Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Care Spending To Top One-Fifth Of GDP By 2033, CMS Report Predicts
Modern Healthcare: US Health Spending Projected To Hit $8.6T By 2033
U.S. households, businesses and governments will spend $8.6 trillion on healthcare in 2033, when the sector will comprise just over one-fifth of gross domestic product, according to a federal report issued Wednesday. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary attributes its forecast to factors such as a rapidly aging population and high demand for healthcare. The independent CMS division published its analysis in the journal Health Affairs. (Early, 6/25)
More health care industry updates —
San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF Health To Lay Off 200 Workers, Citing ‘Financial Challenges’
UCSF Health will eliminate approximately 200 positions across its network, officials said Wednesday, citing “serious financial challenges” and the need to safeguard long-term patient care. The layoffs, which represent about 1% of the organization’s workforce, span part-time and full-time roles, with roughly half of the affected full-time employees holding management positions, UCSF Health said in a statement to the Chronicle. (Vaziri, 6/25)
Modern Healthcare: Prospect Medical Systems Layoffs To Hit 125 Employees
Prospect Medical Systems, a management services organization and subsidiary of Prospect Medical Holdings, plans to lay off 125 workers in California. Prospect Medical Systems will lay off the Orange, California-based employees by July 1, according to a June 20 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing. Prospect Medical Systems’ parent company, the four-state hospital chain headquartered in Los Angeles, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January. (Kacik, 6/25)
Bloomberg: Envision Healthcare Inks Debt Deal With Lenders Amid Turnaround
Envision Healthcare Corp. agreed to a deal with its lenders that will cut the company’s borrowing costs in the midst of a turnaround for the business. The physician staffing firm will refinance its roughly $400 million term loan into a $295 million term loan, according to people familiar who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. The new loan will be priced at 6.5 percentage points over SOFR at a discount of 99 cents on the dollar, which is cheaper than the original loan, the people added. (Shah and Basu, 6/25)
In pharmaceutical developments —
Modern Healthcare: CVS Caremark Must Pay $95M In Overbilling Case, Court Rules
CVS Health must reimburse the federal government at least $95 million after a court ruled the company’s pharmacy benefit manager subsidiary overcharged Medicare for generic drugs. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania decided a whistleblower lawsuit that originated in 2014, when an executive at the health insurer Aetna — now a CVS Health subsidiary — alleged CVS Caremark inflated Medicare Part D drug prices to offset higher costs in other lines of business. (Tepper, 6/25)
TBIJ: Generic Cancer Drugs Fail Quality Tests At Alarming Rate, Investigation Shows
Vital chemotherapy drugs used around the world have failed quality tests, putting cancer patients in more than 100 countries at risk of ineffective treatments and potentially fatal side effects, an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) reveals. (Eccles, Milivojevic and Sapkota, 6/25)
The Guardian: Hundreds Of Weight Loss And Diabetes Jab Users Report Pancreas Problems
Hundreds of people have reported problems with their pancreas linked to taking weight loss and diabetes injections, prompting health officials to launch a study into side-effects. Some cases of pancreatitis reported to be linked to GLP-1 medicines (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists) have been fatal. (Bawden, 6/25)
Axios: Women Drive Rise In GLP-1 Weight-Loss Use: New Data
Women are being prescribed GLP-1 weight-loss drugs at higher rates than men, new data shows. This is another cultural moment when women, especially those approaching menopause, are paying more for their well-being. (Mallenbaum, 6/25)
