Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FTC Commissioner Calls On Colleagues To Be More Aggressive In Policing Health Care Mergers
Bloomberg: Merger Cops Must `Push Envelope' In Health, FTC Official Says
Antitrust enforcers should be aggressive in policing mergers in the health-care industry to keep costs down for consumers, even if it means a greater risk of losing cases, said Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. “We should push the envelope and not be afraid to bring cases,” Slaughter, a Democrat on the Republican-controlled FTC, said Tuesday in a speech at the Center for American Progress in Washington. “If we never bring a case unless it’s a sure thing, we’re almost certainly under-enforcing.” (McLaughlin, 5/14)
Kaiser Health News: Walmart Charts New Course By Steering Workers To High-Quality Imaging Centers
Walmart Inc., the nation’s largest private employer, is worried that too many of its workers are having health conditions misdiagnosed, leading to unnecessary surgery and wasted health spending. The issue crystallized for Walmart officials when they discovered about half of the company’s workers who went to the Mayo Clinic and other specialized hospitals for back surgery in the past few years turned out to not need those operations. They were either misdiagnosed by their doctor or needed only non-surgical treatment. (Galewitz, 5/15)
Modern Healthcare: AMA Hires Its First Chief Health Equity Officer
The American Medical Association has hired its first chief health equity officer to launch a new program addressing health disparities in the U.S. and working toward optimal health for all. Dr. Aletha Maybank, a pediatrician and public health specialist, will head the AMA's new Center for Health Equity, designed to make health equity and diversity a key part of all the organization's processes and activities. She previously served as deputy commissioner and founding director of the Center for Health Equity within New York City's public health department. (Meyer, 5/14)
