Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
It's Now Easier To Report Monopolistic Practices In Health Care Sector
Modern Healthcare: Feds Launch Healthcare Antitrust Reporting Portal
The Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department and Health and Human Services Department have created an online portal for the general public to report potentially anticompetitive practices in the healthcare sector. The portal, HealthyCompetition.gov, is the latest effort from government agencies and the Biden administration to bolster competition in healthcare markets with the hope of lowering care and prescription drug costs, according to an FTC news release Thursday. The portal lists examples of the types of healthcare business practices that can hinder competition, including consolidation, joint ventures and roll-ups. (DeSilva, 4/18)
Bloomberg: Acentra Health Slashes Interest Rate In Private Debt Refinancing
Acentra Health LLC cut its interest rate on a term loan, part of a larger transaction with a group of private credit lenders that refinanced existing loans and raised additional debt. The healthcare technology solutions company owned by Carlyle Group Inc. will now have a margin 5.5 percentage points above the Secured Overnight Financing Rate on a $666 million loan, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named discussing a private transaction. (Seligson, 4/18)
On Medicare payments and benefits —
Stat: Medicare Says Breakthrough Device Reimbursement Rule To Come By Summer
A federal rule aiming to make reimbursement for breakthrough devices easier is slated for early summer, a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services official said on Thursday. (Lawrence, 4/19)
Modern Healthcare: Aetna Lawsuit Could Upend Medicare Advantage Benefits
A legal fight between four Pennsylvania health systems and Aetna could upend how Medicare Advantage insurers manage costs for supplemental benefits. Bridges Health Partners, a clinically integrated network in western Pennsylvania, filed a lawsuit in state court Wednesday alleging CVS Health subsidiary Aetna broke contract terms by categorizing extra benefits such as gym memberships and CVS gift cards as medical expenses. (Tepper, 4/18)
Modern Healthcare: Elevance’s Medicaid, Medicare Losses Offset By Commercial Gains
Elevance Health's first-quarter losses in its Medicaid and Medicare businesses were partially offset by gains in its commercial plans. The company’s membership dropped 3.9% to 46.2 million enrollees, compared with 48.1 million in the same period last year, executives told financial analysts during its first-quarter earnings call Thursday. Medicaid redeterminations and changes to its geographic footprint drove the membership decline. (Berryman, 4/18)
More health care industry news —
Stat: Dana-Farber Retracts Science Paper As Part Of Data Integrity Review
An ongoing investigation into data integrity at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has resulted in a string of retractions, the latest of which is a 2006 Science paper co-authored by institute president and CEO Laurie Glimcher. (Chen, 4/18)
St. Louis Public Radio: Wash U Settles Justice Department's Discrimination Lawsuit
The U.S. Justice Department settled a lawsuit Monday with the Washington University School of Medicine for discriminating against an employee based on his citizenship status. In a lawsuit filed on April 14, 2022, the individual alleged that the medical school violated the Immigration and Nationality Act by discriminating against the employee based on his citizenship status and later retaliated against him for complaining. (Henderson, 4/19)
Bloomberg: WHO’s New AI Health Chatbot SARAH Gets Many Medical Questions Wrong
The World Health Organization is wading into the world of AI to provide basic health information through a human-like avatar. But while the bot responds sympathetically to users’ facial expressions, it doesn’t always know what it’s talking about. SARAH, short for Smart AI Resource Assistant for Health, is a virtual health worker that’s available to talk 24/7 in eight different languages to explain topics like mental health, tobacco use and healthy eating. (Nix, 4/18)
Reuters: World Bank Sets Goal Of Expanding Healthcare To 1.5 Billion People By 2030
The World Bank Group on Thursday unveiled a new goal to help countries deliver affordable healthcare to 1.5 billion people by 2030 by expanding services to remote areas, cutting fees and other financial barriers and focusing on lifetime care. The development lender said it would deploy financing, its own health expertise and new partnerships with private-sector firms, non-governmental organizations and civil society groups in reaching the target, which it defines as a person receiving treatment by a health care worker through an in-person visit or a telehealth appointment. (Lawder, 4/18)
KFF Health News' 'What The Health?' Podcast: Too Big To Fail? Now It’s 'Too Big To Hack'
Congress this week had the chance to formally air grievances over the cascading consequences of the Change Healthcare cyberattack, and lawmakers from both major parties agreed on one culprit: consolidation in health care. Plus, about a year after states began stripping people from their Medicaid rolls, a new survey shows nearly a quarter of adults who were disenrolled are now uninsured. (4/18)
