Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Investigation: Some Michigan Hospitals Made Lots Of Money In Covid
MLive.Com: During The Darkest Days Of COVID, Some Michigan Hospitals Made 100s Of Millions -
During the first years of the pandemic, Michigan hospitals told the public their situation was dire. Their staffs were overworked. Emergency rooms were bursting with patients. Resources were limited. Many furloughed staff, cut workers’ salaries or trimmed executive pay, at least temporarily. But an examination of tax records, audited financial statements and federal data collected by a nonprofit found that a few hospitals and health systems did great, posting increases in both operating profits and overall net assets as the pandemic raged. (Miller and Salisbury, 6/6)
In other health care industry news —
Stat: UnitedHealth Starts Bidding War With $3.3 Billion Offer For Amedisys
There’s now a two-party showdown for one of the largest home health companies in the country. UnitedHealth Group and its Optum division on Monday formally proposed to buy Amedisys for $100 per share, or about $3.3 billion. (Herman, 6/5)
Detroit Free Press: Sparrow Health To Get New Name In University Of Michigan Acquisition
One year after the University of Michigan's acquisition of Sparrow Health, the Lansing-based health system will get a new name. As of April 1, 2024, it will be known as the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow. (Jordan Shamus, 6/5)
Modern Healthcare: Mayo Clinic Announces Rochester Campus Redevelopment
Mayo Clinic on Monday announced a large redevelopment of its main campus in downtown Rochester, Minnesota, two weeks after the health system's threats to scrap investment in the state led to changes in a nurse staffing bill. Minnesota legislators removed a provision to enforce nurse staffing levels after Mayo Clinic officials said they would pull billions of dollars in investments unless the proposal was thrown out or an exemption was provided for the health system. (Hudson, 6/5)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Penn Is Closing An Inpatient Addiction Treatment Program That Advocates Say Homeless Patients Rely On For Care
Saying that Penn Medicine is not prioritizing care for opioid addiction at a time of soaring overdose deaths, several dozen protesters chanted “patients over profits” to protest the closure of a West Philadelphia addiction treatment unit at a rally last week. The protest urged Penn to keep open Wright 4, an 18-bed addiction treatment unit at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. (Whelan, 6/6)
Stat: Carbon Health Is Already Using AI To Write Patient Records
Primary care tech startup Carbon Health is using artificial intelligence to listen in on patient appointments and automatically write up near-complete notes within minutes, directly in its own electronic health record software. (Ravindranath, 6/5)
Also —
The Boston Globe: Wu Launches Workforce Initiative To Get 1,000 Boston Residents Into Biotech Jobs
Mayor Michelle Wu unveiled a plan Monday to plug more Boston workers into the growing biotech industry, launching a workforce initiative aimed at getting 1,000 city residents trained and hired at drug research and production labs and other life sciences operations by the end of 2025. The city government will initially commit $4 million to the program, funded through grants from the city’s Neighborhood Jobs Trust and the federal American Rescue Plan, but the investment is expected to grow. (Weisman, 6/5)
Stat: Teetering Postdoc System Imperils Life Sciences Diversity
For young life scientists hoping to land a prestigious faculty job in academia, postdoctoral research is practically a requirement. But it’s not a path equally open to everyone. Freshly minted life science Ph.D. graduates who have started families or have big loans, or are Black or female, say they plan to pursue postdoc positions at lower rates than their peers, according to a STAT analysis that includes previously unreported data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. (Wosen, 6/6)
KFF Health News: As Fewer MDs Practice Rural Primary Care, A Different Type Of Doctor Helps Take Up The Slack
For 35 years, this town’s residents have brought all manner of illnesses, aches, and worries to Kevin de Regnier’s storefront clinic on the courthouse square — and he loves them for it. De Regnier is an osteopathic physician who chose to run a family practice in a small community. Many of his patients have been with him for years. Many have chronic health problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or mental health struggles, which he helps manage before they become critical. (Leys, 6/6)
KFF Health News: 'An Arm and a Leg' Podcast: A ‘Payday Loan’ From A Health Care Behemoth
Alex Shteynshlyuger, a urologist with a practice in New York City, feels surrounded by UnitedHealth Group. He has seen the company gobble up private practices and says it’s slow to pay claims. It also started offering cash-flow services that, Shteynshlyuger says, feel a lot like payday loans. UnitedHealth Group is the largest employer of physicians in the United States. And it’s growing. Has the company become too big? (6/6)
