Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Blue Shield Says It Will Broaden Prescription Vendors, Rely Less On CVS
Stat: Blue Shield Of California Overhauls Drug Pricing Operation
Blue Shield of California, a health insurance company that covers almost 5 million people, is restructuring how it will pay for prescription drugs by dividing the work up among five different vendors — two of which include Amazon and Mark Cuban’s pharmacy company. (Herman, 8/17)
San Francisco Chronicle: Insurer Blue Shield Eyes Lower Prescription Drug Prices By Dropping CVS As Middleman
The change, CEO Paul Markovich said, will eliminate fees and rebates to pharmacy benefits managers and other intermediaries like wholesalers and distributors that make up a third of prescription drug costs. “We’re starting from scratch with a group of like-minded partners and reinventing the pharmacy system so it’s simple, transparent, consumer-centered and dramatically less expensive,” Markovich said. (Ho, 8/17)
In other health industry news —
PBS NewsHour: The No Surprises Act Left Out Ground Ambulances. Here’s What’s Happening Now
In a study published this year in the journal Health Affairs, researchers looked at data of emergency trips via ground ambulance between 2014 and 2017 for people who were commercially insured. They found that 28 percent of those trips resulted in surprise bills. Following a single ambulance ride, people could be confronted with astronomical bills, debt or even medical bankruptcy. To sidestep the risk of racking up costs, some people avoid ambulances altogether, gambling with time, transportation and their own health. (Santhanam, 8/17)
Stat: ProMED Sees Offers Of Support, But Its Future Remains Unclear
With its future in doubt, ProMED, the financially strapped infectious diseases surveillance network, has seen waves of support pour in in recent weeks, with universities and other funders seeking to rescue it, according to the president of the committee that oversees it. (Branswell, 8/18)
The Colorado Sun: What Happened To Centura Health? Why The Name Is Disappearing
For 27 years, the name Centura Health has stood atop hospitals in Colorado, one of the largest systems in one of the nation’s most competitive health care markets. It’s been around longer than Empower Field at Mile High, longer than Ball Arena — and not just those names, but the actual buildings, too. It is older than Google, Facebook and the iPhone. The Centura brand name lifted off only a year after Denver International Airport did. And it will disappear in the coming months. (Ingold, 8/18)
