Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CMS Extends Medicare Enrollment Moratorium For 6 More Months On Hospice, Home Health Agencies
Fierce Healthcare: CMS Extends Paused Medicare Enrollments For Hospice, Home Health
The Trump administration is extending its moratorium on new Medicare enrollments from hospice and home health agencies. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Thursday that it will extend the moratorium by six more months as part of its efforts to combat fraud, waste and abuse in the Medicare program. (Minemyer, 11/12)
Microsoft outage affects workers across the world —
The New York Times: Microsoft Struggles to Repair Worldwide Outage
The outage, which affects software used by hundreds of millions of users, has caused headaches around the world. The company said its efforts to repair the problem were “not taking as expected.” (Hassan and Desai, 11/13)
More healthcare industry developments —
Modern Healthcare: CMS, ONC Open Electronic Prior Authorization Test Sprint
The federal government is inviting health insurance companies, hospitals and electronic health record companies to test their readiness for upcoming electronic prior authorization requirements. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the Health and Human Services Department and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday they will hold voluntary 10-12 week testing sprints for the industry to ensure their systems are prepared for looming interoperability standards. (Tepper, 11/12)
Modern Healthcare: Texas Drops Part Of Epic Systems Antitrust Lawsuit
Texas is dropping a portion of its lawsuit against Epic Systems. The suit was first filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas state court in December. It alleges the electronic health record company violates the Texas Free Enterprise and Antitrust Act by holding a monopoly in the acute-care hospital market. It also alleges Epic restricts parents from viewing their children’s medical records. Epic has denied the allegations. (Famakinwa, 11/12)
Chicago Tribune: Doctors At Vista Medical Center East Ask State For Help
Doctors at Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan are asking the state for $9 million to help them shift control of the troubled hospital and its sister hospital near St. Louis, in a bid to keep the facilities open and eventually turn them into nonprofits. (Schencker, 11/12)
ABC News: Indefinite Strike Averted After Brigham And Women's Hospital, Nurses' Union Reach Tentative Deal
Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in Boston and a union representing about 4,000 registered nurses reached a tentative deal late Wednesday, averting an indefinite strike. "We are pleased that Brigham and Women's Hospital has reached a tentative agreement with the Massachusetts Nurses Association and the MNA has called off its scheduled indefinite strike," the hospital said in a statement. (Kekatos, 11/12)
Axios: Doctors Want Liability Shield From AI Mistakes
The rapid deployment of artificial intelligence in hospitals and clinics is leading the nation's biggest physicians group to lobby for new legal protections if AI harms patients. (Bettelheim, 11/13)
Fierce Healthcare: UHG Releases Audit Of Its Medical Policy Development Practices
Over the past year, UnitedHealth Group has conducted a series of independent reviews of its practices as part of a broader turnaround effort at the company. The healthcare giant released the last of these analyses on Thursday, digging into the processes it uses to establish medical policies. The reviews were conducted by FTI Consulting and Rubrum Advising, a provider-led firm with expertise in medical coverage policies. (Minemyer, 11/12)
