Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Steward Health Care Closures To Hit Over 900 Hospital Staff In Ohio
Modern Healthcare: Steward Health Care Layoffs To Impact 944 Ohio Hospital Workers
Steward Health Care will cut more than 900 jobs as it prepares to close additional hospitals next month. The 935 layoffs at Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital — both in Warren, Ohio — will go into effect Oct. 20, but Steward plans to shutter the facilities Sept. 20, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notices filed this week. (Hudson, 8/23)
Modern Healthcare: UNC Health Launches 'Transparent' PBM For Employers
As pressures mount against the largest pharmacy benefit managers, a new disruptor is entering the field: UNC Health. The University of North Carolina-affiliated health system announced a plan this month to launch UNC Health Pharmacy Solutions, a "transparent" PBM for employers seeking an alternative to CVS Health subsidiary CVS Caremark, Cigna division Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group unit OptumRx, which dominate the market. (Berryman, 8/23)
North Carolina Health News: Building Eastern NC's Community Health Workforce, In Barbershops, Beauty Salons
In an ongoing effort to get essential health information to people in nontraditional settings, one organization in eastern North Carolina is using an approach that empowers their community’s trusted voices. Shackle Free Community Outreach Agency helps train barbers and beauticians to share important information on vaccines and chronic disease prevention and treatment. They also share information about accessing food, housing and other resources. (Nandagiri, 8/26)
Axios: Concierge Medicine Comes To College Campuses
The growing concierge medicine market has a new target demographic: college students and their anxious parents. It's the latest example of how expanded access to health care is available to those willing to pay, which critics say drives up costs without necessarily improving outcomes. (Goldman, 8/26)
The Wall Street Journal: A Court-Ordered Therapy That Separates Kids From A Parent They Love Stirs A Backlash
Tori Nielsen was 16 when she and her 12-year-old brother were whisked away from their mother at the Maricopa County courthouse by four strangers in a white minivan on the morning of May 27, 2021. The strangers wouldn’t tell Tori and her brother where they were going, she recalled, as the siblings held hands and cried in the back seat. After hours on the interstate, they arrived at a hotel somewhere by the ocean. The strangers, three men and one woman, barricaded the door to their room with furniture so they couldn’t leave, Tori said. (Frosch, 8/24)
San Francisco Chronicle: Another California Gun Law Blocked Over ‘Historical Tradition' Test
In another blow to California’s efforts to restrict carrying guns in public, a federal judge has barred the state from allowing only California residents to seek concealed-carry licenses. (Egelko, 8/21)
Also —
KFF Health News: Journalists Talk Shooting's Toll On Children And State Handling Of Opioid Settlement Funds
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in the last two weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances. (8/24)
