The Biden administration on Thursday warned in a new report that high interest rates from medical credit cards could increase patients' debts and threaten their financial security, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

• District of Columbia: The Biden administration on Thursday warned in a new report that high interest rates from medical credit cards could increase patients' debts and threaten their financial security. The report, issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), estimated that Americans paid $1 billion in deferred interest on medical credit cards and other medical financing between 2018 and 2020. The agency found that interest payments can increase medical bills by nearly 25%. "Lending outfits are designing costly loan products to peddle to patients looking to make ends meet on their medical bills," said Rohit Chopra, director of CFPB. "These new forms of medical debt can create financial ruin for individuals who get sick." (Levey, KFF Health News, 5/4)
• New Jersey: Novo Nordisk on Thursday said it will halve its supply of starter doses of the weight-loss drug Wegovy in the United States to meet high demand. "To safeguard continuity of care, the supply of the lower Wegovy dose strengths in the U.S. will be reduced temporarily," Novo Nordisk said in a statement. Novo's CEO, Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, said the supply of starter doses in the United States would be cut in half for "some months," adding that the company "cannot supply an uptake that just continues growing, so it's important for us that we secure continuity of supply for those patients who have started treatment." (Skydsgaard, Reuters, 5/4)
• Pennsylvania: Generic drugmaker Lannett last week announced it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The drugmaker listed an estimated $100 million to $500 million worth of assets, as well as $500 million to $1 billion of estimated liabilities, according to the filing. Lannett said it expects to operate normally while moving through the Chapter 11 process and that it had enough liquidity to operate. "Commencing our Chapter 11 cases is an important step towards strengthening our financial position, and we intend to move through this process quickly and without disruption for our customers and partners," said Lannett CEO Tim Crew. (Basu, Bloomberg, 5/2)