Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Johnson & Johnson Wants Its Day In Court For Cancer-Warning Lawsuit
Bloomberg: J&J Would Rather Fight A Cancer-Warning Lawsuit On Baby Powder
Johnson & Johnson wants its day in court to fight a lawsuit intended to force it to put a cancer warning on the company’s Baby Powder. So, it’s urging a judge not to let a law firm that’s been arguing for the warning to suddenly drop the lawsuit. It’s an unusual twist for a defendant not to go along with plaintiffs who want their case dismissed. But it’s being fought because J&J doesn’t want to give the Lanier Law Firm a chance to refile the suit with more defendants. (Pettersson, 7/27)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare: Spinning Off From Tenet Could Signal Positive Future For Conifer
Tenet Healthcare Corp.’s plan to spin off its revenue-cycle subsidiary could be good news for the future independent company, which will be free to spend money as it wishes. “You’re liberating the spinoff company to redeploy capital in a way that is most aligned with the nature of that subsidiary as opposed to the nature of the parent,” said Brian Brownschidle, executive director with XMS Capital Partners. (Bannow, 7/26)
Modern Healthcare: Digital Health Companies See New 'Exit' Strategy With IPOs
Livongo and Health Catalyst began trading on the Nasdaq on Thursday, joining a slew of companies to end a nearly three-year drought since the last initial public offering of a digital health company. The two companies joined Phreesia, a healthcare software provider that went public one week earlier on July 18, and Change Healthcare, a revenue cycle management company formed through a series of acquisitions and a merger with McKesson's technology business, which began trading in June. (Cohen, 7/26)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Universal Health Services To Pay $127 Million To Settle Fraud Claims
Universal Health Services, the company that has contracted to provide inpatient care for patients now treated at the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division’s hospital in Wauwatosa, has reached a tentative agreement with the federal government and various state attorneys general to pay $127 million to settle allegations that some of its hospitals fraudulently billed Medicare and Medicaid. The company won approval this month from the West Allis Common Council to build a $33 million behavioral health hospital at 1706 S. 68th St. The 120-bed hospital is expected to open in 2021. (Boulton, 7/27)
