Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'A Disconnect': Insurer Sees Loophole In Trump Policy On Pooled Tests
Modern Healthcare: Insurers See Pooled COVID-19 Test Samples As A Potential Coverage Loophole
Insurers may have found a loophole in Congress' COVID-19 diagnostic testing coverage requirements: pooled test results. Trump administration officials have hailed pooling COVID-19 testing samples as a way to increase testing capacity while conserving supplies, but at least one insurer tried to exempt themselves from paying for any sort of pooled testing under a standard set in guidance from the Trump administration. (Cohrs, 8/17)
Modern Healthcare: Michigan Blues To Refund $21 Million To Customers
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan plans to return more than $21 million in the form of premium waivers to more than 180,000 commercially insured individual health and dental plan members in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Premium credits will be issued on November invoices, pending state insurance department approval. The credits are a response to lower than expected healthcare claims resulting from the disruption in the delivery of health and dental services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue Cross said Monday. (Greene, 8/17)
Boston Globe: Insurers, Hospitals At Odds In Telehealth Debate On Beacon Hill
Massachusetts lawmakers have debated for years how best to pay for telehealth. All it took was a pandemic to finally get something done. Now, the Legislature is on the brink of finalizing a law that would mandate reimbursement rates for many virtual medical visits — a once-abstract concept to most of us that became all too real during COVID-19 lockdowns. (Chesto, 8/17)
In other hospital news —
Boston Globe: Mass General Brigham Extends Work-From-Home Through June
Saying the coronavirus crisis has taken a “heavy toll” on its staff, Mass General Brigham has extended remote work through June 2021 for nearly 20,000 employees, or a quarter of its workforce, and expanded child-care benefits available to all workers. “While this decision was difficult, we must lead by example and support Governor Baker’s request to work remotely wherever possible,” the state’s largest private employer said Monday in a companywide e-mail. (Edelman, 8/17)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Here's What's Next For East Jefferson Hospital After Voters Approved Sale To LCMC Health
With resounding voter approval this weekend for their purchase of East Jefferson General Hospital, LCMC Health officials now face the task of turning around the fortunes of a venerable Metairie institution that had slid towards financial insolvency in a shifting New Orleans health care market. (Roberts III, 8/17)
Modern Healthcare: Nuance Beats Pennsylvania Health System's Malware Lawsuit
A federal judge tossed a lawsuit alleging that software company Nuance Communications was responsible for "millions of dollars in damages" a Pennsylvania health system suffered due to a 2017 cyberattack. Heritage Valley Health System in November sued Nuance in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, alleging the company's failure to take proper information security precautions led it to become a victim of NotPetya, a cyberattack that hit major companies across the globe in 2017. (Cohen, 8/17)
