Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Meta, Kentucky School District Will Settle Lawsuit Over Allegedly Addictive Social Media
The Guardian: Meta Settles Major Social Media Addiction Lawsuit With Kentucky School District
Meta agreed to settle a major lawsuit on Thursday with a school district in Kentucky over claims that its social networks are designed to be addictive, leading to harm in children. The settlement comes less than three weeks before the case was scheduled to go to trial in federal court in California. (Kerr, 5/21)
The Colorado Sun: Polis Signs Executive Order Banning Sugary Drinks At State Functions
Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday prohibited the state from buying soda and other sugary drinks for official state functions, part of a multi-department effort to promote healthy eating and drinking for Coloradans. (Brown, 5/21)
The Texas Tribune: Camp Mystic Health Officer’s Nursing License Suspended
The Texas Board of Nursing has temporarily suspended the license of Camp Mystic’s chief health officer, saying her continued practice “constitutes a continuing and imminent threat to public welfare.” (Nguyen, 5/21)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Affordable Healthcare Center Opening In Dutchtown. Patient Care Begins May 26.
After two years in development, a non-emergency healthcare complex has opened in Dutchtown to serve residents there and in nearby neighborhoods, regardless of their ability to pay. (Bauman, 5/21)
In hospital news —
The Baltimore Sun: Demolition Of Harford Memorial Hospital To Occur In 1 Month
The brick building that housed Harford Memorial Hospital for more than 100 years now has busted out windows and black fencing surrounding it. It’s on track to be demolished in roughly one month to make way for 54 houses meant for older residents. (Foster, 5/21)
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: $31.1M In FEMA Grants Go To Two Northeast Ohio Hospitals
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Canton’s Aultman Health Foundation a combined $31 million in federal funding for costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Washington, 5/21)
North Carolina Health News and Charlotte Ledger: Lawmakers Target Hospitals – And Atrium Health In Particular – In Reform Bills
Atrium Health would have to add four local elected officials to its board under a North Carolina state Senate bill — one of several proposals this session taking aim at the growing power of large hospital systems. (Crouch, 5/22)
Fierce Healthcare: Hospitals Allege CVS Health Subsidiaries Pocketed 340B Savings
Several academic and nonprofit health systems have filed lawsuits against CVS Health, accusing the company and its subsidiaries of improperly pocketing about $250 million of 340B Drug Pricing Program savings from 2020 to 2025. The providers’ legal complaints were filed earlier this week in New York, Kansas and Michigan federal courts. Among the plaintiffs are member hospitals of Mount Sinai, the University of Kansas Health System and the University of Michigan Health. (Muoio, 5/21)
On rural healthcare —
Becker's Hospital Review: ‘Rural Healthcare Is Under Attack’: California Hospital Turns To Strategic Partnerships To Combat Medicaid Cuts
Mad River Community Hospital in Arcata, Calif., is tackling rural healthcare challenges head-on through a partnership with Ovation Healthcare to help improve certain revenue cycle functions. Matt Anderson, COO of the hospital, said approximately 30 employees will be part of this “insourcing” partnership as the hospital works to navigate anticipated Medicaid cuts. (Scheetz, 5/21)
KFF Health News: Trump’s $50B Rural Health Bet Meets A Healthcare Desert In North Carolina
WILLIAMSTON, N.C. — Two years after her brother’s death, Debra Pierce still wonders whether the 50-year-old would have survived his heart attack if her local hospital hadn’t closed. “The sad thing is we’ll never know if he could have been saved that night or not, because we don’t have a higher level of care in this county,” Pierce said as she stood outside the mobile home where she last hugged her brother. Emergency crews from a neighboring town worked on Stanley Sears for a half hour but couldn’t revive him for the long drive to the closest hospital, records show. (Tribble and Seitz, 5/22)
