Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As Baby Boomers Age, Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Needs Are Skyrocketing
The New York Times: Companies Respond To An Urgent Health Care Need: Transportation
As America’s baby boomers are hitting 65 at a rate of 10,000 a day, and healthier lifestyles are keeping them in their homes longer, demand is escalating for a little talked-about — yet critical — health care-related job: Transporting people to and from nonemergency medical appointments. “It’s going to become a massive phenomena,” said Ken Dychtwald, founder and chief executive of Age Wave, a consulting firm specializing in age-related issues. “This is an unmet need that’s going to be in the tens of millions of people.” (Morrissey, 8/9)
The Associated Press: Merger Cancellation Pushes Rite Aid Into Uncertain Future
Rite Aid shares plunged Thursday as the company headed into an uncertain future after calling off its merger with the grocer Albertsons. Analysts and retail insiders questioned the drugstore chain's prospects after it ended a planned takeover by Albertsons before Rite Aid shareholders could vote on it. That vote also faced shaky prospects due to opposition from shareholders and influential proxy advisory firms. (Murphy, 8/9)
The Wall Street Journal: The High Cost Of Getting Your Wish At Rite Aid
Rite Aid investors might have to get used to the single life. The drugstore chain and grocer Albertsons announced Wednesday evening that they terminated their planned merger. That marks the second Rite Aid deal in about a year to fall through: Walgreens Boots Alliance had planned to buy Rite Aid last summer before regulatory concerns forced a much less ambitious asset sale. (Grant, 8/9)
Bloomberg: Glenview, Icahn Face Off Over Cigna/Express Scripts Deal
Activist investor Carl Icahn’s push to derail Cigna Corp.’s proposed $54 billion takeover of pharmacy-benefits firm Express Scripts Holding Co. isn’t convincing one big shareholder. Glenview Capital Management LLC publicly backed the deal on Thursday in a letter to Cigna shareholders, urging other investors to do the same, saying the company is actually paying a cheap price for Express Scripts compared with similar takeovers in the past. That rebuts Icahn’s statements that the health insurer is “dramatically overpaying” for a company facing existential threats. (Darie and Deveau, 8/9)
Seattle Times: Amazon Considering Opening Seattle Health Clinics For Employees, Report Says
Amazon is weighing opening primary care clinics to treat employees at its Seattle headquarters, CNBC reported Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter. A preliminary plan, CNBC reported, calls for the retail and technology giant to open a pilot clinic later this year staffed by a small number of doctors, and to expand it to more employees in early 2019. (Day, 8/9)
