Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
HHS Aims To Stop Provider Discrimination Against Those With Disabilities
Modern Healthcare: HHS Proposes Nondiscrimination Rule For People With Disabilities
Healthcare providers would be required to make greater accommodations for patients with disabilities under a proposed rule the Health and Human Services Department announced Thursday. Primarily, the draft regulation seeks to prevent providers from turning away patients with disabilities based on an inability or an unwillingness to accommodate their needs. (Hartnett, 9/7)
In news about insurance and medical costs —
The Wall Street Journal: Health-Insurance Costs Are Taking Biggest Jumps In Years
Health-insurance costs are climbing at the steepest rate in years, with some projecting the biggest increase in more than a decade will wallop businesses and their workers in 2024. Costs for employer coverage are expected to surge around 6.5% for 2024, according to major benefits consulting firms Mercer and Willis Towers Watson, which provided their survey results exclusively to The Wall Street Journal. (Wilde Mathews, 9/7)
CBS News: Medical Credit Cards Can Be Poison For Your Finances, Study Finds
Medical credit cards have proliferated in health care offices across the nation as more Americans struggle to afford treatment, even when they have insurance. Yet while these cards may seem like a good way to quickly pay for needed services, they come with some serious downsides that experts say could cost you dearly.One major card provider, CareCredit, is offered in more than 250,000 health care provider offices, an increase of more than 40% from a decade ago, according to a recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (Picchi, 9/7)
Axios: Employers Couldn't Duck Higher Costs Of Covering Workers: Survey
Pulling out the stops to bring the cost of workplace health insurance coverage down couldn't keep employers from absorbing some of the biggest increases in a decade this year, according to preliminary findings from Mercer's 2023 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans. (Reed, 9/8)
The Boston Globe: Pediatric Care In Mass. Is Getting More Expensive
The analysis, conducted by the state’s health care watchdog organization, the Health Policy Commission and released Thursday, found that Children’s Medical Center Corporation, which includes Boston Children’s Hospital, and Mass General Brigham, which includes Massachusetts General for Children, accounted for 58.1 percent of commercial pediatric discharges for residents of the Commonwealth, up from 52.7 percent in 2011. (Bartlett, 9/7)
On health care staffing —
KFF Health News: The Shrinking Number Of Primary Care Physicians Is Reaching A Tipping Point
I’ve been receiving an escalating stream of panicked emails from people telling me their longtime physician was retiring, was no longer taking their insurance, or had gone concierge and would no longer see them unless they ponied up a hefty annual fee. They have said they couldn’t find another primary care doctor who could take them on or who offered a new-patient appointment sooner than months away. Their individual stories reflect a larger reality: American physicians have been abandoning traditional primary care practice — internal and family medicine — in large numbers. Those who remain are working fewer hours. And fewer medical students are choosing a field that once attracted some of the best and brightest because of its diagnostic challenges and the emotional gratification of deep relationships with patients. (Rosenthal, 9/8)
Fox News: Burnt Out And Getting Out: American Hospitals Struggle With Increasing Shortage Of Nurses
America's nurses are stressed out to the point where they are leaving the industry. By 2027, nearly a fifth of registered nurses will hang up their scrubs for good, according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Tracey Moffatt, the Chief Nursing Officer at Ochsner Health in New Orleans, said the nursing shortage has been a problem for years and the pandemic only made it worse. For the ones that are working, Moffatt said some are now looking for nursing jobs outside a hospital setting. (Kedrowicz, 9/8)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare: Hospital Data Centers Face Threats From Hurricanes, Hacking, Heat
Hospital tech executives are managing more digital health applications at a time when their systems face multiple threats to business continuity and patient safety. Amid greater threats to cybersecurity and an increasing number of weather-related events ranging from storms to excessive temperatures, health systems have had to map out extensive strategies to minimize data server downtimes. The average cost of data center downtime is $7,900 per minute, according to a study from research firm Ponemon Institute. (Perna, 9/7)
Stat: Amazon On Where The Company's Health Care Bets Are Headed Next
The graveyard is littered with Amazon’s bets in health care: wearables, Care, the ill-fated Haven. Out of their ashes, a new health strategy has emerged at the tech goliath. And while its leaders insist that Amazon has no grand plan for health care, a flurry of moves in the last year offer a glimpse into its ambitions at a time when they seem more cohesive than ever. (Palmer, 9/7)
Modern Healthcare: AHIP Names Miller Interim CEO
AHIP has named Julie Simon Miller interim CEO as it continues searching for a new leader, the health insurance trade association announced Thursday. Starting Oct. 2, Miller will temporarily succeed President and CEO Matt Eyles, who is departing the industry group at the end of this month and has not disclosed his next move. Miller has worked at AHIP for 18 years and been general counsel since 2015. She led legal advocacy on issues such as the Affordable Care Act of 2010, pharmacy benefit manager regulation and generic prescription drug access, according to AHIP. (Tepper, 9/7)
Modern Healthcare: Sound Physicians Taps Jeff Alter As CEO
Sound Physicians named Jeff Alter as the physician group’s new CEO, succeeding founder Dr. Robert Bessler. Alter, who joined Sound Physicians on Tuesday, previously led primary, specialty and urgent care provider Summit Health-CityMD. He left the company after it was acquired by Walgreens Boots Alliance subsidiary VillageMD in January for $8.9 billion. (Kacik, 9/7)
