US News Pauses New Med, Law School Rankings Amid Controversy
U.S. News & World Report is delaying its influential but controversial rankings of some college programs in the face of numerous inquiries from schools over the data. Other hospital and insurance news from across the country is reported.
The Washington Post:
U.S. News Delays Law And Med School Rankings Amid Data Questions
U.S. News & World Report, already under scrutiny for the way it ranks some college programs, is delaying the release of its influential annual list of top law schools and medical schools as it answers “an unprecedented number of inquiries” from schools about the data. The news outlet did not give a new publication date, but said the lists would not be released until work to address the questions has been completed. “We take our role as a journalism enterprise very seriously and are working as quickly as possible to produce the best information available for students,” the company said in a statement. (Svrluga, 4/20)
In hospital news —
Los Angeles Times:
Beverly Hospital In Montebello Files For Bankruptcy
Beverly Hospital filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, a step that hospital officials said was needed to avoid the closure of the Montebello facility. Hospital officials said their goal is to find a buyer to keep the hospital open and maintain crucial services for residents in Montebello and nearby communities, including El Monte, Whittier and East Los Angeles. They laid the blame for their financial plight on surging costs that they said had outpaced government reimbursements to care for low-income patients. (Alpert Reyes, 4/20)
The Washington Post:
Va. Nonprofit Sues For Irvo Otieno Hospital Records In Death Probe
A nonprofit designated by law in Virginia to advocate for the mentally ill has launched an investigation into the death of Irvo Otieno at the hands of law enforcement officers and other state workers last month — but the inquiry is being stonewalled by the private hospital where police first took him, the nonprofit alleged in a lawsuit filed in federal court this week. Otieno, a 28-year-old Black man, was in handcuffs and leg restraints when Henrico County sheriff’s deputies and workers at Virginia’s Central State Hospital piled on him for 11 minutes, leading to his death by suffocation on March 6, according to surveillance video and the medical examiner. (Rizzo, 4/20)
Stat:
HCA, Louisiana Hospital System Sue FTC Over Review Of Hospital Deal
HCA Healthcare and LCMC Health each sued the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice on Wednesday, saying antitrust enforcers at the federal agencies are illegally trying to halt their recently closed hospital deal — and threatening the hospital systems with millions of dollars in penalties. (Herman, 4/20)
Modern Healthcare:
HCA Healthcare Adds AI Voice Dictation From Nuance Competitor Augmedix
Hospital giant HCA Healthcare is deploying artificial intelligence-enabled medical dictation software in a partnership with healthcare tech company Augmedix, the two organizations said Thursday. The Nashville, Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare will add dictation software for its acute care clinicians. The AI solution will convert clinician-patient conversations into medical notes that physicians and nurses can review before they’re transferred in real time to the electronic health record system. (Tepper, 4/20)
Bloomberg:
Gig Work May Be The Answer To US Hospitals Nurse Shortage
“Everyone realizes that we’re on the precipice of a major cliff,” said Greg Till, chief people officer at the Renton, Washington-based Providence health system, which operates 51 hospitals and 1,000 clinics in the western US. “There’s no way that we’re going to be able to build a workforce that’s large enough to take care of the population.” (Coleman-Lochner, 4/20)
In insurance news —
Military.Com:
Defense Department Sticking With TriWest To Run Tricare West Region
The Department of Defense has upheld its $65.1 billion decision to award the next generation contract to manage Tricare's West Region to TriWest, a ruling that will affect more than a million patients in the DoD health system. The company that currently has the contract for that segment of the Tricare system and lost out to TriWest, Health Net Federal Services, had filed a protest to stop the deal. (Kime, 4/20)
New Hampshire Bulletin:
NH Hospital Association Report Targets Anthem For $300 Million In Unpaid Claims, Delays
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the state’s largest insurance company, owes the state’s hospitals nearly $300 million in unpaid claims, according to a report released Wednesday by the New Hampshire Hospital Association. It said Anthem has not followed through on promises made in 2021 to improve its handling of claims. (Timmins, 4/20)
Modern Healthcare:
Express Scripts To Increase Pay For Independent Rural Pharmacies
Express Scripts will increase reimbursement for independent rural pharmacies, whose ranks have continued to dwindle over the past decade. Express Scripts, the pharmacy benefit manager of insurer Cigna, plans to pay rural pharmacies that aren’t affiliated with a drug wholesaler more, as well as increase outcome-based reimbursement, such as metrics related to drug adherence. (Kacik, 4/20)
