Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Systems, Patient Care Impacted By Rising Claim Denial Rates
Modern Healthcare: Insurance Claim Denial Rates Rising As Health Systems Struggle
Health systems across the country have experienced a significant rise in denied claims over the past year, leading to more administrative work for providers, less cash flow for hospitals and, in some cases, postponed patient care. (Devereaux, 11/21)
More on the cost of coverage —
Axios: How Medical Inflation Is Ensnaring Big Employers
A convergence of factors driving up health costs is threatening to make next year a very pricey one for big employers, forcing some to make difficult tradeoffs and eat some of the added expense. (Reed and Gonzalez, 11/21)
North Carolina Health News: More Than 2 Million Medicare Enrollees Face Crucial Choices
With a Dec. 7 deadline approaching, North Carolinians older than 65 are dealing with choices for 2023 between health insurance coverage under traditional Medicare or for one of 150 options on a growing list of privately run Medicare Advantage plans statewide. (Goldsmith, 11/22)
Stat: The Case For Universal Oral Health Coverage, According To The WHO
On Friday, oral health advocates across the globe got an early holiday gift from their longtime wish lists. They had been waiting their whole careers — for some STAT spoke with, up to nearly half a century — for oral health to be folded into conversations calling for health care access for all. The World Health Organization’s new Global Oral Health Status report took that first step. (Castillo, 11/21)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare: Intermountain Healthcare Posts $2.16B Profit Through 3rd Quarter
Intermountain Healthcare continues to make money during a difficult stretch for the hospital sector, recording $2.16 billion in net income for the first nine months of the year, according an unaudited financial report issued Thursday. (Hudson, 11/21)
Modern Healthcare: Providence Closes 27 Southern California Retail Clinics
Renton, Washington-based Providence closed all 27 of its Providence ExpressCare facilities on Nov. 17 after the Southern California retail clinics posted “unprecedented operating losses” amid labor shortages, inflation, supply chain disruption, lower-than-expected volumes and a more competitive retail clinic sector, the spokesperson said. (Kacik, 11/21)
Stat: Can Telehealth Help Hospitals Mitigate The Climate Crisis?
As the world stares down the barrel of climate change, the health care system — which is responsible for about 9% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions — is finally starting to take action. Hospitals, in particular, are working to stem their impact, and have held up telehealth as a prime strategy to cut down on carbon, by eliminating millions of miles of travel to and from health care centers. (Palmer, 11/22)
The Boston Globe: Community College Working To Ease Nursing Shortage
Northern Essex Community College is participating in a national program to address the nursing shortage and make the profession more accessible to people from diverse backgrounds. (Laidler, 11/21)
Modern Healthcare: Atrium Health Hosts Annual Talent Show For Staff
Atrium Health employees seek to put their talents on display at work and on the stage. Every year, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based nonprofit health system invites its 70,000 staff members to participate in a talent show, “Atrium Health Has Talent.” Clinicians, administrative staff, leadership and other team members come together from across the 40-hospital system to showcase their skills. (Berryman, 11/22)
In legal news —
Des Moines Register: Jury Awards Iowa Man $27 Million After His Meningitis Was Misdiagnosed
A Polk County jury has awarded a Des Moines man $27 million in damages after a local urgent care clinic failed to diagnose him with a serious meningitis infection that ultimately resulted in permanent brain damage. (Ramm, 11/21)
The New York Times: A Botched Cancer Test, a National Scandal, and an Irish Hero
A subsequent official inquiry revealed that at least 220 other Irish women had also developed cervical cancer after receiving negative results for state-run Pap smears that, a later review showed, should have been flagged as likely positive. According to 221+, an advocacy group founded by Vicky Phelan and other affected women and their survivors, around 30 of these women have since died. (O'Loughlin, 11/17)
