Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CVS Health Sues Tennessee Pharmacy Board Over New Law Targeting PBMs
Modern Healthcare: CVS Files Lawsuit Against Tennessee Pharmacy Board Over PBM Law
CVS Health sued the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy over a law targeting pharmacy benefit managers. The law, signed by Gov. Bill Lee (R) last week and set to go into effect in 2027, will prohibit people or companies from owning, managing or controlling pharmacies in the state at the same time as PBMs and health insurance issuers. In the complaint filed Friday in the Middle District Court of Tennessee, CVS Health argues the law allegedly unfairly favors independent, local pharmacies and is unconstitutional. (DeSilva, 5/26)
More health industry developments —
MedPage Today: Gender Pay Gap A Problem In Pediatrics, AAP Policy Statement Says
Equity in pay should be a professional and public health imperative in pediatrics, where pervasive gender-based pay gaps impact an increasingly female pediatric workforce, a new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said. The organization made several recommendations to help organizations address those inequities, including metric-based compensation, family-friendly work practices, transparent career advancement pathways, and equitable attainment of leadership positions. (Henderson, 5/26)
Honolulu Civil Beat: Insurer's Latest Move Could Worsen Doctor Shortage
Dr. Katie Min was 36 when she took over her father’s primary care practice in the Queen’s Physicians Office Building in Honolulu’s Punchbowl neighborhood in 2022. Min’s father had taken the practice over from his father, who had started it in the 1940s. Now after three generations, Min says the multigenerational practice is facing an existential financial threat after the state’s largest insurer gave her 60 days’ notice that it was radically changing its reimbursement model for primary care doctors. (Yerton, 5/26)
San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF Doctor Has Bold Plan For Universal Primary Care In California
Leading Democratic candidates for California governor say they support universal healthcare, but have offered few concrete plans on how to make it happen. An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last week, co-authored by a UCSF physician, proposes one way the state could move toward a single-payer system: Make primary care a public utility, like electricity or clean water, and create a “common fund” financed by public and private sources that would directly pay primary care doctors to treat patients. (Ho, 5/26)
KFF Health News: Nurse Convicted In Patient’s Death Turns Fatal Drug Error Into A Cautionary Tale
When RaDonda Vaught got her first speaking request, it had been a year since that day in a Nashville courtroom, when she listened as a jury read her guilty verdict for negligent homicide and neglect of an impaired adult. That was in 2022. Vaught was sentenced to three years of probation for administering the wrong medication and killing a patient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2017. (Farmer, 5/27)
Chicago Tribune: Faith Leaders, Doctors Press To Reopen West Suburban Hospital
With the future of West Suburban Medical Center still up in the air, local faith leaders, doctors and employees gathered in front of the hospital Tuesday to demand it be reopened with the community’s needs in mind. “We need to have a serious call to action,” said Bishop Dwight Gunn of Heritage International Christian Church in Austin, noting that his two children were born there. “Not so long ago this hospital stood as a place of hope for many.” (Schencker, 5/26)
Modern Healthcare: WakeMed Backs Atrium Merger Over UNC Health Proposal
WakeMed Health & Hospitals rejected an unsolicited proposal from UNC Health to combine. The proposal followed Atrium Health’s May 1 announcement it plans to merge with WakeMed. A UNC Health spokesperson said the Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based system submitted a proposal to WakeMed for a “broader partnership” May 5. (Hudson, 5/26)
Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Construction Growing Despite Delays, High Costs
High construction costs, shrinking margins and lower reimbursement rates are making it harder for healthcare organizations to invest in capital projects. (DeSilva, 5/26)
On AI in healthcare —
Stat: Stanford Health Care Brings Patients Into Decisions On AI Tools
At Stanford University, it’s easy to get carried away with technology. The computer mouse was invented there. So was Google. And now, it’s pumping out a myriad of tools for artificial intelligence in health care. (Trang, 5/27)
Modern Healthcare: How Health Systems Are Shaping Chief AI Officer Roles
Chief artificial intelligence officer, vice president of AI and chief data & AI officer — the titles may differ but the newest executives in the C-suite are taking on larger roles as the technology becomes a critical part of healthcare.As these roles have become more common, the expectations for them have evolved. Defining the role, and finding the right person for it, depends on the specific needs of the health system. For example, a chief AI officer might be focused on AI governance, ethics and implementation. A chief data and AI officer might oversee the data environment, with AI as one component of the work. (Famakinwa, 5/26)
