Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Senator Asks FTC, SEC To Investigate UnitedHealth Over Cyberattack
Becker's Hospital Review: Senator Urges Probe Of UnitedHealth 'Negligence' In Change Hack
Sen. Ron Wyden is urging regulators to investigate UnitedHealth Group for what he termed "negligent" security practices, which he believes contributed to the February cyberattack on its subsidiary Change Healthcare. On May 30, Mr. Wyden wrote a letter to the FTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission asking the agencies to probe UnitedHealth Group for "negligent cybersecurity practices." (Diaz, 5/30)
The Wall Street Journal: Healthcare Sector Maps Cyber Risk Posed By ‘Single Points Of Failure’
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services doesn’t want to get caught flat-footed by the next healthcare hack. The agency is leading work to create a map of the cybersecurity risks inherent in having a single technology supplier dominate a particular aspect of the market, a threat known as a single point of failure. The concern comes after a cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group’s Change Healthcare unit early this year produced cascading effects on health claims, freezing millions of dollars in payments. The repercussions took care providers, regulators and lawmakers by surprise. (Stupp, 5/30)
In other health industry developments —
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: University Hospitals Cuts Pay For 350 Higher-Paid Nurses Amid Budget Issues
More than 300 University Hospital nurses are facing pay cuts as the health system makes post-pandemic staffing adjustments and tries to fix two years of budget shortfalls. The change, announced in a recent memo, affects 350 Enterprise Staffing Services nurses working in the surgical, emergency department, intensive care and other departments, the memo said. (Washington, 5/30)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Fox Chase Nurses And Techs Approve First Union Contracts
Nurses and technical specialists at the Fox Chase Cancer Center have voted to approve their first union contracts, averting a five-day strike that was scheduled to begin next week. The contracts include wage increases, paid parental leave, and the hospital’s commitment to improve staffing levels of both nurses and techs, according to the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, which represents the workers at the Temple Health-owned cancer specialty hospital. (Gutman, 5/30)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: SSM Expands Its Wentzville ER As Hospitals Chase Westward Growth
SSM Health has doubled the capacity of its emergency room in Wentzville, a move to improve safety and ramp up medical services in a growing county. The project at SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital in Wentzville gives ER staff separate areas to care for behavioral health and general medical patients, said hospital President Jake Brooks. And it gives the hospital a much-needed boost in capacity in one of the fastest-growing parts of the state. (Merrilees, 5/30)
