Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs, Humana May Join Forces To Lower Drug Costs
Fierce Healthcare: Cost Plus Drugs, Humana Eye Partnership To Lower Drug Costs
Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs and Humana are exploring a potential partnership to help lower the cost of prescription drugs for employers. Cuban, an entrepreneur, businessman and TV personality who co-founded Cost Plus Drugs, said the company is in discussions with Humana to work with its CenterWell healthcare services business to provide a better pharmacy experience for consumers and a direct-to-employer model for prescription drugs. (Landi, 12/4)
Bloomberg: How Impoverished People Selling Their Blood Fuels Drug Profits
As a kid, Laura Rohe seemed to be continually ill: pneumonia, sinus infections, skin lesions. “I was the sick child” resting on the couch while her siblings played, she recalls. ... Then she began monthly immunoglobulin infusions prescribed by her doctors, and “it was like a light switch,” says Rohe, 51, a nurse at an immunology clinic in Omaha, Nebraska, who’s also worked with a pharmaceutical industry lobbying group. “I was just a normal kid after that.” (Tullis, 12/4)
Becker's Hospital Review: How CMS Plans To Pay For Wearables
CMS will reimburse healthcare organizations for patients’ wearable and app use if it improves their health conditions, Politico reported Dec. 4. The agency revealed its ACCESS program Dec. 1 to encourage technology-supported care to better manage chronic illness among Medicare patients. Organizations can apply in January to join the 10-year pilot program, which kicks off July 1. (Bruce, 12/4)
MedPage Today: Ultrasound Can Aid Treatment Of Vascular Complications From Cosmetic Fillers
Amid a rise in the use of cosmetic fillers -- commonly injected in the face for anti-aging effects -- Doppler high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) picked up "highly variable" findings in filler-related vascular adverse events (VAEs), researchers reported. (Henderson, 12/4)
In other health care industry updates —
Modern Healthcare: Aya Healthcare, Cross Country Healthcare Nix $615M Deal
Aya Healthcare has terminated its deal to acquire Cross Country Healthcare for an estimated $615 million, citing regulatory approval challenges. The two staffing technology companies entered a definitive agreement last December. The deal was slated to close in the first half of 2025, but delays in the approval process, including the 43-day government shutdown, meant it was still pending as of this week. (DeSilva, 12/4)
Chicago Tribune: Rush Announces Donation To Help It Expand Clinical Trials
Rush University System for Health plans to dramatically expand its clinical trials for patients with cancer thanks to a major donation from the family foundation of late business leader Harold B. Smith, the system announced Thursday. (Schencker, 12/4)
CNN: Insurers Promised To Ease Prior Authorization Burden After UnitedHealthcare CEO’s Murder. Here’s What’s Happened
A year ago, the fatal shooting of a health insurance executive on a Manhattan sidewalk unleashed many Americans’ pent-up frustration with insurers’ delays and denials of care. (Luhby, 12/4)
NBC News: 12-Year-Old With Scoliosis Seeks A Surgery That Her Insurance Says Is Too New To Cover
Anne Marie Hukriede has three times appealed her insurance company’s decision not to cover her daughter’s scoliosis surgery. The answer each time was the same: Aetna considers the procedure that doctors recommend for her 12-year-old daughter, Vivian, to be experimental, citing a lack of evidence about long-term safety and efficacy. (Bendix, Martin and Snow, 12/4)
