Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Employers Are Suing Aetna After Price Transparency Policies Show True Costs
Modern Healthcare: Price Transparency Prompts Aetna Lawsuits Over Health Plan Costs
Employers plagued by escalating healthcare spending are suing the health insurance companies that manage their benefits in a trend that could disrupt the group health plan market. A recent spate of policies has given employers greater insights into how insurers acting as third-party administrators manage their self-funded health plans. Several large businesses are using this information to support lawsuits alleging CVS Health subsidiary Aetna is not fulfilling its fiduciary responsibility under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, also known as ERISA, to control health benefit costs. (Berryman, 8/14)
Crain's Chicago Business: Allstate Selling Benefits Business For $2B
Allstate will sell its employer voluntary benefits business to StanCorp Financial Group (The Standard) for $2 billion, the company said in a press release last night. The Northbrook-based insurance giant said the sale was the first in a strategic plan to find other companies to take on the business of its health and benefits holdings. (Asplund, 8/14)
The CT Mirror: Union Leaders Say Payroll Problems Persist For Home Care Workers
After home care workers complained for years about late paychecks, the state in March hired a new vendor to manage payroll for a network of personal care aides who serve people on Medicaid waivers aging at home. But so far, leaders of SEIU 1199 New England, which represents about 12,000 care aides, say troubles with payroll have persisted since the new agency, GT Independence, took over last spring. (Carlesso, 8/15)
More health industry news —
Modern Healthcare: Elevance Health Forms Mosaic Health With Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
Elevance Health closed its deal with private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice to form a primary care company, and named the venture Mosaic Health. Mosaic Health will provide primary care services from Millennium Physician Group and digital health services from Apree Health, two businesses of Clayton, Dubilier. (DeSilva, 8/14)
Health News Florida: Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital Appeals The $208 Million Award In 'Maya' Trial
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital is taking steps to appeal paying $208 million in damages to a family after a jury ruled it falsely imprisoned a 10-year-old girl, which contributed to her mother's suicide. The award was granted to the family of Maya Kowalski, and her case was profiled in a June 2023 Netflix documentary, “Take Care of Maya.” (Schreiner, 8/14)
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: MetroHealth Pledges To Rebuild Community Trust As It Considers ‘Hospital In A Park’
MetroHealth System pledged to solicit input from neighborhood leaders and its own employees as it finalizes its “hospital in a park” building plan, the health system said during a meeting Wednesday with cleveland.com reporters and editors. (Washington, 8/14)
KFF Health News: Most Black Hospitals Across The South Closed Long Ago. Their Impact Endures
In the center of this historically Black city, once deemed “the jewel of the Delta” by President Theodore Roosevelt, dreams to revitalize an abandoned hospital building have all but dried up. An art deco sign still marks the main entrance, but the front doors are locked, and the parking lot is empty. These days, a convenience store across North Edwards Avenue is far busier than the old Taborian Hospital, which first shut down more than 40 years ago. (Sausser, 8/15)
Modern Healthcare: Clean Energy Investments May Pay Off For AdventHealth, OhioHealth
As the Creek Fire scorched central California in September 2020, first responders warned administrators at Valley Children’s Healthcare they might be forced to shut off power lines and electrical equipment to stop the fire from spreading. ... But the close call — and financial incentives from federal tax credits — helped Ratan Milevoj, assistant chief strategy officer at Valley Children’s in Madera, convince the board of trustees to invest in renewable energy. (Kacik, 8/14)
Also —
Axios: Osteopaths Seek More Slots On Federal Research Panels
Osteopathic physicians have similar jobs and training to M.D.s. But they say they're lagging far behind when it comes to representation on federal panels that make key recommendations on medical research funding and policy. The disparity could keep federal dollars from programs that teach one-quarter of America's future physicians and perpetuate negative perceptions that hurt newly minted D.O.s' chances of getting into certain residencies. (Goldman, 8/15)
San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Health Care System Kaiser Using AI To Listen To Doctor Visits
The Kaiser health care system is now using artificial intelligence to listen in on appointments between doctors and patients, the nonprofit said Wednesday. The announcement comes after other Bay Area hospital systems, including Sutter Health, have deployed the technology, and after Kaiser told the Chronicle earlier this month it had been testing similar technology. (DiFeliciantonio, 8/14)
The Wall Street Journal: The Fight Against DEI Programs Shifts To Medical Care
Black men and women are at least two times as likely as white Americans to die from strokes. Hospitals around the country have long sought to bring those numbers down. Now, the Cleveland Clinic, a prestigious hospital system, is being accused of illegally discriminating on the basis of race for operating a program to prevent and treat strokes and other conditions among minority patients. (Francis and Evans, 8/14)
