Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Probing Insider Trading Inside The Beltway Proves Difficult
The New York Times: Tip On Medicare Spurs Insider Trading Investigation
With only 20 minutes remaining in the trading day, a Washington-based broker-dealer, Height Securities, blasted out a “flash report” to nearly 200 clients, including some of the biggest hedge funds on Wall Street, predicting that Medicare was about to raise some reimbursement rates. ... Today, the email from Height Securities is at the center of a broad investigation into possible insider trading that stretches from within the walls of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to the halls of Congress and onto the sleek trading floors of Wall Street hedge funds. The issue: Did employees inside Medicare, as well as congressional staff members, pass along nonpublic information that wound up in the hands of investment firms that used it to make a profit? (Creswell, 11/14)
The Wall Street Journal: Data Lacking On Senior Health-Care Plans
With three weeks remaining in Medicare’s annual open-enrollment period, a new study that looks at the research available to compare traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans finds that consumers have little good evidence to make informed decisions. (Ruffenach, 11/15)
And The Washington Post examines how more companies are offering elder-care benefits to workers -
The Washington Post: Aging Population Prompts More Employers To Offer Elder-Care Benefits To Workers
As the population ages and more people live longer with chronic medical conditions – for instance, the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease is expected to nearly triple by 2050 – companies are beginning to grapple with growing numbers of workers who have elder-care responsibilities. Some, including pioneers such as Fannie Mae in the Washington area, are offering not only flexibility, but also benefits such as emergency backup adult care, geriatric assessments, social workers to assist with referrals for adult day-care programs, and help with legal, financial and emotional counseling. (Schulte, 11/16)
