Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Threats, Harassment Hit One In Four Health Workers During Pandemic
Axios: Nearly A Quarter Of Health Workers Threatened Or Harassed, CDC Says
Nearly a quarter of public health workers said they felt bullied, threatened or harassed because of their work since the pandemic began, new CDC data shows. The data corroborates the anecdotal evidence of how politically charged public responses and work burnout wreaked havoc on the mental health of public health workers this past year, causing some to even resign. (Fernandez, 6/28)
AP: New ASU Havasu Program Aims To Help Address Nurse Shortage
Even before the pandemic, a scarcity of nurses was an ongoing concern in Arizona especially in more rural areas. An Arizona State University nursing program, set to debut at the school’s Lake Havasu City campus this fall, aims to put a dent in that shortage. ASU Havasu, which is still a young campus at 9 years old, got approval in April from the Arizona Board of Nursing to offer a 12-month bachelor of science degree in nursing. The program is expected to draw more than 30 new students, the Today’s News-Herald reported. (6/27)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare: San Diego Sues Molina, HealthNet, Kaiser
The city of San Diego sued three health insurers on Friday, alleging Kaiser Permanente, HealthNet and Molina Healthcare all advertised false networks of providers in an attempt to get consumers to sign up for their plans. The three insurers together enrolled more than 3.3 million California residents in 2019, and "are among the worst actors in California when it comes to the inaccuracy of their provider networks," according to the three separate suits, all filed in San Diego Superior Court. (Tepper, 6/25)
Modern Healthcare: Bright Health Raises $924 Million In Largest Insurtech IPO Of 2021
Bright Health raised $924 million on a valuation of approximately $12 billion during its initial public offering on Thursday, with the Minneapolis-based insurtech booking the largest IPO among the health insurance startups that went public this year. The company's shares failed to reach their estimated price of $18 during the IPO, meaning its valuation fell about $2 billion short of what investors expected. Bright Health is the last of the insurtechs expected to make an IPO this year, with Alignment Healthcare, Oscar Health and Clover Health all going public earlier in 2021. (Tepper, 6/25)
Health News Florida: UF Health Reports Progress After Cyberattack At Villages, Leesburg Hospitals
UF Health announced Friday that it has restored the electronic medical records for its hospitals and clinics in The Villages and Leesburg following a cybersecurity event. UF Health's investigation of the cyberattack is ongoing. The hospital system still is not describing the nature of the cyberattack, which was detected on the night of May 31. (Byrnes, 6/26)
The Boston Globe: Region’s Lab Space Boom Continues As High-Rise Moves Forward In Malden
A developer has won approval for a nine-story office building in downtown Malden that would add to a cluster of projects seeking to attract life-sciences companies to the city center. The Malden City Council on June 22 signed off on the planned project by Quaker Lane Capital at 11 Dartmouth Street, where the developer says it intends to create space for retail, with offices above “targeted at innovation-driven tenants, including public and private sector organizations as well as entrepreneurial and research and development focused firms.” The 160,000-square-foot project comes as developers throughout the region are investing heavily in lab space, betting that life sciences will be a key to the future of the Boston’s economy. In Malden, additional office space is coming online to support companies working on research and development. (Rosen, 6/27)
CNBC: Doximity CEO Ignored Silicon Valley Wisdom, Built $10 Billion Company
Jeff Tangney launched his first health-tech start-up, Epocrates, in the middle of the dot-com bubble. While the company survived the crash and eventually went public, the endgame was a disappointing acquisition for less than $300 million. By the time Tangney started his next venture, Doximity, in 2010, he’d learned a few things: Don’t raise too much money. Don’t burn too much cash. Fix a real problem for doctors. (Levy, 6/27)
In news about health care and the LGBTQ community —
Crain's New York Business: How New York's Health Systems Are Advancing Care For LGBTQ Communities
June might be Pride month, but the work to ensure better access to healthcare for the LGBTQ community happens all year round. Health networks including NYC Health + Hospitals and Stony Brook Medicine have built clinics and care centers in areas of need. Earlier this month, the city public health system opened a gender-affirming integrated services practice in the South Bronx—its first such facility in the borough. Similarly, the Long Island health network brought LGBT-specialized care to the East End with a new, 2,000-square-foot, $750,000 health center. Robert Chaloner, chief administrative officer at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, says he hopes the center will inspire other facilities to spring up in the future. (Sim, 6/25)
ABC News: When Cancer And Gender Identity Collide: Transgender Patients Fight Stigma And Disease
Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be scary and life-altering. It takes strength to navigate the world following a diagnosis, so any additional barriers to this process can be tough, such as for transgender patients. Although the world of medicine largely remains a cisgendered world, the landscape is changing to include more research, advocacy and education about transgender patients. (Okolo, 6/27)
Axios: LGBTQ Seniors On The Isolation Of Living Through A Pandemic
Many elder LGBTQ Americans, already disproportionately isolated before the pandemic, faced greater loneliness in quarantine as they lost access to resources and community, two older LGBTQ Americans told Axios. Data is lacking on how LGBTQ Americans have been affected by the coronavirus — especially older populations, who battle a myriad of complications as a high-risk and under-resourced group. (Rummier, 6/26)
