Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Independent Doctors Decry Shift To Private-Equity Firm, But Aren't Sure What To Do Next
MedPage Today: ED Docs Being Replaced By Private Equity-Owned Firm Call It A 'Kick In The Teeth'
Emergency medicine physicians under contract with Valley Health in Winchester, Virginia, said they were blindsided by the news that the health system planned to end their contract and partner with a private-equity owned practice management company instead. "You're always taught as a young kid, you got to stand up for your rights," said Ronak Shah, MD, vice president of Emergency Medicine of Blue Ridge (EMBR), an independent, physician-led company. Those ideals, however, crashed headlong into harsh realities -- from the cost of litigation to the lack of strong legal protections for independent practice physicians in Virginia. (Firth, 6/15)
CIDRAP: Paper Spotlights High Healthcare Burden And Costs Of Long COVID
A new study suggests that post-COVID-19 condition (PCC), commonly known as long COVID, has placed a substantial burden on healthcare systems in the years since the onset of the pandemic and is associated with significantly higher healthcare use and costs compared with either COVID infection without lingering symptoms or no history of infection. (Bergeson, 6/15)
Cardinal News: A Rural Hospital Paid For The Children Of 2 Top Executives To Become Doctors. It Won't Say How Many Other People Have Gotten Similar Help.
Buchanan General Hospital paid for the children of two of its top executives to become doctors through a program that was designed to provide loans for medical training, such as medical school or nursing school. However, the payments are listed as grants, not loans, on the nonprofit hospital’s tax filings, and the hospital has declined to answer questions about the discrepancy or say whether others received similar benefits. (Schabacker, 6/16)
Modern Healthcare: Ascension, CHS Hospital Sales Fuel Regional Health System Growth
Acquiring four hospitals in southwest Michigan was not an easy path for Beacon Health System. The nonprofit system, headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, is nearly a year into post-deal integration after purchasing facilities from Ascension last July — the largest acquisition in its history. It added more than 2,700 employees across the hospitals, 35 outpatient clinics and an ambulatory surgery center. (Hudson, 6/15)
More from the insurance, tech, and pharmaceutical sectors —
Fierce Healthcare: Centene Offering Staff Buyouts As It Navigates Murky ACA Waters
Centene will offer buyouts to employees as it navigates a significant membership decline, a spokesperson confirmed to Fierce Healthcare. The spokesperson said that on Monday the insurer announced a voluntary separation program designed to "to support employees who may be considering a transition." It's unclear how many people Centene is aims to reach with the program, but Centene employs about 61,000 people in total. (Minemyer, 6/15)
Modern Healthcare: Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans Posted Negative Margins In 2025
Nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurers underperformed relative to national and regional competitors last year as costs mounted. Only seven nonprofit Blues plans reported positive operating margins in 2025, one fewer than the prior year, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis of health insurance company regulatory filings. (Tepper, 6/15)
Stat: Human Cell Atlas Consortium Expanding Into Spatial Biology
A decade since its founding, the International Human Cell Atlas Consortium is hosting a high-profile meeting in Boston this week, with panels featuring more than two dozen prominent academics and biotech industry leaders, including Genentech’s Aviv Regev, David Altshuler of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Eric Lander from the Broad Institute. The event, which is expected to draw hundreds of scientists from across the globe, comes at an inflection point in the HCA’s ambitious aim to build a comprehensive reference map of all the different types of cells that make up a human body. (Molteni, 6/16)
Modern Healthcare: Masimo CEO Katie Szyman Stepping Down After Danaher Acquisition
Masimo Corp. CEO Katie Szyman posted on social media she is stepping down following the company’s acquisition by Danaher Corp. Szyman, who was appointed to lead Masimo in February 2025, in a Sunday LinkedIn post announced her decision to leave the patient monitoring company. Life sciences company Danaher announced Wednesday it completed its acquisition of Masimo. The $9.9 billion deal made Masimo a wholly owned subsidiary of Danaher, and its common stock is no longer trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. (Dubinsky, 6/15)
Bloomberg: Sigma Healthcare Withdraws From Boots Sale Process
Sigma Healthcare Ltd. announced its withdrawal from the Boots sale process, after being among the parties exploring a potential acquisition of the British pharmacy chain in a deal that could be worth as much as $10 billion. Sigma “has elected to withdraw its interest and cease discussions immediately,” it said in a statement Monday. (Leigh, 6/15)
