Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
American Diabetes Association Members Call For Resignation Of Top Officials
Stat: American Diabetes Association Faces Calls For Resignations
The expulsion of five diabetes experts from the American Diabetes Association meeting last month continues to reverberate, with more than 200 members now calling for two ADA leaders to resign. In response, the ADA delivered its own message Tuesday, expressing appreciation for members’ patience while a report is prepared. (Cooney, 7/28)
Healthcare technology —
Stat: Can Doctors Trust Clinical AI? The Complicated Issue Of LLM Benchmarks
Hundreds of thousands of U.S. doctors use clinical large language models, pitched by companies like OpenEvidence, Doximity, and UpToDate as an antidote to the dangers of hallucination-prone generalist models from Big Tech. Yet few studies have pitted them against each other — and this summer brought a high-profile head-to-head. (Palmer, 7/29)
Modern Healthcare: Health Systems Use AI To Grow Hospital-At-Home Programs
Health systems are rolling out artificial intelligence to simplify the process of determining which patients are best suited for hospital-at-home care, and the tools could grow programs and reduce readmissions. Hospitals typically refer patients to home-based acute care from the emergency department or during an in-facility stay. The programs free up beds for sicker patients, which helps boost profits. Technology that streamlines the patient selection process could encourage clinicians to make more referrals to hospital-at-home. Still, health systems are being cautious as they deploy AI. (Eastabrook, 7/28)
Modern Healthcare: Stryker, Medtronic, Edwards Lifesciences Take Aim At Care Gaps
Health systems have never had more technology at their fingertips, yet solving some of the most persistent challenges — such as timely diagnoses, treatment gaps and inconsistent outcomes — remains out of reach. Medtech companies including Edwards Lifesciences, Medtronic, Siemens Healthineers’ Varian, Olympus Corp. and Stryker Corp. are developing new technologies and strategies designed to overcome these barriers. (Dubinsky, 7/28)
From the health sector —
Modern Healthcare: Boston Scientific Restructuring Plan Targets Workforce Reductions
Boston Scientific Corp. is undertaking a three-year global restructuring that will include job cuts and relocation of some of its product manufacturing. The plan, the majority of which will be completed by 2029, is expected to result in pre-tax charges of about $700 million to $800 million, including an estimated $275 million to $300 million in termination benefits, the company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday. (Dubinsky, 7/28)
Modern Healthcare: Wellstar Health System Layoffs Impact 761 Workers
Wellstar Health System laid off 761 corporate and administrative employees Tuesday to try to simplify operations and strengthen finances. The cuts impacted corporate and shared services functions, as well as certain administrative roles at its affiliated physician group, a spokesperson for the Marietta, Georgia-based organization said in a statement. Frontline care teams were not affected, the statement said. (Kacik, 7/28)
Modern Healthcare: Cooper University Health Lands $100M Gift From George Norcross III
A $100 million gift to Cooper University Health Care and the MD Anderson Cancer Center affiliate partner it operates will go toward creating jobs and improving local training opportunities. The Camden, New Jersey-headquartered health system in a Tuesday news release announced the donation commitment from philanthropist George E. Norcross III. Cooper will direct the money to investments in Camden and its broader service area in southern New Jersey, the release said. (Eastabrook, 7/28)
Bloomberg: Centene Raises Profit Guidance After Strong Second-Quarter Results
Centene Corp. shares fell after the health insurer said it would take longer than planned to rebuild profits in its Medicaid business, a worrying sign that overshadowed an upbeat earnings report. The company also cut its outlook for Medicaid enrollment this year and said it lost more members in those than expected. Federal cuts to Medicaid are expected to accelerate in 2027. (Swetlitz, 7/28)
KFF Health News: Hospice’s Bad Reputation Amid Fraud Crisis Will Hurt Patients, Industry Experts Warn
Mark Vantrease regularly sees his Vietnam War buddies over breakfast, attends his grandchildren’s Little League games, and, when he’s up to it, tends to his lush front-yard garden, which is dotted with shells retrieved from his abalone-diving days. Time is precious for him. Last year, doctors told the 76-year-old former truck driver that a combination of heart failure, lung disease, and liver damage had left him with only six months to live. “That was about 11 months ago,” Vantrease said in a May interview, smiling at having, for the moment, cheated death. (Udesky, 7/29)
Pharmaceutical industry updates —
AP: Johnson & Johnson Seeks $5.5 Billion Of Long-Running Talc Lawsuits
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $5.5 billion to tie up remaining lawsuits that claim its talc products caused ovarian cancer. The drugmaker, which has been fighting talc-related lawsuits for more than a decade, said that the settlement is conditioned on at least 95% of remaining claimants participating. A U.S. bankruptcy court judge denied a $9 billion settlement proposed by company subsidiary Red River Talc last year that would have been one of the biggest mass tort settlements in history. Johnson & Johnson decided not to appeal that ruling and instead fight on in court. (Chapman, 7/28)
Stat: GSK Lays Out Plans To Cut Costs, Pursue More Late-Stage Drug Trials
Half a year into taking over the job, GSK CEO Luke Miels on Tuesday laid out his plans to turn the U.K. pharma giant into a more agile company with years of growth ahead. (Joseph, 7/28)
The New York Times: Prediction Market Betting On Drug Trials And Approvals Sparks Concern About Undermining Research
On the betting websites Kalshi and Polymarket, people can now wager on whether the Food and Drug Administration will decide this year to approve medicines for cancers of the lung, breast, pancreas and blood. Kalshi also plans to allow users to bet on whether drug trials will succeed. (Robbins, 7/28)
