Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CVS To Lay Off 2,900 Staff, Looks At Breakup Option Amid Investor Pressure
The Boston Globe: CVS Announces It Will Lay Off 2,900 Workers, Is Reported To Be Considering Breakup
CVS Health said Monday that it will lay off about 2,900 people amid pressure from investors to cut costs and improve its financial performance. And more dramatic changes could be coming soon. A spokesperson for the health care giant, which has long been based in Woonsocket, R.I., and operates health insurer Aetna in Hartford, confirmed the cuts, which will primarily fall on corporate roles. (Logan, 9/30)
Reuters: Exclusive: CVS Explores Options Including Potential Break-Up, Sources Say
CVS Health, is exploring options that could include a break-up of the company to separate its retail and insurance units, as the struggling healthcare services company looks to turn around its fortunes amid pressure from investors, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. CVS has been discussing various options - including how such a split would work - with its financial advisers in recent weeks, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the discussions are confidential. (Sen, 9/30)
Modern Healthcare: Sentara Health Layoffs To Affect 200 Employees
Sentara Health plans to lay off 200 employees, mainly in its insurance division, due to a decline in Medicaid membership. The health system said following Medicaid redeterminations, Sentara Health Plans' Medicaid membership went down by 16%, or more than 115,000 members. (DeSilva, 9/30)
Houston Chronicle: Houston's St. Joseph Medical Center Could Soon Have New Owner
St. Joseph Medical Center could soon have a new owner as the saga involving its current owner, Steward Health Care, continues to play out in bankruptcy court and Congress. Healthcare Systems of America, an affiliate of California-based American Healthcare Systems, took over management of Houston’s only downtown hospital as part of an interim settlement agreement approved earlier this month in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. (MacDonald, 9/30)
Fox News: Surgeons Use PlayStation Controller For Long-Distance Endoscopy
In a groundbreaking experiment, surgeons in Switzerland successfully performed an endoscopic procedure on a pig 5,780 miles away in Hong Kong. This innovative feat was accomplished using a video game controller, paving the way for the future of remote surgeries in humans, particularly in areas lacking local medical expertise. (Knutsson, 10/1)
In pharmaceutical news —
Modern Healthcare: J&J Drops 340B Rebate Model Following HRSA Pressure
Johnson & Johnson has dropped its controversial plan related to the drug discount program less than a month after the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration sent a letter ordering the drugmaker not to implement it. In the letter, HRSA said the company would face federal sanctions because the program violated 340B drug discount program rules and had not received federal approval. Monday the agency said it received notice from Johnson & Johnson that the company was scrapping the initiative. (DeSilva, 9/30)
AP: Criminals Set Up Fake Online Pharmacies To Sell Deadly Counterfeit Pills, Prosecutors Say
A network of illegal drug sellers based in the U.S., the Dominican Republic and India packaged potentially deadly synthetic opioids into pills disguised as common prescription drugs and sold millions of them through fake online drugstores, federal prosecutors said Monday. At least nine people died of narcotics poisoning between August 2023 and June 2024 after consuming the counterfeit pills, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Manhattan. (Matthews, 9/30)
KFF Health News: How Minnesota Figures Into The Presidential Politics Of Insulin Prices
In June 2019, Lija Greenseid handed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz an empty vial of insulin that her 13-year-old daughter had painted gold. Greenseid’s daughter has Type 1 diabetes, which means she requires daily injections of manufactured insulin to stay alive. The price of a single vial of insulin rose by about 1,200% between 1996 and 2018, and the gold vial was a reminder, Greenseid said, that this lifesaving pharmaceutical shouldn’t be as expensive as precious metal. (Sable-Smith, 10/1)
