Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After Biggest Known Health Hack In U.S. History, Anthem To Pay Record $16M To Settle Potential Privacy Violations
The Associated Press: Insurer Anthem Will Pay Record $16M For Massive Data Breach
The nation's second-largest health insurer has agreed to pay the government a record $16 million to settle potential privacy violations in the biggest known health care hack in U.S. history, officials said Monday. The personal information of nearly 79 million people — including names, birthdates, Social Security numbers and medical IDs — was exposed in the cyberattack, discovered by the company in 2015. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/15)
The Associated Press: 7 Companies, 4 Men Charged In $1B Telemedicine Fraud Scheme
Seven companies and four men are facing charges, accused of roles in a $1 billion telemedicine fraud scheme that deceived tens of thousands of patients and more than 100 doctors, federal prosecutors announced Monday. The eastern Tennessee U.S. attorney's office said six Florida companies, a Houston firm and four Florida men are named in a 32-count indictment charging them with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and mail fraud. (10/15)
Modern Healthcare: Tariffs Add Weight To Healthcare Construction
Tariffs on imported building materials have caused healthcare providers to rethink their construction projects as they look to mitigate higher costs. The Trump administration on Sept. 24 placed a 10% tariff, amounting to $200 billion, on 5,745 items from China, including concrete and lumber. That will rise to 25% in 2019. That's in addition to $50 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese imports that was implemented in August. A 25% levy on steel and 10% on aluminum imported from a handful of countries already kicked in earlier this year. (Kacik, 10/15)
Modern Healthcare: EHRs Hit Hospitals' Bottom Lines With Uncertain Benefits
The federal government fed the initial investments in [Electronic Health Records]. Through May 2016, it poured $34.7 billion into incentives for adopting EHRs, money that many health systems went after. As a result, hospitals and health systems spent millions and sometimes billions of dollars each to install new health record-keeping software. A newly live Epic EHR installation at the Mayo Clinic, for instance, made up a chunk of the health system’s overall $1.5 billion investment in new technology. (Arndt, 10/13)
