Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Care Workers Lured To Other Jobs By Higher Pay
Crain's Detroit Business: Rising Pay In Other Industries Blows Holes In Healthcare's Workforce
Beaumont Health has more than 2,600 open positions across its eight hospitals and more than 165 outpatient centers. Roughly 20% of those positions fall under one job — medical assistant. A medical assistant performs relatively routine tasks, such as filling out insurance forms, scheduling laboratory appointments or preparing patients for treatment. But, increasingly, the job is becoming more clinical and their responsibilities expanding to where medical assistants are functionally bedside nurses. And as one of the lowest paid clinical jobs in healthcare — the median wage in the U.S. is $17.23 per hour and $16.75 per hour in Michigan with an entry-level wage of $13.63 — the roles are increasingly more difficult to fill as workers seek employment in other industries that require less training and offer better benefits and bigger pay than healthcare. (Walsh, 6/30)
Modern Healthcare: Hospitals At Odds Over CMS Plans For New GME Slots
Hospitals are at odds over how CMS should distribute an additional 1,000 graduate medical education slots, according to comments on the agency's proposed inpatient prospective payment system rule. After 25 years of inaction, Congress finally increased the number of Medicare-supported GME slots to address the nation's growing doctor shortage in its December spending bill. The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates the U.S. will need 37,800 to 124,000 more physicians by 2034 to keep up with demand, so the additional capacity is necessary given how long it takes to train doctors. (Brady, 6/30)
Stat: Washington’s Antitrust Push Could Limit Amazon, Google Health Ambitions
Washington is abuzz with an ambitious new antitrust effort to rein in the power of tech industry power players like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook — and the effort could limit their ascent in the health care industry. Tech companies are already major players in the health care space — think Amazon’s decision to launch its own pharmacy, or Google’s acquisition of Fitbit — and they have their sights set even bigger. If major antitrust reform passes, it could inject legal uncertainty into future plans, analysts and attorneys said. (Cohrs, 7/1)
In corporate news —
Modern Healthcare: Blue Cross NC Initiative To Reduce Burden For Independent Physicians
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is investing in a new company aimed at helping independent physicians grow and strengthen their practices. Blue Cross NC has partnered with investment firm Deerfield Management Company in the joint venture, which will offer management infrastructure, technology support and marketplace information. Independent physicians can either allow Blue Cross NC to acquire their practice's non-clinical assets, or they can use the joint venture as a vendor to bring in contracted services to manage their practice's non-clinical operations. (Devereaux, 6/30)
Modern Healthcare: Amedisys To Acquire Skilled Nursing Provider Contessa Health
Amedisys, a home health, hospice and personal care company, on Wednesday said it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Nashville-based Contessa Health, a hospital-at-home and skilled nursing facility at-home provider, the company said. The $250-million acquisition is expected to close in late summer. Contessa will become a wholly-owned division of Baton Rouge, La.-based Amedisys. Amedisys Chairman and CEO Paul Kusserow characterized the acquisition as "strategic" and said it will allow the company to provide higher-acuity in-home care. (Christ, 6/30)
