Premera Blue Cross To Pay Nearly $7M For Data Breach

Modern Healthcare: Premera Blue Cross To Pay Second-Largest HIPAA Fine To OCR
Premera Blue Cross has agreed to pay HHS' Office for Civil Rights $6.85 million, the second-largest fine resolving alleged HIPAA violations in OCR's history, the agency said Friday. OCR imposed the fine on the Mountlake Terrace, Wash.-based health insurer to settle alleged HIPAA violations linked to a 2014 data breach that compromised data on 10.4 million people. (Cohen, 9/25)

Becker's Hospital Review: Children's Minnesota Considering 'Significant' Layoffs, Consolidation Of Services
Citing mounting financial pressure from the pandemic, demographic shifts and policy changes, Minneapolis-based Children's Minnesota is eyeing "significant" layoffs and service consolidations, according to the Star Tribune. Children's Minnesota said it is considering moving some pediatric services from its inpatient hospital in St. Paul, Minn., to its Minneapolis campus. Some of the services that may be consolidated into one location include pediatric intensive care services, neurology services and diabetes care. (Paavola, 9/25)

Becker's Hospital Review: Mercy Iowa City To Close Inpatient Mental Health Unit
Mercy Iowa City said it will close its mental and behavioral health unit by the end of the year, according to The Gazette. The hospital said it plans to shutter the unit due to financial pressures exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Mercy Hospital Iowa told the Gazette it plans to expand outpatient behavioral health services because "there is greater community need." (Paavola, 9/25)

Modern Healthcare: Two Years After Leaping Into Senior Living, ProMedica Says Bet Is Paying Off
ProMedica's leaders say they knew buying HCR ManorCare meant sacrificing—at least in the short run—their debt ratio and perhaps even their credit ratings. Indeed, all three rating agencies have since downgraded the health system, citing its debt ratio. The tradeoff, they say, was made in service of a larger, multipronged strategy that's just starting to bear fruit. (Bannow, 9/25)

In other health industry news —

San Francisco Chronicle: Nurses And Other Union Workers Authorize Oct. 7 Strike Against East Bay Hospitals
Employees in the Alameda Health System — which largely serves minority communities — plan to begin a five-day strike on Oct. 7, the California Nurses Association announced Saturday. In a release, the union said the strike authorization was spurred by concerns over patient safety during the pandemic, along with what it called punitive actions from management at the Alameda Health System that have hindered recruitment and the retention of registered nurses. The strike affects Alameda Hospital, San Leandro Hospital and Highland Hospital. (Johnson, 9/27)

Modern Healthcare: Blue Cross NC To Spend Legal Winnings On Members
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina said Friday that it is using its legal recoveries from a successful lawsuit over unpaid Affordable Care Act risk-corridor funds to help members with health, wellness and household expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The N.C. Blue affiliate said it will mail $200 million in retail cards to more than 600,000 members in October and November to help them pay for over-the-counter medications, groceries, first-aid supplies, vitamins, exercise equipment and other items at a variety of retailers. (Livingston, 9/25)

Modern Healthcare: Pharmacists In Ohio Managing Care As Providers—And Getting Paid For It Too
Until a few months ago, pharmacists at Franklin Pharmacy in Warren, Ohio, would rattle off a familiar script when a customer arrived at the counter to pick up a prescription: here’s how to take your medicine; these are the side effects; do you have any questions? Most times, the answer was no. Since June they have begun sitting down with patients who have chronic illnesses or have just been discharged from the hospital. They go over medications and make sure the patient is taking them as prescribed. They ask about stress, exercise routines, smoking and other health concerns—topics usually reserved for the primary-care doctor. (Livingston, 9/26)

Modern Healthcare: What IPO And Walmart Deal Mean For Fast-Growing Oak Street Health
Fortified by an initial public offering, Oak Street Health is moving into new markets and testing a less familiar business model as it navigates the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chicago-based network of primary care clinics for people 65 and older, many of whom have complex medical and social needs, raised $352 million when it went public last month. (Goldberg, 9/27)

The Washington Post: A Medical School Class Thought The Hippocratic Oath Fell Flat. So They Wrote Their Own Script. 
At the suggestion of one of the assistant deans at the medical school, the incoming students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine decided to update their oath for the first time in the 137-year history of the school. As they rewrote it, it became more explicitly inclusive of all people, including those historically overlooked by the medical community. It was embraced full-heartedly by the administration. The oath, which was taken by the entire 149-member class last month, acknowledges the lives lost to covid-19, the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, and the history of the “fundamental failings of our health care and political systems in serving vulnerable communities.” (Onyekweli, 9/26)