Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Another Health System Posts A Loss
Modern Healthcare: Providence Is Latest Health System To Attribute 2020 Loss To COVID-19 Pandemic
An "unprecedented" drop in patient volumes stemming from pandemic-related shutdowns coupled with higher supply and labor costs has made Providence the latest health system to post an operating loss in 2020. Renton, Wash.-based Providence lost $306 million on $25.7 billion in operating revenue last year, a 1.2% loss margin. The 51-hospital system's margin was an already slim 0.9% in 2019, when the system made $214 million on $25 billion in revenue. Providence's 2020 revenue includes $957 million in federal stimulus grants, without which its loss would have been much higher. (Bannow, 3/9)
WUSF Public Media: Safety Net Hospital Alliance Keeping Eye On Legislature For Medicaid Cuts
The Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida reports that revenue collections have returned to pre-COVID projections, and the state has more cash on hand than ever. But the group is still concerned about cuts to Medicaid. (Miller, 3/9)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare: Proton Beam Coverage Suit Against UnitedHealthcare Moves Forward
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs denied UnitedHealthcare's motion to dismiss on Monday. In March 2020, a court dismissed an individual claim on behalf of Kate Weismann, who paid $95,000 out-of-pocket for proton beam therapy to treat her cervical cancer. The court said that she would have to sue under a different provision of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA. While Weismann accused UnitedHealthcare of breaching its fiduciary duty, the judge said she should have sued the insurer for denial of benefits. Weismann amended her complaint and the court eventually consolidated her case with two others accusing UnitedHealthcare of wrongfully denying proton beam therapy for cancer treatment. (Tepper, 3/9)
Bangor Daily News: Northern Light Admits Female Psychologists Were Paid Less Than Male Counterparts
Northern Light Health paid a Bangor psychologist less than 60 percent of what her male colleagues made while she was working at Acadia Hospital, but it was not because of her sex, the hospital system said this week in a court filing. The court filing came in response to a lawsuit Clare Mundell, who is also a Bangor School Committee member, filed in U.S. District Court in Bangor on Jan. 5. Mundell is seeking unspecified damages for unequal pay, sex discrimination and retaliation. (Marino Jr., 3/9)
Also —
Stat: New Report Details How Pandemic Has Impeded Women's STEMM Careers
The pandemic has significantly impeded the careers of women in academic science, technology, math, and medicine fields, according to a new report. STAT spoke with Eve Higginbotham, chair of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee that wrote the report, about the significance of this negative trend in fields where women are already underrepresented. Higginbotham is also an ophthalmology professor and vice dean of inclusion, diversity, and equity at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. (Gaffney, 3/9)
Roll Call: Broadband Access And Telehealth Are Two Big Winners Under COVID-19
Of all the everyday priorities that changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, few became more crucial than the need to stay connected — to the internet, to teachers and to doctors. Efforts to expand broadband internet access, and especially systems that could connect individuals to their health care providers, have long benefited from bipartisan support, even if Republicans and Democrats disagree over exactly how to best achieve those expansions. Broadband and telehealth were often discussed but rarely prioritized, the rare instance in which both parties agree on something, only to have it overshadowed by unrelated disagreements. Not so once the pandemic hit. (DeChiaro, 3/9)
NPR: Lawsuit Argues 'Ticking Time Bomb' Could Invalidate Thousands Of Health Rules
If you go to the grocery store and pick up something wondering what's in it, that nutrition label is there because of rules from the Department of Health and Human Services. If you show up at an emergency room needing medical care, you have to get treated because of these rules. You're also able to drink bottled water knowing it doesn't contain arsenic because of rules, too. All of those rules — and thousands of others — could disappear without warning because of the Trump administration's Securing Updated and Necessary Statutory Evaluations Timely or SUNSET rule, finalized the day before President Biden's inauguration. A lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court argues that that rule is a "ticking time bomb" designed to tie up the current administration in bureaucratic knots. (Simmons-Duffin, 3/9)
Phys.org: Full Evolutionary Journey Of Hospital Superbug Mapped For The First Time
Modern hospitals and antibiotic treatment alone did not create all the antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria we see today. Instead, selection pressures from before widespread use of antibiotics influenced some of them to develop, new research has discovered. By using analytical and sequencing technology that has only been developed in recent years, scientists from Wellcome Sanger Institute, University of Oslo and University of Cambridge have created an evolutionary timeline of the bacterium, Enterococcus faecalis, which is a common bacterium that can cause antibiotic resistant infections in hospitals. (3/9)
