Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Joint Commission Overhauls Its Accreditation Process For Hospitals
Fierce Healthcare: Joint Commission Accreditation Revamp To Cut 700-Plus Standards
The Joint Commission has unveiled an overhaul to its healthcare accreditation and certification process that will cut hundreds of requirements for hospitals, streamline patient safety practices and give stakeholders as well as the public a clearer look into what’s expected of an accredited facility. Called “Accreditation 360: The New Standard,” the changes are described by the organization as “the most significant, comprehensive evolution of Joint Commission’s accreditation process since 1965.” (Muoio, 6/30)
MedPage Today: Widely Used Oncology Clinical Guidelines Get Digital Makeover To Streamline Access
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) started the roll-out of a new digital format designed to streamline access and use of the organization's 88 clinical guidelines. The digital makeover, called the NCCN Guidelines Navigator, will not replace the traditional PDF-based guidelines but instead will offer a complementary means to navigate through the treatment guidelines and recommendations, NCCN CEO Crystal Denlinger, MD, told MedPage Today. Access to the navigator will be included with every free NCCN account for non-commercial use. (Bankhead, 6/30)
More health care industry developments —
Modern Healthcare: CMS Proposes Home Health Pay Cut, Dialysis Rate Hike For 2026
Home health companies stand to lose more than $1 billion in Medicare payments under a proposed rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published Monday. The proposed changes would represent a decrease of 6.4%, or $1.14 billion, in Medicare payments to home health agencies in 2026 compared with 2025, CMS said in a fact sheet. (Eastabrook, 6/30)
Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth's OptumRx Cuts More Drug Prior Authorizations
OptumRx is removing prior authorization mandates for more drugs. So far this year, the pharmacy benefit manager has eliminated reauthorizations for 140 medications patients use to treat chronic conditions, the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary said in a news release Monday. Insurance companies and PBMs require patients and clinicians to obtain reauthorizations for some drugs in cases of long-term safety concerns or potential dosing changes. Beginning Tuesday, OptumRx will cut prior authorizations for another 60 medications that treat seven chronic conditions, including HIV, high cholesterol, hypertension and and others. (Tepper, 6/30)
San Francisco Chronicle: UC Health, Blue Shield Extend Contract Deadline, Avert Care Disruption
UC Health and Blue Shield of California, which are at an impasse over the terms of a new contract that could disrupt health care for thousands of Californians, have extended the deadline for reaching a new agreement from July 9 to Aug. 9. This means the thousands of Californians who get medical care at UC Health through Blue Shield of California — including many in the Bay Area who go to UCSF and One Medical, a UCSF affiliate — have an additional 30 days of breathing room before potentially having to find a different health insurer or pay out-of-network rates for services if UC Health and Blue Shield cannot reach a new contract. (Ho, 6/30)
Modern Healthcare: Banner Health CEO Amy Perry Outlines Expansion Plans
Banner Health is gearing up for major growth plans over the next decade, President and CEO Amy Perry said. Perry said a combination of fast-growing market populations, plans to diversify service lines and partnership opportunities is expected to help the health system double its size in 10 years. Phoenix-based Banner operates more than 30 acute-care hospitals, 50 urgent care centers and hundreds of other centers and clinics across six states. It employs more than 55,000 people. (Hudson, 6/30)
The Washington Post: Inside Operation Gold Rush, Largest Health Care Fraud Bust In U.S. History
Gerald Quindry was facing a quandary. The 73-year-old retired engineer received a statement last year that Medicare, his health insurance provider, had been billed $15,500 for urinary catheters — but his doctor had never ordered them, and Quindry never wanted nor received them. Quindry complained to Medicare. But he said the representatives seemed nonplussed by his complaint, and he could find little information about the incident himself beyond news reports of catheter-related fraud in the government program. (Diamond and Weber, 6/30)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Former Atlanta Medical Center Demolition Begins
As two excavators took turns chipping away at the concrete overhang of one of the former Atlanta Medical Center building’s entrances, a handful of Atlantans who used to work there recorded the demolition with their phones. Meta Anthony donned a purple T-shirt with the hospital’s logo emblazoned on the back. The former employee said that she started in nursing school but quickly found her passion as an administrative secretary at the facility where she went on to work for four decades. (Bunch, 6/30)
In obituaries —
The Washington Post: Joseph Giordano, Surgeon Who Helped Save Reagan’s Life, Dies At 84
Joseph Giordano, the former head of surgery and director of the trauma center at George Washington University Hospital who helped perform lifesaving measures on President Ronald Reagan after he was shot during an assassination attempt in 1981, died June 24, two days after his 84th birthday. He died at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital of complications from an infection, said his son Christopher Giordano. (Schudel, 6/30)
