Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Gawande To Hit The Road On A Listening Tour As First Step In New Role As CEO
Stat: CEO Gawande’s First Task: A Road Trip To Hear Firsthand About Workers’ Health Challenges
Dr. Atul Gawande is hitting the road. In one of his first actions as a CEO, Gawande is planning to travel across the country to meet with the employees he will serve through the health care venture being formed by Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, and Berkshire Hathaway. (Ross and Farber, 7/19)
The Wall Street Journal: UnitedHealth Is Among Suitors Circling Tenet’s Conifer Business
UnitedHealth Group Inc. is among suitors exploring an acquisition of Tenet Healthcare Corp.’s health-care-management subsidiary, according to people familiar with the matter, as the industry giant pursues further expansion. Tenet, one of the largest U.S. hospital companies, has said it would weigh a sale of the unit, Conifer Health Solutions, which provides services to hospitals and physician groups. Tenet said it would make a decision in the first half of 2018 on Conifer, which accounted for about 8% of its revenue last year. (Mattioli and Evans, 7/18)
Modern Healthcare: Beth Israel-Lahey Merger Could Raise Healthcare Spending
Massachusetts healthcare spending would increase by up to $251 million per year if regulators approve the planned merger between Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Lahey Health and several other hospital systems to create the second-largest healthcare network in the state, according to a preliminary report from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. The deal involves Beth Israel in Boston and Lahey in Burlington, as well as Boston's New England Baptist Hospital, Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge and Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport. (Kacik, 7/18)
Boston Globe: Merging Beth Israel-Lahey Would Sharply Drive Up Health Care Costs, Watchdog Says
A state watchdog agency on Wednesday delivered a setback to the proposed union of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health, warning that their sprawling merger could sharply raise health care costs statewide. The new hospital system could command substantially higher payments from insurance companies, boosting medical spending by as much as $191.3 million a year for inpatient, outpatient, and primary care services, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission said. (Dayal McCluskey, 7/18)
Modern Healthcare: CHS To Sell Two Arkansas Hospitals To Little Rock's Baptist Health
Community Health Systems announced Wednesday it plans to sell two of its Arkansas hospitals and their associated operations to not-for-profit Baptist Health in Little Rock. The Franklin, Tenn.-based for-profit hospital chain has signed a definitive agreement to sell 492-bed Sparks Regional Medical Center in Fort Smith and 103-bed Sparks Medical Center in Van Buren, which together with their physician clinics and outpatient services comprise Sparks Health System. (Bannow, 7/18)
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Modern Healthcare: Hospital Execs Say Inpatient Volume Growth Isn't Rebounding
A new survey of hospital administrators shows their inpatient volumes continue to slump as patients flock to cheaper outpatient settings for services like heart surgeries, hip replacements and urological procedures. Leerink Partners, the investment bank that released the survey of nearly 50 mostly not-for-profit hospital administrators, wrote that its results are "modestly positive" for hospitals, whose executives reported inpatient utilization increased 0.7% in the second quarter of 2018, down from 1% in the second quarter of 2017. Meanwhile, the survey found ambulatory surgery center utilization was up 1.4% in the second quarter, down from 2.2% at the same time in 2017. Outpatient utilization growth fell to 1.1% from 2.5% in 2017. (Bannow, 7/16)
