Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Manhattan Hospital Criticized For Near $3,000 Covid Test Insurance Bills
The New York Times: ‘It Felt Like Deception’: An Elite NYC Hospital Charges Huge Virus Test Fees
Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan advertised its “Covid-19 Testing” on a large blue and white banner outside its Greenwich Village division’s emergency room. The banner said nothing about cost. But cost turned out to be the testing’s most noteworthy feature. Lenox Hill, one of the city’s oldest and best-known hospitals, repeatedly billed patients more than $3,000 for the routine nasal swab test, about 30 times the test’s typical cost. “It was shocking to see a number like that, when I’ve gotten tested before for about $135,” said Ana Roa, who was billed $3,358 for a test at Lenox Hill last month. (Kliff, 3/30)
Modern Healthcare: Insurers Test Re-Enacting Cost-Sharing For COVID-19 Treatment
Blue Cross North Carolina will soon begin charging members for COVID-19 treatment, representing one of the nation's first insurers to end its waiver pausing cost-sharing and out-of-pocket expenses for coronavirus care during the public health crisis. Come April 1, Blue Cross NC's fully-insured and group members will be responsible for all the copayments, coinsurance and deductibles related to their treatment for COVID-19. The North Carolina Department of Insurance declined to comment. (Tepper, 3/30)
Modern Healthcare: FCC Retools COVID-19 Telehealth Program Application Process
The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday voted to formalize new procedures and criteria for its COVID-19 telehealth program. The FCC is gearing up to start accepting applications for the second round of the program, which Congress established through COVID-19 relief bills. It's designed to provide healthcare organizations with funds to purchase telecommunications equipment, information-technology services and devices needed to offer telehealth services during the pandemic. (Cohen, 3/30)
Modern Healthcare: Hospital, Nursing Home COVID-19 Liability Protections Poised For Repeal
New York legislation nixing broad legal protections for healthcare providers during the pandemic stands ready to become law after receiving the approval of veto-proof majorities in the Assembly and state Senate. The vote drew the condemnation of healthcare and nursing home industry representatives, who called the move premature. "What if the variants do something unexpected? What happens if something goes awry in the near future?" asked Southern New York Association President Neil Heyman, whose group represents long-term-care facilities in New York City, Long Island and Westchester. "I think people should still be protected until we reach herd immunity and this thing is gone." (Kaufman, 3/30)
ProPublica: The Two Hospitals Have Similar Infant Death Rates — Until You Look At Extremely Premature Babies
Lax state oversight leaves unanswered questions about the deaths of extremely preterm babies at Albuquerque’s Lovelace Women’s Hospital, which markets itself as a state-of-the-art newborn facility. Experts say transparency could save lives. (Furlow, 3/30)
Stat: FTC Seeks To Block Illumina From Buying Grail, Citing Threats To Competition
The Federal Trade Commission is once again trying to block Illumina (ILMN), a dominant maker of genetic sequencing machines, from pursuing a big acquisition. And this time, the agency is targeting the planned $7.1 billion purchase of Grail, which is developing a long-sought blood test for detecting cancer early by using DNA sequencing. (Silverman, 3/30)
