Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Human Error In ICUs Has Led To Patient Harm In 23% Of Cases: Study
Axios: Patients Are Hurt By Diagnostic Errors More Often Than You Think
Hospitalized patients who died or were transferred to the ICU during their stay experienced a diagnostic error nearly a quarter of the time — and in most cases the error caused harm, according to a new study that's prompting calls to rethink how health systems keep patients safe. (Reed, 1/9)
On Medicare Advantage —
Modern Healthcare: 2 Centene Medicare Advantage Plans Terminated Over Falling Stars
A pair of Centene Medicare Advantage plans must suspend enrollment and marketing because of poor star ratings, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified the company. Centene's WellCare Health Insurance of Arizona and WellCare Health Insurance of North Carolina recorded persistently low scores on quality measures and must exit Medicare Advantage, CMS wrote Centene Dec. 27. (Tepper, 1/8)
Modern Healthcare: Alignment Health Reports 35% Medicare Advantage Growth
Alignment Healthcare's Medicare Advantage enrollment spiked in 2023 with growth outpacing overall industry projections, the company disclosed Monday. Medicare Advantage membership rose 44% to 155,000 by year-end, for-profit Alignment Healthcare revealed in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Tepper, 1/8)
In other health care industry news —
Stat: Hospitals Try A New Pitch To Investors: Other Ways Of Making Money
If you learned anything about nonprofit hospitals on the first day of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, it’s that they’ve all but abandoned the prospect of making significant profit on patient care. Instead, they’re fully throwing their weight into other ways of making money — things like developing drugs or selling insurance. (Bannow, 1/8)
Modern Healthcare: JPM 2024: CommonSpirit To Focus On Outpatient Expansion
“We will have a greater emphasis on non-acute assets, on ambulatory care and continuum of care,” CommonSpirit CEO Wright Lassiter told the audience Monday at the 42nd annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. “We will continue to expand outside of the acute environment and continue to think about revenue diversification and what is best way for CommonSpirit to diversify around our traditional set of business.” (Kacik, 1/8)
Modern Healthcare: Sanford Health, UPMC Invest In Capital Projects To Drive Growth
Cutting costs isn’t always the answer for health systems looking to secure long-term revenue growth. Since COVID-19 struck, many providers have continued to invest in new facilities and expand services, despite the financial challenges related to the pandemic. Projects temporarily stalled and new developments were put on hold, but it wasn’t long before systems resumed their multi-year strategies to reach more patients. (Hudson, 1/8)
Modern Healthcare: Uber Health, Socially Determined To Integrate Platforms
Uber Health and analytics company Socially Determined have begun integrating their platforms and jointly marketing their products, which they expect mostly insurers to adopt to connect patients to supplemental benefits. The companies are collaborating to provide services to connect high-need patients to transportation, prescription and grocery delivery services, and aim to fully connect their capabilities in the future. (Hartnett, 1/8)
Modern Healthcare: CVS Health Ventures Invests In WellBe Senior Medical
CVS Health's venture capital arm made an unspecified investment in WellBe Senior Medical, entering a strategic partnership with the senior primary care provider. A spokesperson for WellBe Senior Medical declined Sunday to disclose the funding amount from CVS Health Ventures. In a news release, WellBe CEO Dr. Jeff Kang said the money would be used to accelerate the company’s national expansion. (Eastabrook, 1/8)
The Boston Globe: Dana-Farber Releases More Details About New Cancer Center
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has made its first official pitch to state regulators about its planned 300-bed freestanding hospital, saying the project will increase competition and is necessary to meet projected needs for cancer care regionally and nationally. The filing kicks off the Department of Public Health’s review of the plans, part of what is likely to be an extensive regulatory process on the $1.68 billion project. The hospital has already begun the process for land use approval with the city. (Bartlett, 1/8)
Modern Healthcare: Rock Health: Digital Health Funding Sinks To 4-Year Low
Digital health funding suffered its worst year since 2019, according to a report released Monday from research and digital health venture firm Rock Health. Total venture capital funding for U.S.-based digital health companies dipped from $15.3 billion in 2022 to $10.7 billion in 2023. Rock Health blamed the drop off on broader economic challenges including higher interest rates and conservative investors. (Turner, 1/8)
KFF Health News: Rising Malpractice Premiums Price Small Clinics Out Of Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
After Iowa lawmakers passed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors in March, managers of an LGBTQ+ health clinic located just across the state line in Moline, Illinois, decided to start offering that care. The added services would provide care to patients who live in largely rural eastern Iowa, including some of the hundreds previously treated at a University of Iowa clinic, saving them half-day drives to clinics in larger cities like Chicago and Minneapolis. (Cecelia, 1/9)
