Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Analysts Say Insurers' Record Profits Will Be Tempered In Coming Months
Modern Healthcare: Insurers' Record Profits Likely To Deflate, Analysts Say
The record profits that health insurers reported in the second quarter of 2020 will likely subside over the next several months as they return excess income to plan members, according to credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service. "We expect earnings to be substantially lower in the second half of the year," Moody's analysts wrote in a report published Monday. Seven large publicly traded insurers reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $26.2 billion in the three months ended June 30, an increase of 87% over the same quarter in 2019. Those results, which were driven by low healthcare utilization amid the COVID-19 pandemic, are unlikely to repeat in the third quarter. (Livingston, 8/24)
Modern Healthcare: Humana Sues Fla. Telehealth Firm Over Allegedly Fraudulent Prescriptions
Humana sued a Florda-based telemedicine company and several physicians for posing [as] insurer representatives and running a prescription drug scheme that allegedly cost Humana millions of dollars. Boca Raton, Fla-based QuivvyTech, Reliable Document Solutions, Reliable Medical Supplies and six doctors allegedly ran an "organized, elaborate telemedicine scheme" where they cold-called Humana plan members and asked them questions about their health. Humana also listed eight pharmacies in the federal lawsuit as co-conspirators, but did not sue them. (Cohen, 8/24)
Modern Healthcare: Google Invests $100M Into Amwell As It Goes Public
Telemedicine company Amwell on Monday filed a registration statement for a proposed initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission and applied to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "AMWL." The company plans to raise up to $100 million in the IPO, according to its S-1 filing. ... Amwell this weekend entered into a stock purchase agreement with Google under which Google invested $100 million into the company. As part of the agreement, Amwell will migrate its video performance capabilities onto Google Cloud and the companies say they'll work together to develop new capabilities with Google Cloud's artificial-intelligence tools. (Cohen, 8/24)
Kaiser Health News: Veteran’s Appendectomy Launches Excruciating Months-Long Battle Over Bill
In late August 2019, Shannon Harness awoke to serious pain in the lower right side of his abdomen — a telltale sign of appendicitis. He booked it to the emergency room of the only hospital in the county: Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center in Salida, Colorado. After a CT scan, doctors told Harness he had acute appendicitis and required immediate surgery. (Lawrence, 8/25)
