Anthem Brings Back Wellpoint Brand In Makeover
The U.S.'s second largest insurer Anthem will rebrand as Elevance Health, and some of its plans will become "Wellpoint" branded, which was the whole company's name before 2014. Separately, two New Jersey hospitals have called off their planned merger after an FTC challenge.
Modern Healthcare:
Anthem Revives Wellpoint Name In Rebranding Effort
Anthem is continuing its corporate makeover. The nation's second largest insurer, which will change its name to Elevance Health on June 28, is extending its rebranding campaign, Anthem announced Wednesday. The company's healthcare services arm will be dubbed Carelon and some of its health plans will take on the Wellpoint brand, which was the parent company's name before it became Anthem in 2014. The divisional renaming will take place over the next few years. In markets where Anthem does not own Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, its Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance products will take on the Wellpoint moniker. The name change will not impact the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans the company operates in 14 states. (Tepper, 6/15)
Stat:
New Jersey Hospitals Scrap Merger After FTC Challenge
Two New Jersey hospital systems have called off their proposed merger less than two weeks after the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the deal. Saint Peter’s Healthcare System said in a statement Tuesday that it “will not move forward” with its proposed transaction with RWJBarnabas Health and is now “assessing the best way to move forward.” RWJ CEO Barry Ostrowsky said in a separate statement that it is “disappointed in the termination of the proposed transaction, which we believe would have transformed quality, increased access, and decreased the overall cost of care for the people of this state.” The FTC took the exact opposite position when it sued, saying the merger would lead to higher prices and worse quality of care. (Herman, 6/14)
Stat:
Verily Co-Founder Details How Real-World Data Can Transform Health Care
The real world’s a messy place, but there’s a lot you can learn out there.If you want to be confident a treatment works, your best bet remains a randomized control trial. But such studies are often picky about the participants they’ll enroll. And these trials generally focus on just a few clinical measurements taken at a handful of time points. There’s a growing push, however, to look at more data, in more people, more often. (Wosen, 6/16)
Also —
The Washington Post:
Glenn Youngkin’s Health Chief Doubts Racial Disparities In Health Care
In five months on the job, Virginia’s chief public health official, Colin Greene, has rejected the state-recognized declaration that racism is a public health crisis and downplayed the role of racism in health disparities, leaving some fearful for their jobs. The head of the office that helps vulnerable mothers and their babies said a run-in with Greene left her and her team traumatized, ashamed and uncertain the programs they shepherded through a pandemic could continue under the new administration. She said he gaslighted staffers and reduced one to tears. (Portnoy, 6/15)
Houston Chronicle:
Texas Children's, Baylor Neurologist Zoghbi Wins Kavli Prize
When Dr. Huda Zoghbi began researching Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder that primarily affects girls, a mentor told her that identifying its genetic cause was the equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack. It was painstaking work that took 16 years to accomplish. But Zoghbi, the director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital and a professor at Baylor College of Medicine, was kept motivated by the girls afflicted with a disorder that affects their ability to walk, speak, eat and breathe. (MacDonald, 6/15)
In pharmaceutical news —
Oklahoman:
Trial For Cancer Drug Made In Oklahoma, Called OK-1, Set To Begin
The OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center on Wednesday announced a first for the state: a cancer drug, developed entirely in Oklahoma and without the help of a pharmaceutical company, is set to be tested in humans for the first time. The drug, dubbed OK-1, is more than 25 years in the making and was created by Dr. Doris Benbrook, a professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the OU College of Medicine. Now, a clinical trial is set to begin at the Stephenson Cancer Center, which involves giving the drug to women with advanced-stage ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancer. (Branham, 6/15)
Dallas Morning News:
Fort Worth Biopharma Nacuity Lands $16.5 Million In Eye Disease Research Funding
Fort Worth biopharmaceutical company Nacuity Pharmaceuticals Inc. will put $16.5 million in new capital into furthering its research of treatments for degenerative eye diseases. Nacuity is in the clinical stages of developing treatments for retinitis pigmentosa, a group of genetic eye diseases, and other eye diseases caused by oxidative stress. This stress can be created by an imbalance of antioxidants in the eye, making it difficult to repair damaged cells and leading to vision loss. (Wright, 6/15)
