Ky. Lawmakers Advance Controversial Bill That Would Let Doctors Refuse Treatment
The so-called conscience bill would allow medical workers to not provide health care services based on their personal beliefs. Opponents warn that such legislation would encourage discrimination and limit access to care.
Louisville Courier Journal:
Kentucky 'Conscience' Bill Lets Doctors Refuse To Treat Patients
A controversial proposal that would let medical workers and insurance companies refuse to perform or pay for health care services that violate their conscience is back before the Kentucky legislature, and opponents warn it could open the door to dangerous discrimination. The so-called conscience bill, which stalled in 2020, took its first key step toward possibly becoming law when the Senate Judiciary Committee gave it the green light Thursday, although a few senators who voted to let it advance noted they still have some questions or potential changes to consider. (Watkins, 2/11)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare:
Molina Reports $100 Million Year-Over-Year Drop In Profits In 2020
Molina reported a $100 million year-over-year drop in profits in 2020, with a rise in COVID-19 costs, acquisition expenses and the extension of the risk-sharing corridors during the public health crisis cutting into the Long Beach, Calif.-based insurer's bottom line. During the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, Molina reported $34 million in profits, down nearly 80% from the $168 million generated in 2019. The payer's profits dipped to $673 million at the end of the year, down 8% from the $737 million reported for 2019. (Tepper, 2/11)
Dallas Morning News:
Signify Health Goes Public With $7 Billion Valuation As CEO Says Company Is ‘Long On Dallas’
Founded in 2017, Signify splits its headquarters between Norwalk, Conn., where a number of its executives are based, and Dallas, where roughly half of its 2,100 employees work and live. The company reported $550 million in revenue for the 12 months that ended Sept. 30. The company leverages an online platform, analytics and a network of independently contracted providers around the country to shift health care away from acute care facilities and into patients’ homes. The Uber-for-health care-modeled company, which only makes money when it drives positive patient outcomes, has been thriving over the last year, said CEO Kyle Armbrester. (DiFurio, 2/11)
Houston Chronicle:
SmartPod Facility To Expand Healthcare Access In Pasadena
SmartPods, which can be folded up in minutes to transport where needed, include an isolation clinic, a regular clinic space, pharmacy and biosafety laboratories. Precinct 2 is spending $2.9 million in county funding on the SmartPod units in Pasadena and Aldine. The money covers costs for design, construction, transport, medical equipment and medical services. The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) is expected to reimburse the money. The idea to bring the the NASA-engineered SmartPod to Harris County originated long before the coronavirus, Garcia said, as a tool to close the gaps in access to quality health care service. (Orozco, 2/11)
Stat:
Zocdoc, Staking Its Future On The Promise Of Hybrid Care, Raises $150 Million
Less than a year since Zocdoc reinvented itself as a telehealth platform in the face of the pandemic, the company is again profitable, and on Thursday announced $150 million in fresh financing to fuel its ambitions. The company is staking its future on the buzzy promise of hybrid care. (Aguilar, 2/11)
KHN:
Counterfeit N95 Scam Widens As Senator Demands FTC Investigation
A key U.S. senator is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate N95 mask fraud and federal agents announced the seizure of 1.7 million more counterfeit 3M masks in the New York borough of Queens as the breadth of a major scam concerning front-line health workers continues to grow. Early Thursday, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), on her first day as chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said she would ask the Federal Trade Commission to look into 1.9 million counterfeits shipped to hospitals in Washington state. The state hospital association announced earlier in the week that law enforcement had notified them that they’d been sold fake N95s branded as 3M products. (Jewett and Hancock, 2/12)
