Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Congressional Report Alleges Organ Procurement Numbers Are Miscounted
Stat: Congressional Report: Organ Transplant Groups Use Loophole To Boost Ratings
A bipartisan congressional report to be released publicly Tuesday alleges that the organizations responsible for recovering donated organs for transplantation use a federal loophole to miscount the number of organs to boost performance ratings and stay certified. (Cirruzzo, 6/10)
The Guardian: UnitedHealth Faces Federal Scrutiny Into Whistleblower Claims
Attention comes in wake of ex-employees’ allegations that insurer paid nursing homes to reduce hospital transfers and used improper tactics to gain Medicare Advantage enrollees. (Gedeon and Joseph, 6/10)
Modern Healthcare: CVS, Cigna Noncompete Lawsuit Settled
CVS Health and the executive at the center of a legal dispute with Cigna have resolved a case over a noncompete clause. Amy Bricker was president of Cigna subsidiary Express Scripts when CVS Health announced her hire as executive vice president and chief product officer for its consumer business in January 2023. Cigna swiftly sued to prevent Bricker from taking the new job on the grounds that doing so violated her employment contract. (Tepper, 6/10)
The Texas Tribune: Amarillo Breaks Ground On New State Psychiatric Hospital
State officials broke ground Tuesday at the site of the future psychiatric hospital in Amarillo, bringing the Panhandle one step closer to inpatient mental health care. The hospital is the long-awaited result after the Texas Legislature in 2023 approved $159 million to build an inpatient psychiatric hospital in Amarillo. Mental health advocates in the area say it is desperately needed to bring mental health resources closer to the largely rural region that’s home to nearly 436,000 people. (Carver, 6/10)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Katheryn Houghton reads the week’s news: More than 100 rural hospitals have stopped delivering babies since 2021, and the federal government failed to warn the public about a major E. coli outbreak. Jackie Fortier reads the week’s news: New programs teach Black kids to swim competitively and help their parents learn too, and people in prison are often denied basic health care at the end of their lives. (6/10)
On health care personnel —
Fierce Healthcare: Mukkamala Sworn In As AMA President, Underwood President-Elect
The American Medical Association underwent its annual leadership change on Tuesday, inaugurating otolaryngologist Bobby Mukkamala, M.D. as the 180th president of the nation’s largest physician association. The organization’s House of Delegates, composed of its member physicians and residents, also chose urologic surgeon William Underwood III, M.D., as its president-elect. Underwood will assume the presidency in June 2026. (Beavins, 6/10)
Bloomberg: Home Health Aide Overtime Pay: Trump Labor Department Reviewing Rules
The US Department of Labor is reassessing a decade-old rule that extended pay protections to home health aides, a move that has the potential to impact the wages of millions of US workers. In a footnote in a court filing last month, the agency said it “intends to reconsider” regulations issued in 2013 under President Barack Obama, which expanded the scope of minimum wage and overtime rules to cover so-called “direct care” workers such as home health aides and certified nursing assistants. (Eidelson, 6/10)
The Hill: Noah Wyle Pushes For Mental Health Funds For Health Workers
Noah Wyle is heading to the pit of political power, with a visit to Capitol Hill to push for funding for programs aimed at improving mental health services for health care workers. “The Pitt” and former “ER” star will touch down in Washington on Thursday to lead a panel discussion at the Cannon House Office Building focused on the “daily mental health, financial, and bureaucratic challenges for doctors and nurses today.” Wyle will be joined by his mom, Marjorie Speer, a retired nurse, along with more than a dozen health care professionals. (Kurtz, 6/10)
MedPage Today: Many Doctors Would Consider Assisted Dying At Their End Of Life
Many physicians said they would consider assisted dying if they were faced with advanced cancer or severe Alzheimer's disease, survey data showed. In eight jurisdictions spanning five countries, about half of physicians would consider euthanasia a good or very good option if they had very painful end-stage cancer (54.2%) or severe end-stage Alzheimer's disease (51.5%), reported Sarah Mroz, PhD, of Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium, and co-authors. (George, 6/10)
