Lawmakers Split Over Federal Nursing Home Staffing Rules
The battle over the CMS mandate got more complex Wednesday as a bipartisan group of senators tried to kill the rule, which would require nursing homes to provide at least 3.48 hours of care per resident, per day, and have a registered nurse available 24 hours a day.
Modern Healthcare:
CMS’ Nursing Home Staffing Mandate Divides Lawmakers
The fight over a federal nursing home staffing mandate intensified Wednesday as a bipartisan group of U.S. senators launched an effort to kill the mandate, while two House Democrats and consumer advocates urged the Biden administration to stand behind it. (Eastabrook, 6/5)
On cybersecurity in health care —
Modern Healthcare:
Sen. Ron Wyden: HHS Must Enforce Healthcare Cybersecurity Rules
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued a withering critique of the Health and Human Services Department's handling of cybersecurity Wednesday, blaming a lax regulatory stance for creating the environment that allowed the massive Change Healthcare hack to happen. HHS must take a firmer hand and insist that healthcare entities are better protected against cyberattacks, ... Wyden wrote in a letter to Secretary Xavier Becerra. (McAuliff, 6/5)
Reuters:
Community Health Centers Still Bogged Down By Red Tape After UnitedHealth Hack
More than three months after a cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group's technology unit, some community health centers, which serve 30 million low-income and uninsured patients, are still wading through red tape to receive back payments and struggling with operations issues. Change Healthcare, a unit of the largest U.S. health insurer, processes about 50% of all medical claims in the U.S., for around 900,000 doctors, 33,000 pharmacies, 5,500 hospitals and 600 labs. It also runs other support services like call centers. (Niasse, 6/5)
More health industry developments —
The Charlotte Observer:
Judge Denies Request To Stop Novant Buying Charlotte Hospitals
federal judge on Wednesday denied the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop Novant Health from buying two Lake Norman Hospitals for $320 million. The agency said Novant Health would control a large share of the market with the deal and that could hurt consumers by wiping out competition, leave fewer options for patients and increase insurance rates. (Jordan, 6/5)
Reuters:
Alphabet Names Lilly Executive Anat Ashkenazi As CFO
Alphabet named Anat Ashkenazi as its chief financial officer on Wednesday, turning to a top executive from drugmaker Eli Lilly to help steer the Google parent in the generative artificial intelligence era. Ashkenazi's departure from Lilly was announced earlier in the day. At Alphabet, she will succeed Ruth Porat, the company's longtime CFO whose transition to the role of investment chief was unveiled in July 2023 after years of strong growth. (Malik and Satija, 6/5)
Modern Healthcare:
Cigna’s Preliminary Injunction In CVS Noncompete Case Upheld
A former Cigna executive may not begin a new position at rival CVS Health until a legal case over her noncompete clause is resolved, a federal appellate panel ruled Wednesday. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the preliminary injunction the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri issued in June 2023. Cigna seeks to prevent Amy Bricker, former president of its Express Scripts division and a Cigna employee for 13 years, from accepting a senior role with CVS Health. (Berryman, 6/5)
Modern Healthcare:
What The Medicare Advantage Star Ratings Lawsuit Means
A legal technicality could shake up the Medicare Advantage Star Ratings program, force the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to redo scores across the insurance industry and complicate the contracting process for next year. A federal judge ruled Monday that CMS violated the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 when it modified how star ratings are calculated in 2022. (Tepper, 6/5)
Stat:
Coercive Sterilizations Revealed By STAT Prompt Outrage
Federal officials, medical organizations, and reproductive health advocacy groups have expressed outrage in response to STAT’s recent investigation revealing that women with sickle cell disease have felt pressured into sterilizations as recently as 2017 and 2022. Some said they knew of other contemporary instances of tubal ligations with questionable consent — in people with severe disabilities, for instance, or situations in which patients didn’t understand that the procedure should be considered permanent — and said STAT’s reporting uncovered a new dimension of this troubling pattern. (Boodman, 6/6)
Modern Healthcare:
American Jewish Medical Association Aims To Combat Antisemitism
A group of healthcare workers have banded together to launch the American Jewish Medical Association and fight antisemitism in the healthcare profession. The nonprofit association was founded in November by Dr. Yael Halaas, a New York City-based plastic surgeon, after the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The group is nonpolitical, bipartisan and focused on domestic issues, although members are encouraged to take sides in political issues as they see fit, Halaas said. (DeSilva, 6/5)
