Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Record Number Of Americans Involved In Change Healthcare Data Breach
Modern Healthcare: Change Healthcare Data Breach Affected 190M
A ransomware attack against Change Healthcare last year exposed data on a record-breaking 190 million people, parent company UnitedHealth Group reported Friday. That's 90 million more people than the company, which operates Change Healthcare through its Optum subsidiary, disclosed to federal regulators in October. It also amounts to 55% of the U.S. population. A cyberattack against Anthem (now Elevance Health) in 2015, which affected nearly 80 million people, was the previous record holder in the healthcare sector. (Berryman, 1/24)
In other health industry news —
Modern Healthcare: CMS Pulls Appeal For UnitedHealth Medicare Advantage Ratings Case
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reversed course Friday on a plan to appeal UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage star ratings win. Outgoing U.S. Attorney Damien Diggs notified the court on his last day in office Tuesday that CMS intended to appeal the unfavorable ruling. Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin Jr. reversed course on his first day in office, swiftly withdrawing the notice to appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. (Tepper, 1/24)
Modern Healthcare: Longitude Health Names Brett Moraski Interim CEO
Longitude Health named Brett Moraski interim chief executive officer of the health system-backed company following the death last week of former CEO Paul Mango. Mango was deputy chief of staff at the Health and Human Services Department and chief of staff at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during President Donald Trump’s first term. He is survived by his wife Dawn Rucker and five daughters. (Kacik, 1/24)
Modern Healthcare: University Of Minnesota, Essentia In Talks To Form Nonprofit
The University of Minnesota and Essentia Health are in early discussions to form a nonprofit entity that aims to boost financial support for the school and improve rural healthcare. The university and the Duluth, Minnesota-based integrated health system said in a news release Friday they are in talks to create an “all-Minnesota health solution,” although the release included minimal details about how the proposal is structured. (Kacik, 1/24)
BorderBelt: UNC Southeastern Updates Maternity Ward
When Mary Campbell gave birth to her first daughter in 2021, her maternity room at UNC Health Southeastern was cramped and loud. The hospital’s thin walls did little to muffle the sounds of crying babies and foot traffic in the hallways, and Campbell could barely nap during her 36-hour stay. But when Campbell, who works as an emergency room nurse at the hospital in Lumberton, had her second child last month, her experience was very different. (Perez-Moreno, 1/25)
Modern Healthcare: Hospitals, Medtech Companies Partner On Devices To Lower Costs
Health systems are forming multi-year partnerships with medtech companies, investing millions of dollars to keep up with the latest technology and develop a more holistic way of managing their operations. It’s an involved process that pairs a company's technology consultants, technicians and program managers with health systems to evaluate their equipment and operations, advise on upgrades and provide service, training and consulting. (Dubinsky, 1/24)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘An Arm and a Leg’: The ‘Shkreli Awards’ — For Dysfunction And Profiteering In Health Care
Every year, a health care think tank called the Lown Institute ranks the 10 worst examples of “profiteering and dysfunction” in health care and “honors” the winners. The “Shkreli Awards” are a kind of Oscars for the most outrageous examples of greed, fraud, and general brokenness in American health care. (Weismann, 1/27)
In obituaries —
The Washington Post: Loretta Ford, Champion Of Nurse Practitioners, Dies At 104
Loretta C. Ford, a pediatric nurse who worked tenaciously to expand access to health services, co-founding the profession of nurse practitioner and helping to transform the way millions of Americans receive health care, died Jan. 22 at her home in Wildwood, Florida. She was 104. The death was confirmed by her daughter, Valerie Monrad, but no cause was noted. (Bass, 1/25)
