Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
House Panel Will Confront UnitedHealth CEO Over Cyberattack
Reuters: UnitedHealth CEO To Testify Before US House Panel On Cyberattack At Tech Unit
UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty will testify before a U.S. House subcommittee on May 1 about a recent cyberattack at the company's technology unit and its impact on patients and providers, the Energy and Commerce Committee said on Friday. The hack at Change Healthcare, a provider of healthcare billing and data systems, on Feb. 21 disrupted payments to doctors and healthcare facilities nationwide for a month. (4/19)
KFF Health News: Medical Providers Still Grappling With UnitedHealth Cyberattack: ‘More Devastating Than Covid’
Two months after a cyberattack on a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary halted payments to some doctors, medical providers say they’re still grappling with the fallout, even though UnitedHealth told shareholders on Tuesday that business is largely back to normal. “We are still desperately struggling,” said Emily Benson, a therapist in Edina, Minnesota, who runs her own practice, Beginnings & Beyond. “This was way more devastating than covid ever was.” (Liss, 4/19)
In other health care industry developments —
The Boston Globe: Steward Health Care Lenders Identified As Payment Deadline Approaches
The names of six lenders who provided $750 million to keep Steward Health Care afloat were identified Friday as a payment deadline approaches for the debt-burdened hospital system. US senators from Massachusetts pressed the lending consortium — made up of financiers who typically charge distressed borrowers steep interest rates and management fees — to modify the loan terms to allow Steward’s eight Massachusetts hospitals to keep operating. (Weisman, 4/19)
Reuters: Tenet Healthcare, Union Coalition Reach Tentative Deal
A union coalition for Tenet Healthcare's workers reached a tentative labor deal with the hospital system that included across-the-board raises of 14% over three years for full and part-time workers, the union said on Friday. The union said there will be a ratification bonus of $750 for full-time, $500 for part-time, and $250 for per diem employees according to the agreement. (4/19)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Catholic Medical Center To Lay Off 54 Workers, Citing ‘Financial Stress’
Catholic Medical Center in Manchester will lay off 54 employees as a response to financial difficulties, hospital leaders said. President and CEO Alex Walker announced the layoffs to staff in a memo Thursday. The hospital will also cut some workers’ hours and eliminate a number of open positions, reducing overall staffing levels by the equivalent of 142 full-time positions. (Cuno-Booth, 4/19)
The Boston Globe: Mass General Brigham Doctors Speak Out About Latest Merger Step
Discontent among Mass General Brigham doctors had been at a slow burn for years. ... Mass General Brigham, a dominant force in Boston medicine, was launching the latest and perhaps most contentious step in its ongoing effort to merge its two flagship Harvard-affiliated medical centers: combine all departments and divisions at both hospitals in a move that executives argued would improve patient care and access. (Kowalczyk, 4/19)
Modern Healthcare: Novant, CHS Respond To FTC Efforts To Stop Deal
Novant Health and Community Health Systems hit back at the Federal Trade Commission's allegations that Novant's $320 million proposed acquisition of two CHS North Carolina hospitals would stifle competition. The health systems allege in an April 15 filing the FTC's definition of the "Eastern Lake Norman Area" in the Charlotte region is a "distorted and artificially narrow view" of the market and allegedly incorrectly portrays the two hospitals ... as viable competition to Novant's nearby facilities. (Hudson, 4/19)
Modern Healthcare: Community Health Systems To Sell Tennessee Hospital
Community Health Systems has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Tennova Healthcare hospital to Hamilton Health Care System, CHS said Thursday. The $160 million cash transaction with Dalton, Georgia-based Hamilton, which requires regulatory approval, is expected to close in the third quarter, CHS said in a news release. (DeSilva, 4/19)
Houston Chronicle: Memorial Hermann Transplant Patients Left In Limbo
For years, doctors at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center told Maria Rosario Gomez that vomiting blood would be a telltale sign that her liver failure had progressed to the point where she would need a transplant. When it happened Monday, though, the Houston resident was unable to get the lifesaving transplant she needs. And it remains unclear when she will. (MacDonald, 4/19)
