Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CMS Proposes Rule That Targets Rogue Brokers Switching Obamacare Plans
Modern Healthcare: CMS Proposes Stricter Exchange Broker Oversight
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wants to take a firmer hand against health insurance marketers that fraudulently switch exchange enrollees' plans without their consent. On Friday, the agency issued a proposed rule updating the regulations that govern the health insurance exchange marketplaces next year, including provisions to strengthen its authority to suspend dishonest agents and brokers and to prevent low-income people from losing coverage when they fall behind on premium payments. (Early, 10/4)
ICYMI: Follow KFF Health News' Julie Appleby's reporting on rogue Obamacare brokers
Modern Healthcare: Hospital-At-Home Lowers Medicare Costs, But Extends Stays: Study
Hospital-at-home patients were more likely to be white, had longer lengths of stay and cost Medicare less money than patients receiving in-facility care, according to a new report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In the 79-page report released Monday, CMS evaluated home-based acute care delivered at 332 hospitals nationwide as a requirement of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. (Eastabrook, 10/4)
Modern Healthcare: How Private Equity Bills Targeting Healthcare Deals Fared In 2024
More than a dozen states have passed laws over the last several years bolstering notification requirements for healthcare transactions, some of which specifically cite corporate owners of healthcare entities like private equity and real estate investment companies. But last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed the most ambitious state-led private equity oversight bill under consideration this year. In doing so, the Golden State became the sixth state to nix legislation designed to bolster merger reviews. (Kacik, 10/4)
Becker's Hospital Review: 'This Is Not The Step We Wanted To Take': UVM Halts Construction Of $129M Facility
Burlington-based University of Vermont Medical Center, part of Burlington-based The University of Vermont Health Network, has temporarily paused construction on a $129 million outpatient surgical center. The decision was taken to meet obligations set by the Green Mountain Care Board in an effort to decrease the budget for the new fiscal year, which started in October. "While planning related to the project may continue, active construction will be paused until next year at the earliest," an Oct. 4 UVM Medical Center news release shared with Becker's said. (Ashley, 10/4)
The Boston Globe: Boston Medical Center Emerges From Steward Crisis As Larger Force
Dr. Alastair Bell, chief executive of Boston Medical Center, got up early on Tuesday, the first day of the post-Steward era in Massachusetts. He drove to Brockton to greet caregivers as they arrived at Good Samaritan Medical Center. In the afternoon, he was back in Boston, welcoming staffers at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center as upbeat music played and managers handed out doughnuts in the lobby. That day, they became employees of BMC, the state’s largest safety net hospital — now by a long shot. (Weisman, 10/4)
Bloomberg: Sanofi Healthcare Bidders Revising Offers Over Talc Concerns
Bidders for Sanofi’s consumer healthcare unit are revising their offers in part to address concerns around potential liabilities related to a brand that sold talcum powder, according to people with knowledge of the matter. French pharmaceutical company Sanofi had asked suitors to revise their proposals for the Opella business, Bloomberg News reported earlier this week. The new bids may exclude parts of the Gold Bond business, a brand that historically sold talc-based products, or seek to leave any future legal risks with Sanofi, said the people. (Morpurgo and Duncan, 10/4)
KFF Health News: FDA’s Promised Rules On Pulse Oximeters Unlikely To End Decades Of Racial Bias
The patient was in his 60s, an African American man with emphysema. The oximeter placed on his fingertip registered well above the 88% blood oxygen saturation level that signals an urgent risk of organ failure and death. Yet his doctor, Noha Aboelata, believed the patient was sicker than the device showed. So she sent him for a lab test, which confirmed her suspicion that he needed supplemental oxygen at home. (Allen, 10/7)
On health care workers —
CBS News: Michigan Medicine Health Care Workers Issue Strike Notice
Over 2,700 health care workers with Michigan Medicine have sent a strike notice to hospital administration and management. The workers, represented by Service Employees International Union Health Care Michigan (SEIU HCMI), will conduct a one-day strike on Oct. 15, according to a release. Nearly 98% of the group voted to issue the strike. According to the release, workers are asking for pay increases and to restore benefits that were taken away during the pandemic. Negotiations for a first union contract began one year ago. (Lentz, 10/6)
Modern Healthcare: Here's Where Healthcare Hiring Is Rising And Falling In 2024
Employment gains in healthcare have been slightly weaker this year than last but the overall numbers mask some dramatic swings in different parts of the industry, particularly in hospitals. The average monthly increase in overall healthcare hiring during the first nine months of the year was 53,977 jobs added, slightly less than 2023's 55,378 positions. In hospitals, the gains have been robust. (Broderick, 10/4)
The Washington Post: A Young Doctor’s Final Words Offer A Mental Health Warning For Others
David West barely slept the night his older brother, William Ballantyne West Jr., called him from his D.C. apartment, sounding worried. His brother had earned the nickname “Iron Will” for the tenacity he showed when faced with challenges. He had rock-climbed, gone on a religious mission to Italy and competed in overnight relay races. But during that call earlier this year, Will talked about how his problems felt too big to solve: He was not getting the training he needed to prepare him to practice medicine. He was not getting enough time to sleep or recharge after long shifts. Happiness, he felt, would elude him always. (Portnoy, 10/5)
