to handle back-office operations.

Read our analysis>>

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A vial of Johnson & Johnson (Janssen's) Covid-19 vaccine.

Eduardo Sanz/Europa Press via Getty Images

Scientists gave J&J vaccine recipients different booster shots in a highly anticipated trial, and found they got a much better immune response with Moderna and Pfizer

• People who got the J&J vaccine may get a better immune response from a Moderna or Pfizer booster, a major new study suggests.
• J&J recipients generated far more antibodies after a Moderna or Pfizer shot, instead of a second J&J jab.
• However, higher levels of antibodies do not necessarily mean a person is more protected from the coronavirus.

Get the full story>>

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Molnupiravir is an experimental oral antiviral developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics that could treat COVID-19

Merck

Merck is set to make billions off a COVID-19 pill that could change the pandemic. Here's why some countries will pay more than others.

• Merck's COVID-19 pill holds tremendous promise in fighting the pandemic.
• Industry analysts expect Merck to make billions off the not-yet-authorized drug.
• Some countries will be paying $12 per patient, while the US agreed to pay $712 per treatment course.

Learn more>>

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More stories we're reading:

• Fully vaccinated people who previously had COVID-19 should be last in line for booster shots, experts say (Insider)
• This online pharmacy sold millions of dollars of Ivermectin to desperate patients (TIME)
• A drugmaker backed by the company that owns Marlboro cigarettes plans to launch the world's first plant-based COVID-19 vaccine (Insider)
• COVID-19 has killed hundreds of police officers, but many still refuse to get vaccinated (The New York Times)

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-Leah

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