Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Proposal Would Force HHS To Review Its Regulations Every 10 Years
Modern Healthcare: HHS Proposes Rule To Review And Eliminate Old Regulations
The Trump administration wants HHS to check its regulations every 10 years to see if they're still needed, according to a proposed rule on Wednesday. Rules would expire 10 years after HHS issues them if the agency doesn't assess and, if necessary, review a rule "in a timely manner," HHS said in a statement. The agency would carry out more detailed reviews of regulations that have significant economic effects on many small entities. (Brady, 11/4)
In other health industry news —
Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth Group Subsidiary Must Revamp Behavioral Healthcare Coverage, Judge Rules
A federal judge ordered a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary to revamp its behavioral health claims processing after the insurer wrongfully denied mental health and substance use disorder treatment coverage to tens of thousands of its members. Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero wrote that United Behavioral Health manipulated internal guidelines to deny mental health coverage so it could "protect its bottom line." The company then lied to state regulators and UBH executives overseeing the guidelines, and deliberately attempted to mislead the court, Spero wrote in the Nov. 3 court filing. (Kacik, 11/4)
Charlotte Observer: Mecklenburg, NC Will Break Ties With Cardinal Innovations
Mecklenburg County is preparing to sever ties with Cardinal Innovations Healthcare, the managed care organization that oversees behavioral-health treatment in 20 counties across North Carolina. Local officials leveled accusations against Cardinal in February just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit — detailing a pattern of inadequate access to service and substantial wait times for some of Mecklenburg’s neediest residents. The county, for example, blasted Cardinal’s faulty handling of emergency placements for children who are abandoned or neglected. (Kuznitz, 11/4)
FierceHealthcare: New York ER Docs Sue UnitedHealth For Alleged Underpayments
New York emergency room docs are suing UnitedHealth Group and provider network management firm Multiplan, alleging the two conspired to underpay them for out-of-network claims. In the lawsuit, the group of staffing firms, all of which are out of network for UnitedHealthcare, claim that the insurer and Multiplan worked together using Multiplan's Data iSight platform to set their own "reasonable" rates for out-of-network claims, which undercut payments to the docs. (Minemyer, 11/3)
Also —
St. Louis Post Dispatch: ‘COVID Storm’ Prompts Local Hospitals To Begin Rescheduling Elective Surgeries
St. Louis-area hospitals on Tuesday tallied a record number of COVID-19 daily hospital admissions, a continued rise that has prompted one health system to begin postponing some elective procedures. The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force reported 74 new admissions for COVID-19, the highest number since the group began tracking the data in April. Task force data lags two days and includes Mercy, SSM Health, St. Luke’s Hospital and BJC HealthCare facilities in the region. (Merrilees, 11/4)
FierceHealthcare: Industry Voices—Will The Country Choose Virtual Care Post-COVID? Yes – But Only If It’s Better
The numbers are astonishing: The use of telehealth services in the U.S. has grown from 11% of consumers in 2019 to 46% in 2020. But telemedicine was not Plan A for many of these patients. They adopted it because of the difficulty of face-to-face physician visits during the spread of SARS-CoV-2.Telemedicine can do far more than suffice during an emergency. When virtual care becomes the catalyst for integrated care—and solves problems that have long plagued our current healthcare system—consumers will want a “virtual-first” model of healthcare delivery. (Ferguson, 11/4)
NPR: A New Hippocratic Oath Asks Doctors To Fight Racial Injustice And Misinformation
First-year medical student Sean Sweat "didn't want to tiptoe around" issues of race when she sat down with 11 of her classmates to write a new version of the medical profession's venerable Hippocratic oath. "We start our medical journey amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and a national civil rights movement reinvigorated by the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery," begins the alternate version of the oath, rewritten for the class of 2024 at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. (Boden, 11/4)
