Virtual primary-care startup Firefly is launching a health plan

Hello,

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

• Firefly Health has a new plan to transform health insurance for small businesses;
• Merck says its COVID-19 antiviral pill is effective and plans to ask the FDA for emergency authorization;
• A right-wing group duped patients out of millions for fake COVID-19 treatments.

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...

How virtual primary-care startup Firefly Health wants to transform healthcare for small companies

• Digital health startup Firefly Health is launching a health plan for small companies.
• The plan is built around its virtual approach to providing primary, mental, and speciality care.
• Firefly is betting that its roots in care delivery will help it compete in the crowded health-plan market.

Check it out>>

Merck says it'll ask regulators to authorize the first antiviral pill designed to treat COVID-19 after a trial found it halved the risk of hospitalization or death

• Merck and Ridgeback say they'll apply "as soon as possible" to get their COVID-19 pill authorized.
• The companies said the drug, molnupiravir, halved the risk of hospitalization or death in a trial.
• If given the OK, the drug would be the first authorized antiviral pill designed to treat COVID-19.

Read the whole story>>

How a group with right-wing ties duped tens of thousands of Americans into buying COVID-19 drugs that don't work

• America's Frontline Doctors, a group with right-wing ties, has been promoting fake COVID-19 treatments.
• It has referred people to a telemedicine site to procure those treatments for a fee.
• Its patients may have spent $6.7 million for medical advice and $8.5 million for prescriptions, The Intercept reported.

Dive in>>

More stories we're reading:

• California will be the first state to require schoolchildren get the COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. Newsom announces (Insider)
• Over a third of patients who get COVID-19 still have symptoms months later (NPR)
• I got a 3rd Moderna vaccine shot at CVS because I have cancer. I was worried about the side effects, but it was worth it. (Insider)
• It's time to get better face masks - here's why and how (Scientific American)

-Leah