Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Walmart Buys MeMD To Expand Telehealth Effort Nationwide
Modern Healthcare: Walmart To Acquire Telehealth Provider MeMD
Walmart on Thursday announced it plans to acquire MeMD, a multispeciality telehealth provider, in a move that will allow the company to grow its virtual care delivery nationwide. MeMD has provided medical and mental health services to consumers online since 2010. The company will serve as a feature of Walmart Health centers nationwide, in addition to in-person care. As a result, Walmart Health will be able to include urgent, behavioral and primary care to its list of virtual services. (Gellman, 5/7)
The Wall Street Journal: Walmart Deal Shows Expansion In Telehealth, New Front With Amazon
Walmart Inc. said Thursday it purchased telehealth provider MeMD and plans to offer nationwide virtual health care services, another sign of the retail behemoth’s healthcare ambitions. The acquisition will allow Walmart to expand its Walmart Health service around the country, the company said. The retail giant didn’t disclose the financial details of the transaction. (Nassauer and Winkler, 5/6)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare: CMS Warns Hospitals Not Following Price Transparency Rules
CMS is sending warning letters to hospitals breaking new federal rules requiring them to make public the prices they negotiate with insurers, a CMS spokesperson confirmed. The regulation took effect on Jan. 1 and forces hospitals to publish a machine-readable file online containing their payer-negotiated rates. It also requires them to make available a consumer-friendly display of at least 300 shoppable services, including 70 specified by CMS. But hospitals don't need to post a list of shoppable services if they allow consumers to use a price estimator tool to calculate their out-of-pocket costs for all shoppable services. (Brady, 5/7)
Georgia Health News: State Faces Big Backlog Over Nursing Home Certification Inspections
Georgia is last in the nation in conducting recertification inspections of its nursing homes, according to a recent media report. By the end of March, nearly 80 percent of Georgia facilities had gone for at least 18 months without these comprehensive inspections, said the investigation report by CNHI, a newspaper company. (Miller, 5/9)
Bangor Daily News: Mental Health Patients’ Confidential Information Was On State Website More Than 3 Months
Confidential information about patients receiving mental health and addiction treatment services was available on a Maine government website for more than three months, a state Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said Friday. At least 20 documents on the state government website contained names and, in some cases, addresses, dates of birth and phone numbers, for those receiving mental health and substance use treatment, the Bangor Daily News found last month. The documents, all from 2013, 2014 and 2015, included reports of patients’ violent and suicidal behavior, descriptions of situations that landed patients in the hospital, and some patients’ and family members’ complaints about health care providers. (Stone, 5/9)
Fierce Healthcare: Scripps Health Says Malware Took Down Its Computer Networks As State Regulators Monitor The Situation
Scripps Health said the cyberattack last weekend that took down its IT systems stemmed from malware on its computer network. San Diego-based Scripps Health, which operates five hospitals in the region, is still offline following the cyberattack on Saturday, May 1 that has significantly disrupted care and forced medical personnel to use paper records. (Landi, 5/7)
NBC News: How Hospitals In California Lowered C-Section Rates For New Mothers
Providence St. Jude Medical Center is one of many California hospitals that in recent years have followed statewide initiatives and implemented interventions to reduce C-sections in low-risk first births — those involving single fetuses in the head-down position at 37 weeks or after. The efforts are working: A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the rate of cesareans in low-risk first births in California declined from 26 percent in 2014, before the coordinated efforts began, to 22.8 percent in 2019. By comparison, during the same period, the rate nationwide stayed the same, at 26 percent. (Stenson, 5/9)
In corporate news —
Stat: HHS Plans To Open Up Billions In Hospital Covid-19 Grants
The Biden administration plans to open applications for billions of dollars in grants for hospitals and other health care providers before the end of May after months of delay, according to three people familiar with the plans. Hospitals have pleaded with administration officials to release more funds, which Congress in December directed them to disburse. Currently, providers have only been reimbursed for a portion of their losses through June 2020. (Cohrs, 5/10)
Modern Healthcare: Pharmacy Services, Medicare Advantage Bump Cigna's Revenue Up 6.5% Year-Over-Year
Strong performance in Cigna Corp.'s Evernorth health services division, investment portfolio and low member medical costs at the end of last year increased the company's revenue 6.5% year-over-year during the first quarter of 2021. The Bloomfield, Conn.-based insurer generated $40.9 billion in revenue during the first quarter, up from $38.4 billion during the same time in 2020. On an investor call, Chief Financial Officer Brian Evanko said the company benefited from its recent partnership with Amazon Prime Therapeutics, and named investments in its Express Scripts pharmacy benefit manager as a potential growth area going forward. (Tepper, 5/7)
Modern Healthcare: Kaiser's Profit Rebounds To $2 Billion In First Quarter
Kaiser Permanente kicked off 2021 on a high note, having drawn $2 billion in profit in the first quarter. Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser's strong net income in the quarter ended March 31 was a significant swing from its $1.1 billion net loss in the prior-year period, according to results released Friday. But the not-for-profit system noted $2 billion is still down about 60% from its net income of $3.2 billion in the first quarter of 2019, about a year before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. (Bannow, 5/7)
