Judge Quashes DOJ Effort To Acquire Private Patient Information
Judge Jamal N. Whitehead of Federal District Court in the Western District of Washington ruled the Trump administration overstepped its authority when it sought data from a trans health provider. “When a federal agency issues a subpoena ... to intimidate and coerce providers into abandoning lawful medical care, it exceeds its legitimate authority and abuses the judicial process,” he said.
The New York Times:
Judge Rebukes Justice Dept. Over Efforts To Obtain Confidential Patient Details
A federal judge in Seattle has rejected a Justice Department effort to obtain confidential patient information from a provider of gender-affirming care, accusing the agency of “prosecutorial coercion” and of failing to conduct an investigation in good faith. The ruling, filed on Monday, was a scathing rebuke from a federal judge over an extraordinary attempt by the Justice Department to secure personal data in service of what it said was a bid to determine whether certain providers had committed fraud or made false claims about its services. (Thrust, 10/29)
In other health industry developments —
Modern Healthcare:
Medicare Plan Finder Errors Must Be Fixed, Democrats Urge CMS
Top Democrats blasted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over reported flaws in the Medicare Advantage provider lists an agency contractor assembled. House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) wrote CMS Wednesday to demand it rectify “inaccurate, incomplete and contradictory information” on provider networks the agency incorporated into the Medicare Plan Finder. (Early, 10/29)
The Wall Street Journal:
In Medicare, Less Is Now More For Big Insurers
For big insurers, touting Medicare Advantage growth once signaled strength. These days, reassuring investors means showing you can shrink your exposure to the program. (Wainer, 10/29)
Healthcare Dive:
Centene Posts $6.6B Loss On Massive Value Writedown
The goodwill impairment charge is meant to realign Centene’s value on its own books with its value in the market, which has plummeted this year. Still, Centene upped its earnings outlook for 2025. (Pifer, 10/29)
WGCU:
Lee Health Is Part Of New Golisano Children's Alliance, Formed With $253 Million Gift
A commitment of $253 million has been given by philanthropist Tom Golisano to six children's hospitals around the country. They will join Lee Health's Golisano Children's Hospital and three others to form the Golisano Children's Alliance, representing 10 children's hospitals across the eastern United States. (10/29)
North Carolina Health News:
Medicaid Funding Gap Forces Closure Of NC Perinatal Group
On Friday, North Carolina will be the only state in the country to no longer have a statewide collaborative focused on improving perinatal care. The Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina stands to lose its entire $905,000 budget on Friday, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services confirmed this week in an email to NC Health News. (Fernandez, 10/30)
Bloomberg:
Harry You SPAC Agrees To Merge With Clinic-In-A-Box Firm OnMed
Blank-check deal veteran Harry You’s latest special purpose acquisition company has agreed to merge with a business that operates portable health-care stations. Berto Acquisition Corp. has signed a nonbinding letter of intent to combine with OnMed LLC, according to a statement Wednesday confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. Financial details were not disclosed. (Baker, 10/29)
Also —
MedPage Today:
Study Identifies U.S. Regions Vulnerable To Trump's $100K Visas For Foreign Docs
The percentage of physicians sponsored by the H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. employers to hire workers outside the country to work in specialty occupations, was significantly higher in vulnerable and underserved counties, according to a cross-sectional study. (Firth, 10/29)
MedPage Today:
Egg Freezing Benefits Are A Key Job Consideration For Female Docs
Fertility coverage, particularly egg freezing, is a key influence on female physicians' job decision-making, a survey showed. Physicians with current inadequate oocyte cryopreservation coverage were more than 4 times more likely to say fertility benefits would affect whether they accepted a job offer compared to those who thought their current coverage was adequate ... according to Ashley Veade, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. (Robertson, 10/29)
Modern Healthcare:
How Robotic Surgery Is Using AI At Johns Hopkins, Lenox Hill
Surgical robots have transformed the operating room for doctors, bringing greater precision to procedures and improving patient outcomes. The next frontier: Robots that can perform procedures entirely on their own. What once was the stuff of science fiction is starting to become a reality as academic medical centers and research universities collaborate to develop the technology. It may take over a decade for the advancements to reach clinical practice and there would need to be a regulatory framework designed to approve them. (Dubinsky, 10/29)
