Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
MetroHealth's 'Hospital In The Home' Program Has Treated 900 Patients
Crain's Cleveland Business: MetroHealth Program Launched In The Pandemic Puts Hospital In The Home
In the past nearly two years, MetroHealth has treated more than 900 patients through its "Hospital in the Home" program, which aims to provide high-touch care for patients where they're most comfortable, with the support of technology. Envisioned long before the pandemic and formalized during the crisis, the program has proven to be an effective new way to deliver care for patients who are interested in that model and in cases when providers deem it appropriate. (Coutré, 2/14)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare: Mayo, UnitedHealthcare Dispute Could Set Tone For All Medicare Advantage Negotiations
A contract dispute between the nation's largest Medicare Advantage insurer and a storied health system could provide a glimpse into the future of rate negotiations. Mayo Clinic will no longer schedule appointments for out-of-network patients, aside from those who show up in the Rochester, Minnesota provider's emergency room, where federal law requires its physicians to care for them, regardless of their health insurance. The health system has long had this policy in place, but only recently began to actually turn away patients to preserve its capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic, said spokesperson Karl Oestreich. Medicare Advantage enrollees will be the most impacted since Mayo serves more Medicare beneficiaries than any other plan type, he said. (Tepper, 2/14)
Modern Healthcare: SEC Private Fund Rules Could Affect Health System Investors, Fund Managers
Health systems could get more insight into how the private equity funds they invest in are performing under a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposal. The SEC wants to beef up the regulation of private fund advisers, those who put investors' money into private equity funds, hedge funds or venture capital funds. For the many health systems that have placed money in those areas, the changes would mean more transparency. For systems large enough to have in-house venture or private equity funds with outside investors, it would mean adhering to more rules as fund advisers. (Bannow, 2/14)
Axios: PriorAuthNow Nets $25M Financing
PriorAuthNow, a health tech startup focused on streamlining treatment approvals, raised $25 million in fresh funds led by Insight Partners, the company's executives tell Axios exclusively. Even as telehealth gains steam and virtual care tools proliferate, traditional channels still dominate health care delivery. Many aspects of those channels desperately need innovation, and prior authorizations (PAs) are just one example, industry sources tell Axios. (Brodwin, 2/14)
Also —
KHN: This Doctor Thought She Could Navigate US Health Care. Then Her Autistic Son Needed Help
Alexander Roodman was packing up his room, preparing for a gap year before college, when I met him at his family’s Washington, D.C., townhouse. The room was a typical teenage disaster zone, with clothes and books strewn everywhere. Then, Alex picked up an origami sculpture that rippled with dozens of ridges and depressions. “It’s kind of a repetitive pattern,” he said. “First, you make the diagonal folds and these lateral folds to cut the paper in half.” It’s pretty complicated. Alex, a slim teenager with long black hair and penetrating eyes, is gifted with the focus for this. But the way his brain works can be a challenge. (Levey, 2/15)
