Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mission Health's Sale To HCA Brought No Lasting Improvements, Study Finds
Asheville Watchdog: HCA’s Purchase Of Mission Health Did Not Lead To Lasting Improvements, Report Says
The decision to sell nonprofit Mission Health to for-profit HCA Healthcare was made behind closed doors, without public review, and, contrary to promises made by Mission’s leadership at the time of the 2019 sale, did not lead to lasting improvements at Mission Hospital, according to the final two installments of an academic study of the merger. (Jones, 2/8)
Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Cuts Will Cause Closures, Layoffs, Rural Providers Say
Potential Medicaid cuts would jeopardize Pender Community Hospital’s maternity ward, which is one of the most active in Nebraska for the community's size. ... The facility operates on narrow margins, and about 40% of its obstetric patients are covered by Medicaid. If the Republican-led Congress follows through with proposals to limit Medicaid funding, Pender Community Hospital may have to consider service cuts — including to around-the-clock anesthesia and its obstetrics unit, CEO Laura Gamble said. (Kacik, 2/7)
Modern Healthcare: Why Private Equity Is Chasing Revenue Cycle Management Companies
Private equity firms have set their sights on investing in revenue cycle management companies due to higher demand from providers for the services. Investment firms have been involved in transactions across the approximate $5 trillion healthcare industry, taking stakes of various sizes in hospitals and health systems, physician groups and post-acute companies. Their interest in the payment technology companies that help providers improve their billing and collection operations appears to be on the upswing. (DeSilva, 2/7)
MedPage Today: Doctors, PAs, And Other Clinicians Unionize In Massachusetts
More than 230 clinicians at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) in Massachusetts won their union election and have received certification through the state Department of Labor Relations. About half of the group's members are physicians, including primary care doctors, psychiatrists, and hospitalists; members also include physician assistants (PAs) and psychologists, according to SHARE CHA/AFSCME, the union representing the group. (Henderson, 2/7)
KFF Health News: Blood Transfusions At The Scene Save Lives. But Ambulances Are Rarely Equipped To Do Them
One August afternoon in 2023, Angela Martin’s cousin called with alarming news. Martin’s 74-year-old aunt had been mauled by four dogs while out for a walk near her home in rural Purlear, North Carolina. She was bleeding heavily from bites on both legs and her right arm, where she’d tried to protect her face and neck. An ambulance was on its way. “Tell them she’s on Eliquis!” said Martin, a nurse who lived an hour’s drive away in Winston-Salem. She knew the blood thinner could lead to life-threatening blood loss. (Andrews, 2/10)
On weight loss drugs and obesity —
The New York Times: The Physicians Really Are Healing Themselves, With Ozempic
When Dr. C. Michael Gibson, a cardiologist at Harvard Medical School, goes to heart disease meetings, he can’t help noticing a change. “We will sit around at dinner and halfway through the meal, we will simultaneously push our plates away,” Dr. Gibson said. “We look at each other and laugh and say, ‘You, too?’” They share what is becoming an open secret: They tried for years to control their weight but are now taking the new obesity drugs manufactured by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. (Kolata, 2/10)
San Francisco Chronicle: Why Two US Senators Slammed An SF Telehealth Company’s Super Bowl Ad
A San Francisco online health company that recently faced local backlash over its donation to President Donald Trump’s inauguration is now in hot water over a Super Bowl ad. Hims & Hers, a telehealth firm, is promoting the compounded weight loss drug it offers in a provocative 60-second commercial that’s set to air during Sunday’s NFL championship and is already watchable online. The drug is similar to Ozempic, except the medications are custom-prepared by specialized pharmacies before being sent to patients. Compounded drugs are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. (Morris, 2/8)
The Wall Street Journal: Weight Loss From Ozempic Can Make Skin Sag. Enter The $20,000 ‘Body Lift’ Procedure.
Those who lose weight on Ozempic often find success has left them with sagging skin—a common side effect that is driving a boom in cosmetic surgery. “The first thing they see is the loose skin on their abdomen,” says R. Brannon Claytor, a Bryn Mawr, Pa.-based plastic surgeon who does about 50 body-lift procedures a year. “Then they realize, my butt has fallen too.” (Dizik, 2/9)
