Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
About 2,000 Ascension Nurses To Strike In Texas, Kansas Today
Fierce Healthcare: Ascension Facing Largest Nurse Strikes In Texas, Kansas History
About 2,000 registered nurses are slated to launch a one-day strike Tuesday morning and, upon completion, will be locked out of their Ascension hospitals for an additional three days, according to statements from their union and the major Catholic health system. The nurses are employed at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas, and Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph Hospital and Ascension Via Christi St. Francis Hospital, both in Wichita, Kansas. (Muoio, 6/26)
Axios: Health Workers Start To Feel Optimism About Industry, Poll Finds
Health care workers who served on the front lines of the pandemic and suffered record levels of burnout are beginning to feel more optimistic about the medical profession, according to a Morning Consult poll shared first with Axios. Why it matters: While there are still plenty of stressors, from misinformation to labor shortages, caseloads within inpatient settings have largely normalized. (Reed, 6/26)
More health care industry developments —
Modern Healthcare: Physician-Owned Hospitals Have Lower Prices: Study
Physician-owned hospital prices were about a third lower than traditional hospitals in the same market, a study found, potentially fueling debate over legislation that would remove the ban on building more physician-owned hospitals. (Kacik, 6/26)
Modern Healthcare: Dialysis Reimbursement To Increase Under CMS Proposed Rule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed a payment boost for dialysis providers next year in a draft regulation released Monday. The agency is proposing to raise the end-stage renal disease Prospective Payment System base rate for dialysis services provided to Medicare beneficiaries by $4.42, or 1.7%, to $269.99. It projects total payments will rise 2.6% for hospital-based end-stage renal disease facilities and 1.6% for freestanding facilities. (Berryman, 6/26)
Fierce Healthcare: Hospital Consolidation Linked To Pediatric Service Closures
Recent study findings suggest that hospital consolidation is associated with a reduction of inpatient pediatric services during subsequent years—a new data point for policymakers weighing whether and how to rein in health systems’ consolidation of smaller provider facilities. Published in JAMA Pediatrics, the analysis by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers reviewed American Hospital Association annual survey reports from thousands of U.S. hospitals between 2011 and 2020. (Muoio, 6/26)
Modern Healthcare: Amedisys Accepts UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Acquisition Offer
Home health company Amedisys said Monday it has agreed to be acquired by UnitedHealth Group’s Optum in an all-cash transaction for $101 per share, or an estimated $3.3 billion. The bid is higher than Optum’s original offer in early June of $100 per share for the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based company. (Eastabrook, 6/26)
The Washington Post: U-Penn Medicine Quits Cooperating With U.S. News Hospitals Ranking
The University of Pennsylvania Health System will no longer participate in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of hospitals, officials announced Monday. The decision by the perennially highly ranked health system, part of Penn Medicine, added to a growing revolt against the lists by prominent schools. Kevin B. Mahoney, chief executive of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, said his moment of clarity came when someone asked how a decision to save a hospital in a low-income neighborhood might affect their place in the rankings. (Svrluga, 6/26)
KFF Health News: The Hospital Bills Didn’t Find Her, But A Lawsuit Did — Plus Interest
Bethany Birch had pain in her diaphragm on and off for eight months in 2016. She knew it was triggered by food, so she said she tried taking an antacid. That helped a little, but, eventually, she avoided eating altogether. She estimated she lost 25 pounds in that time. One night that September, the pain would not go away for hours. It was so severe she went to the emergency room at Indian Path Community Hospital in Kingsport, Tennessee, where she lives. An ultrasound revealed she needed her gallbladder removed right away. She was able to get into surgery quickly because she hadn’t eaten in over 12 hours due to her food avoidance. (Sable-Smith, 6/27)
On race and health —
Capital & Main: How Deeply Does Our Health Care System Discriminate?
Since before the country’s formation, unequal health based on race, from inferior care and treatment to shorter life spans, has been part and parcel of American history. Surveys in recent decades have enabled researchers to bring those disparities into sharper and sometimes harrowing focus. But identifying these issues hasn’t brought the country much closer to resolving them. And a new report underscores how truly intractable those problems are — because it brings race-based disparities right into the safest hospitals in the United States. (Kreidler, 6/22)
The Boston Globe: Top Healthcare Leaders Push Continued Commitment To Equity
In recent weeks, members of the Health Equity Compact, a group of more than 70 leaders of color working to advance equitable health reform, convened several of the state’s top leaders to discuss the financial toll that racial health inequities are taking on the residents of Massachusetts. Discussion has centered around the findings of a new report, commissioned by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation in collaboration with the Compact, that found the health disparities experienced by communities of color cost the state about $5.9 billion each year, a number that researchers warn will nearly double by 2050, unless urgent action is taken. (Mohammed, 6/26)
KFF Health News: New Charleston Museum Nods To Historical Roots Of US Health Disparities
Maude Callen, a Black nurse-midwife, delivered more than 800 infants across the South Carolina Lowcountry starting in the 1920s, when segregation made it difficult for Black people to get medical care. Although Callen isn’t commonly considered a household name, visitors passing through the new $120 million International African American Museum that opened this week will learn about her work. (Sausser, 6/27)
