Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Providence Health Plan Says It Will Shut Down Entirely, Leaving 64K Medicare Advantage Customers In The Lurch
Healthcare Dive: Providence Health Plan To Close Completely After Medicare Advantage Deal Falls Through
Providence Health Plan is completely shutting down, after a deal with a national insurer to keep its Medicare Advantage business running fell through. The insurance division of the Renton, Washington-based nonprofit hospital operator announced in May that it would wind down its commercial and Medicaid businesses in 2027, but that it was working with an unnamed carrier to continue its MA plans. But Providence and the third party were unable to reach an agreement, “despite significant effort on all sides,” a Providence spokesperson confirmed. The closure will affect more than 64,000 MA seniors covered by Providence. (Parduhn, 8/19)
Becker's Hospital Review: Mount Sinai Quietly Stops Accepting Some New Patients With Government-Backed Plans
New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System is no longer accepting some new patients with government-backed health coverage, according to since-removed notices on its website. An archived webpage shows how Mount Sinai stopped accepting new patients with Centene’s Fidelis Care Medicaid, exchange and Medicare Advantage coverage, as well as Wellcare Medicare Advantage coverage, as of Aug. 1. The same applied to new patients with EmblemHealth Medicaid. (Casolo, 8/19)
Modern Healthcare: St. Jude Taps Charles Roberts As CEO, President
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has named Dr. Charles Roberts as its next president and CEO, effective Jan. 1. Roberts is executive vice president and director of the St. Jude Comprehensive Cancer Center. He will succeed Dr. James Downing, who in February announced plans to step down by the end of the year. (DeSilva, 8/19)
Verite News: University Medical Center Firing Violated City ‘Ban The Box’ Law, Attorneys Say
A group of civil rights attorneys is accusing University Medical Center New Orleans (UMC) of violating the city of New Orleans’ “ban the box” law — which prohibits public employers from discriminating against job applicants and current employees because of past arrests or convictions — when it fired employee Devon Jones in April, allegedly due to his criminal background. The attorneys also requested that the city conduct a full investigation of the employee’s termination. (Stewart, 8/19)
KFF Health News: Violence Against Healthcare Workers And Staffing Shortages Fuel Hospital Strikes
Nurse Crystal Dhooghe is used to dealing with blood and broken bones in the emergency room. But she didn’t expect to witness so much violence against her own colleagues. “I’ve seen nurses get shoved, pushed, scratched. The biggest one is bitten,” said Dhooghe, who works at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc, Michigan. The prevalence of workplace violence in healthcare has fueled strikes in states such as Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Michigan, where Dhooghe and many of her co-workers have been on the picket line since Labor Day last year. (Arditi, 8/20)
Also —
Stat: American Cancer Society Cancels Annual Alcohol Industry Fundraiser
The American Cancer Society quietly canceled its upcoming Wine and Spirits Industry’s Gala, a spokesperson confirmed to STAT. The event, which has for decades raised money from members of the alcohol industry at a boozy Manhattan gathering, was set to take place in October at the iconic Rainbow Room. The society “decided to sunset the Wine & Spirits Industry Gala, and the October event will not take place,” spokesperson Michele Money-Carson said in an email. “The decision is part of ACS’s ongoing evaluation of how its events and fundraising activities align with its mission and prevention guidance.” (Cueto, 8/19)
Stat: How Health Systems Are Embracing AI Chatbots To Query Patient Records
The pathologists were stumped. Six people had tried to identify a patient’s cancer based on a recent lymph node biopsy. They’d stained the cells 70 times to try to draw out more distinguishing features — but still, nobody had an answer. At Stanford, a physician called onto the case was trying out a new tool called ChatEHR, one of several large language model-powered tools being deployed by health systems to summarize patients’ often-extensive medical records. (Palmer, 8/20)
MedPage Today: Here's How One Nephrology Unit Cut Hospital-Acquired C. Diff By 90%
An inpatient nephrology unit reduced hospital-acquired Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infections by 90% after implementing nurse-driven protocols. (Monaco, 8/19)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
Arielle Zionts reads the week’s news: Pediatricians try to persuade more parents to vaccinate their kids amid measles outbreaks. Plus, how hospital monopolies drive up costs for patients and insurers. (8/20)
