Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Judge Rules Against Alaskan Surrogate Seeking Custody
The Texas Tribune: Surrogate Isn’t The Parent Of The Child She Carried, Texas Rules
A Texas judge has ruled against an Alaskan surrogate in her bid to obtain custody over a medically fragile baby she birthed in Dallas. According to a Wednesday filing, attorneys for the surrogate McKenna West are now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene after Texas’ unfavorable decision. (Langford, 9/10)
Healthcare Dive: Half Of U.S. Hospitals Lack Maternity Wards As Medicaid Cuts Loom: Report
Hospitals are increasingly shutting down their maternity wards, with nearly half of all U.S. hospitals lacking obstetric services as Medicaid cuts loom, according to a new report from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center. Over 700 hospitals shuttered their maternity wards between 2010 and 2024, according to the report. Rural areas were hit the hardest, with more than 57% of rural hospitals lacking a birthing ward in 2024. (Health, 9/10)
AP: Olivia And Tom Walton Pledge $100M To Cut US Maternal Mortality Rate
Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America, a bipartisan campaign founded by philanthropists Olivia and Tom Walton, announced a $100 million pledge Thursday to make giving birth in the United States safer. The five-year commitment aims to cut the maternal mortality rate in the United States in half by 2031. (Gamboa, 9/10)
AP: Lindsay Clancy’s Lawyer Asks Judge To Avert A Second Trial
Lindsay Clancy shouldn’t be tried a second time for killing her three young children because prosecutors don’t have enough evidence, her lawyer told a judge Thursday, saying the court should decide she’s not guilty by reason of insanity. Eleven of 12 jurors were ready to clear Clancy of criminal responsibility last Friday, but their deadlock forced the judge to declare a mistrial, leaving the case unresolved. (Willingham and Casey, 9/10)
More healthcare industry developments —
Modern Healthcare: Conifer Health Solutions Layoffs To Impact 1,000 Employees
Tenet Healthcare’s revenue cycle management subsidiary Conifer Health Solutions will lay off hundreds of employees later this year. Conifer will eliminate 1,037 jobs effective Nov. 2, due in part to the company’s plans to restructure after its contract with CommonSpirit Health ends Oct. 30, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed last week in Texas. (Hudson, 9/10)
The CT Mirror: Several On Saint Francis Hospital's Community Board Resign
Multiple members of a board overseeing Saint Francis Hospital have resigned, according to a spokesperson for the hospital’s parent company, Trinity Health of New England. The resignations came after reports of serious patient safety and quality concerns at Saint Francis, including an incident in 2026 that left a patient dead. (Golvala, 9/10)
The Colorado Sun: Denver Judge Closes Courtroom For Children’s Hospital Contempt Hearing
A judge in Denver took the unusual step Thursday of closing her courtroom to the public — including the media — as doctors from Children’s Hospital Colorado testified about their decisions to no longer write prescriptions for young transgender patients. (Ingold, 9/11)
The Hill: Only Half Of US Hospitals Fully Follow Federal Price Transparency Rules
Even though compliance rates have reached a record high, only about half of U.S. hospitals are in full compliance with federal price transparency rules, according to a report released Thursday. The nonprofit group Patient Rights Advocate (PRA) released its eighth hospital price transparency report in which it found 49.4 percent of hospitals it reviewed were in compliance with the federal hospital price transparency rules that have been in place since 2021. (Choi, 9/10)
Healthcare Dive: Half Of Medicare Advantage Stars Thresholds Harder To Reach In 2027
Earlier this week, the CMS released draft cutpoints, the thresholds the agency uses to convert MA plans’ quality and performance scores into a 1 to 5 star rating, as part of the preview process before regulators announce official results in early October. About 50% of cutpoints got harder, 33% were unchanged and 17% actually got easier, according to analysis by the Newton Smith Group, an MA consultancy. (Parduhn, 9/10)
