Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Bill Would Stop Real Estate Investment Trusts From Owning Hospitals In Mass.
Bloomberg: Massachusetts Is Trying To Prevent REITs From Owning Hospitals
The collapse of Steward Health Care System has Massachusetts lawmakers pointing fingers at the hospital operator’s landlord and other companies like it. Real estate experts say their proposed fixes miss the mark. A sweeping health-care oversight bill that passed the state House of Representatives with almost unanimous support includes a provision that would ban hospitals from leasing their main campuses from real estate investment trusts, known as REITs. Other types of landlords would still be allowed to own hospitals and existing leases with REITs can continue. The crackdown would be among the first of its kind in the US. (Taylor and Sutherland, 6/24)
The CT Mirror: Hartford HealthCare Sued For Alleged Monopolization, Price Fixing
Two health plans filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Hartford HealthCare and several of its subsidiaries earlier this month for alleged unlawful monopolization, restraint of trade and price fixing. (Golvala, 6/25)
Modern Healthcare: Oscar, Centene, Highmark See Opportunity In Exchange-Based ICHRAs
Health insurance companies hungry for a piece of the large and lucrative employer health plan market see a recently created exchanges-based product as their way in. Although only a small — albeit growing — share of businesses offer individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements, or ICHRAs, to their workers, insurers such as Oscar Health, Centene and Highmark are gambling they are the wave of the future as employers strive to contain healthcare spending. (Berryman, 6/24)
The CT Mirror: CT Is Considering Health Plan Rate Increases. Here's What To Know.
The Connecticut insurance department is again considering annual rate hikes for state-regulated health plans on and off the insurance exchange. Insurers are seeking an average increase of 8.3% on 2025 individual plans and 11.9% on small group policies. The proposed hikes are lower than what was requested the last two years, but similar to those sought in 2021. (Carlesso, 6/24)
Fox News: Veterans Eyewear Supplier Accused Of ‘Bait-And-Switch’ To Undercut Competition
A company supplying eyewear to veterans has been accused of lowballing prices to win a contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), then making up that money on the backs of veterans through higher prices for upgrades and aggressive sales tactics – all at the expense of quality. (Betz, 6/24)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News' 'An Arm And A Leg': Meet The Middleman’s Middleman
Why are patients facing bigger bills than they expect for out-of-network care? In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” the show explains the hidden mechanics of MultiPlan, a data firm that helps health insurers set these rates and make bigger returns. (Weissmann, 6/25)
In news about health personnel —
Modern Healthcare: Travel Nursing Demand Declines, Staffing Agencies Pivot
Healthcare employment agencies are reevaluating their strategies as interest in travel nurses wanes among both hospitals and workers. It's another sign of the shifting needs of the industry since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Testing firms have laid off workers or folded. Telehealth companies have been challenged. (DeSilva, 6/24)
The New York Times: In San Francisco, Doctors Feud Over ‘Do No Harm’ When It Comes To War Protests
It looked like any other pro-Palestinian encampment at a college campus in the United States. The tents, the flags, the banners calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. But this was at the University of California, San Francisco, one of the nation’s pre-eminent medical schools and teaching hospitals. The protesters were medical students and doctors. And the chants of “intifada, intifada, long live intifada!” could be heard by patients in their hospital rooms at the U.C.S.F. Medical Center. (Knight, 6/24)
CBS News: Surgeons Perform Kidney Transplant With Patient Awake During Procedure
Surgeons at Northwestern Medicine performed a kidney transplant on an awake patient, marking a first for the Chicago-based healthcare system. The patient, 28-year-old John Nicholas of Chicago, felt no pain during the May 24 procedure and was discharged the next day. Typically a patient is hospitalized for 2-3 days following a kidney transplant at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. (Moniuszko, 6/24)
