New England Journal Of Medicine Often Ignored Nazi Atrocities, Article Says
An article in the NEJM criticizes the journal itself for its weak reporting when the Nazis were rising in Germany and performing horrific medical experiments. Also in the news: a probe into liver transplants at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center.
The New York Times:
New England Journal Of Medicine Ignored Nazi Atrocities, Historians Find
The journal was “an outlier in its sporadic coverage of the rise of Nazi Germany,” wrote the article’s authors, Allan Brandt and Joelle Abi-Rached, both medical historians at Harvard. Often, the journal simply ignored the Nazis’ medical depredations, such as the horrific experiments conducted on twins at Auschwitz, which were based largely on Adolf Hitler’s spurious “racial science.” In contrast, two other leading science journals — Science and the Journal of the American Medical Association — covered the Nazis’ discriminatory policies throughout Hitler’s tenure, the historians noted. The New England journal did not publish an article “explicitly damning” the Nazis’ medical atrocities until 1949, four years after World War II ended. (Nazaryan, 4/6)
More health care industry developments —
Houston Chronicle:
Transplant 'Irregularities' Trigger Probe At Memorial Hermann
Federal regulators are investigating a "pattern of irregularities" in the liver transplant program at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. In a statement Thursday, the hospital said it voluntarily halted liver transplants after it was notified of irregularities related to its "donor acceptance criteria," or physical factors such as height and weight that help physicians decide whether a donated organ is compatible with a transplant candidate. (Gill, 4/5)
Stat:
HCA Charity Care: Higher Amount Reported To CMS Than In Financials
The country’s biggest hospital chain, HCA Healthcare, told the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services it doled out almost $1 billion more in financial assistance to needy patients than it reported on its financial statement in 2022, helping the enormously profitable company extract billions of dollars from taxpayer-funded programs. It’s normal for hospital systems to report more charity care — free and discounted care provided to low-income patients — in their annual filings with CMS than on their financial statements. (Bannow, 4/8)
KFF Health News:
Rising Complaints Of Unauthorized Obamacare Plan-Switching And Sign-Ups Trigger Concern
Federal and state regulators aren’t doing enough to stop the growing problem of rogue health insurance brokers making unauthorized policy switches for Affordable Care Act policyholders, say consumers, agents, nonprofit enrollee assistance groups, and other insurance experts “We think it’s urgent and it requires a lot more attention and resources,” said Jennifer Sullivan, director of health coverage access for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (Appleby, 4/8)
The New York Times:
Insurance Companies Reap Hidden Fees As Patients Get Unexpected Bills
A little-known data firm helps health insurers make more when less of an out-of-network claim gets paid. Patients can be on the hook for the difference. (Hamby, 4/7)
Modern Healthcare:
How Chief AI Officers Are Helping Elevance Health, UC San Diego
As more healthcare organizations adopt artificial intelligence, there's a newcomer in some C-suites: the chief AI officer. Two-thirds of health systems plan to increase spending on AI by 25% or more in the next three years, according to a survey published in November by consulting firm Healthcare IT Leaders. Health insurers are also increasingly using AI to streamline operations, train employees and enhance customer service. (Perna, 4/5)
Modern Healthcare:
Teladoc CEO Jason Gorevic Departs The Company
Teladoc CEO Jason Gorevic is out at the company he has led for almost 15 years. The Purchase, New York-based telehealth company on Friday announced Gorevic's immediate departure. Mala Murthy, the company’s chief financial officer, is stepping in as interim CEO while the company’s board searches for a CEO. Murthy has been with Teladoc since June 2019. (Perna, 4/5)
