Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
California Hospital Sees Several Cases Of Legionella, As Search For Source Continues
CBS News: Legionella Bacteria Cases Confirmed At Kaiser Permanente In Santa Clara
A hospital in Santa Clara County is working to find the source of contamination that led to several people being infected by Legionella bacteria. Officials at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara said Tuesday they have confirmed several cases of people being infected by the bacteria. Legionella occurs naturally in water and is spread by inhaling contaminated mist and not through person-to-person contact. (Fang, 5/6)
More healthcare industry news —
Bloomberg: Hennepin County Medical Center Seeks State Aid To Avoid Closure
The largest safety net hospital in Minnesota is at risk of closing, with administrators seeking rescue funding from the state to keep the facility’s doors open. Hennepin County Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis, part of the public Hennepin Healthcare System, operates one of the state’s busiest emergency departments and treats patients who are mostly uninsured or reliant on public insurance like Medicaid. (Querolo, 5/6)
CBS News: Several Pittsburgh-Area Hospitals Could Be At Risk Of Closing, Watchdog Report Claims
A report from Public Citizen, a consumer watchdog, has identified several Pittsburgh-area hospitals that it says could be at risk of closing. The catalyst it identified for the potential closures are cuts to Medicaid and other government health programs. It's an analysis that the hospitals dispute. ... Public Citizen cited cuts to Medicaid and other programs from a federal spending bill passed last year by Congress and the President that contributed to this list. (Adele, 5/6)
Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth, CVS, Cigna Warn Shareholders About Bad PR, AI Risks
Health insurance companies highlighted damaged reputations, the pros and cons of artificial intelligence, and the consequences of President Donald Trump’s tariffs in regulatory disclosures issued over recent weeks. Publicly traded companies such as UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, Elevance Health and Cigna filed these proxy statements and annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission as precursors to their yearly shareholder meetings. For the second consecutive year, insurers emphasized the burden of negative publicity and outlined efforts to rehabilitate their images. (Tong, 5/6)
Stat: PeaceHealth Drops Plan To Outsource Oregon ER Physicians
After a tidal wave of blowback that culminated in a lawsuit, a nonprofit health system has reversed course in its plan to replace its Oregon emergency physicians with a national chain. (Bannow, 5/6)
CIDRAP: Survey: Facing Headwinds, Early-Career Physician-Scientists Mull Other Options, Jobs Abroad
After recent US policy shifts, a survey of 175 early-career physician-scientists suggests that they struggle with balancing clinical, research, and educational responsibilities; work-family balance; limited funding; and low compensation, with 58% considering leaving academic medicine in the next two years and 44% mulling a move abroad. The findings, which haven’t been peer-reviewed, were published this week on the preprint server medRxiv. (Van Beusekom, 5/6)
Fierce Healthcare: Joint Commission, NACHC Partner With Focus On Health Centers
The Joint Commission and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) are teaming up to develop resources for community health centers nationwide. The groups will develop education, training and advisory services for the over 1,500 community health centers serving 52 million Americans. A new Joint Commission accreditation program will also be created to ensure that community health centers deliver the highest quality of care. (Gliadkovskaya, 5/6)
San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF To Build New Mission Bay Institute For Hearing Loss Care
The University of California regents on Wednesday approved the construction of a new UCSF hearing institute in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood that, upon completion in 2029, will consolidate medical care and research for hearing loss under one roof. The UCSF Bakar Ear and Hearing Institute will be a five-story, 150,000-square foot building at Nelson Rising Lane and Fifth Street, near UCSF’s other research and clinical facilities. Construction is slated to begin in late 2026. (Ho, 5/6)
AP: Browns Owners Donate $12.5 Million Toward Blood Cancer Research
Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam have donated $12.5 million toward blood cancer research and treatment. The donation includes $10 million to the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre in England for research and drug development focused on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and other rare blood cancers. The other $2.5 million will go to Cleveland’s University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, which will establish an endowed chair in CLL research and an innovation fund toward driving advancements in care. (5/6)
Stat: To Reinvent Cancer Care, Color Health Is Going Virtual First, AI-Driven
The way Color Health’s CEO Othman Laraki sees it, cancer has a scaling problem. New science regularly sets new standards of care, increasing the intricacy of managing an already complex illness. Cancer patients are multiplying faster than oncologists, Laraki said, and costs, too, are exploding. All this makes it difficult for everyone to receive the best possible therapy. The solution that the Silicon Valley executive sees is inevitable. (Chen, 5/6)
