Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CMS Metes Out Final 200 Residency Positions; Medical Groups Urge More Federally Funded Spots
MedPage Today: Last Batch Of New Residency Spots Doled Out By CMS
As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) doled out the final 200 of an additional 1,000 residency positions created by Congress 5 years ago, medical groups called for more federally funded spots to mitigate workforce shortages. (Fiore, 11/11)
More healthcare industry developments —
STLPR: Illinois Health Department Preps To Move Patients From Granite City Hospital
Illinois regulators are preparing to potentially transfer patients out of Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City, and ambulances are being sent to other hospitals. The hospital is still open, but the Illinois Department of Public Health confirmed Gateway and another medical center owned by the same company are on bypass status due to “staffing instability.” (Fentem, 11/10)
Modern Healthcare: BJC Health Plans To Acquire St. Luke’s Hospital In St. Louis
BJC Health plans to acquire St. Luke’s Hospital in St. Louis, the nonprofit health system announced Wednesday. St. Louis-based BJC and St. Luke’s signed a letter of intent to combine, according to a news release. The organizations will work during the coming months on a definitive agreement and securing customary regulatory approvals. An expected closing date for the proposed transaction was not given. (Kacik, 11/11)
WUSF: $47M Grant Aims To Make Moffitt A Hub For Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Treatment
A Tampa Bay coalition has landed $47.3 million in federal funding to help establish the region as a national hub for developing and manufacturing radiopharmaceuticals, an emerging field of cancer treatment that the United States is looking to expand domestically. (Mayer, 11/10)
Fierce Healthcare: Carelon Agrees To Pay $10M Settlement In New York Cases
Carelon will pay more than $10 million across two settlements in New York over mental health networks and coverage denials. The company, a division of Elevance Health, will pay $2.35 million in penalties, fees and costs as well as up to $8 million in restitution for members who paid out-of-pocket for out-of-network mental healthcare, to reimburse those whose claims were improperly denied or to overhaul its networks. (Minemyer, 11/11)
Becker's Hospital Review: Lehigh Valley Hospital Sues Highmark Over Specialty Drug Access
The specialty pharmacy operated by Allentown, Pa.-based Lehigh Valley Health Network, under Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health, filed a lawsuit Nov. 10 against Highmark regarding the ability to dispense drugs. The complaint, filed in a state court, alleged that Highmark is blocking LVHN’s pharmacy from dispensing some high-cost, self-administered specialty drugs to Highmark members, including LVHN patients. According to the lawsuit, LVHN’s pharmacy is a participating provider under a Sept. 25, 2023, contract, but Highmark routes some prescriptions to other pharmacies, including Highmark Health’s Allegheny Health Network Specialty Pharmacy. (Casolo, 11/11)
Modern Healthcare: Hims & Hers FTC Lawsuit Expands As Five More States Join
Five states joined a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleging Hims & Hers shared patients’ sensitive health information with third-party advertising platforms and misled customers about its billing practices. The FTC first filed the suit in July with Utah and Los Angeles County. The amended complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday. It now includes Florida, Nebraska, Ohio, Arizona and Wisconsin. (Famakinwa, 11/11)
CIDRAP: Hospital Wastewater Boosts Growth Of Resistant Bacteria, Study Finds
Hospital wastewater has long been viewed as a potential driver of antibiotic resistance in the environment. New research out of Sweden bolsters this argument. In a study published late last month in Nature Communications, a team of researchers from the University of Gothenburg collected wastewater from 10 hospitals and eight municipal treatment plants in Sweden’s Vastra Gotaland region. In a series of experiments, they found that the water from the hospital sewers promoted the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, while the water from the municipal treatment plants had no effect. (Dall, 11/11)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: Your phone may know when you’re visiting the doctor, and companies are using that information to sell unproven treatments. Plus, more dads are taking time off to bond with their newborns through state leave programs. (11/12)
On the high cost of prescriptions and healthcare —
CNBC: CANARX Official Arrested On Drug Importation Charges
U.S. authorities are accusing the two top officials of a Canadian company of operating a long-running scheme to illegally import prescription drugs into the U.S., according to court records filed Tuesday. (Zamost, 11/11)
Cardinal News: Unnecessary Medical Tests Are Raising Healthcare Costs. A Group Of Virginia Doctors And Researchers Has Shown It's Possible To Change The Approach.
When a patient arrives in the doctor’s office with back pain, it’s become routine for some clinicians to immediately order an MRI, even when established guidelines don’t recommend imaging. A prescription for opioids to manage the pain often follows. According to a recent initiative by the Virginia Center for Health Innovation, similar patterns of unnecessary treatments have become ingrained across healthcare, driving up costs for patients and health systems. (Schabacker, 11/12)
Stat: No Surprises Act: Employers Sued Over Medical Bills Insurers Didn't Pay
This past August, Joe Hancock, a Kentucky plumbing and heating contractor, opened a just-delivered box packed with hundreds of sheets of paper. Leafing through them, he read seven words no small business owner wants to see: “A lawsuit has been filed against you.” (Herman, 11/11)
The New York Times: Hospitals Brace For Medicaid Work Rules And Deep Funding Cuts
Hospitals across the country are mobilizing an expansive outreach effort in an attempt to ensure that roughly 19 million patients do not lose their insurance coverage under new Medicaid work rules that begin in January. Saying the requirements are generating widespread anxiety and confusion, health care executives are using a variety of methods to help guide the Americans who will be affected. They are deploying staff and volunteers to contact patients with text messages, phone calls and offers of help. (Rowland, 11/11)
