Allina Health Halts Policy Of Withholding Care For Patients In Debt

The New York Times: Allina Health Pauses Policy Of Cutting Off Care For Patients In Debt 
Allina Health, a large nonprofit health system based in Minnesota, announced on Friday that it would stop withholding care from patients with outstanding medical debt as it “re-examines” its policy of cutting off services for those who have accrued at least $4,500 in outstanding bills. The health system will now temporarily halt this practice but will not restore care for indebted patients who have already lost access. (Kliff and Silver-Greenberg, 6/9)

More on coverage, costs, and quality —

The New York Times: Hospice Is A Profitable Business, But Nonprofits Mostly Do A Better Job 
In the nearly 20 years that Megan Stainer worked in nursing homes in and around Detroit, she could almost always tell which patients near death were receiving care from nonprofit hospice organizations and which from for-profit hospices. “There were really stark differences,” said Ms. Stainer, 45, a licensed practical nurse. Looking at their medical charts, “the nonprofit patients always had the most visits: nurses, chaplains, social workers.” The nonprofit hospices responded quickly when the nursing home staff requested supplies and equipment. By contrast, she said, “if you called and said, ‘I need a specialized bed,’ with for-profits it could take days — days when the patient is in a bed that’s uncomfortable.” (Span, 6/10)

Stat: Employers And Workers Are Suing Health Insurers Over Steep Costs
Companies, unions, and workers are at a breaking point over how much they pay for health coverage. And some are so exasperated that they’re fighting their own health insurance carriers in court. A string of new lawsuits and judge orders highlights employers’ frustration with health insurers, who they believe are allowing hospitals, doctors, and other entities to charge flagrantly high prices with little to no pushback — knowing that employers and workers will ultimately pick up the tab. (Herman, 6/12)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Health Insurers Must Cover Telemedicine Visits, Pennsylvania Bill Proposes
A new bill in Harrisburg would require private insurers to pay for Pennsylvanians’ virtual doctor visits, as well as establishing quality standards for telemedicine visits. Pennsylvania is one of just five states in the country that does not require insurers to pay for virtual doctors appointments, according to the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers, a collection of national and regional resource groups focused on expanding access to telehealth. (Laughlin, 6/9)

Charlotte Ledger: Few Inspectors Mean Nursing Home Complaints Go Unaddressed
In April 2021, Tom Benoit was so upset about his wife’s care in a New Hanover County nursing home that he called the state to file a formal complaint. His wife, who was unable to walk on her own, often waited more than an hour for someone to respond to her call light when she needed to use the bathroom. She was rarely bathed. Staff members failed to administer her medications on time, Benoit alleged. (Crouch, 6/12)

In other health industry news —

The Boston Globe and Stat: The Inside Story Of How Data Integrity Issues Roiled A Biotech Seen As ‘Moderna 2.0′ 
Over the following months, concerns over the integrity of the data have led to major tumult at Laronde, according to a STAT and Boston Globe investigation. The biotech shelved its two most advanced programs, including the GLP-1 therapy, and is likely to miss its internal goals of submitting paperwork for a clinical trial by the end of the year, three former employees said. Dozens of employees have left, as well as several top executives at the company. (DeAngelis and Cross, 6/12)

Modern Healthcare: Sutter Health Plans Big California Expansion
Sutter Health is plotting an aggressive expansion in northern California that would add more than two dozen ambulatory care centers in the next four years, along with dozens of primary and multispecialty care sites. The nonprofit system, based Sacramento, California, is targeting efforts on areas with access challenges and/or with growing demand for Sutter's services, a spokesperson said. Sutter is working to increase access in multiple ways, such as extending hours of operation, adding entry points for care and investing in better technology, the spokesperson said. (Hudson, 6/9)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Black Patients Waited Longer For Kidney Transplants. A New Rule Aims To Change That
Katherine Anderson’s kidneys have been going downhill for years, increasingly unable to filter her body’s waste products from her blood. She is often exhausted and has no appetite, losing 20 pounds in the last year alone from her slender, 5-foot-5½ frame. On Jan. 27, she finally got good news: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital placed her on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. (Avril, 6/11)

Modern Healthcare: A.I. To Be Top Issue At Annual AMA's Meeting In Chicago
Artificial intelligence, and worries that it will lead to patient misinformation, is a key topic at this year's American Medical Association House of Delegates meeting in Chicago. The six-day event starting Friday draws 3,000 physicians, residents and medical students. The group's committees and house of delegates will discuss and potentially vote on a wide range of policy proposals.  Delegates will review three proposals tied to the excitement surrounding A.I.'s use in healthcare, including two focused on the technology's potential misinformation to patients. (Hudson, 6/9)

NPR: 2022 Was A 'Shockingly Violent Year Against Health Care,' Finds New Report
In conflict zones around the world, violence and threats against hospitals, health care facilities and their personnel reached a grim milestone in 2022, according to a new report from the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC). It documented 1,989 such incidents last year — a 45% increase over 2021 and the worst total number since the group began tracking the data a decade ago. (Cole, 9/6)