Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Walmart Invests In Pharmacy Workers, Raises Pay As Clinics Lose Popularity
Axios: Walmart Raises Pay For Thousands Of Pharmacy Technicians, Elevates Jobs
Walmart is reshaping pharmacy jobs — raising pay and elevating thousands of technician roles as it invests more heavily in pharmacy workers, the world's largest retailer tells Axios. (Tyko, 1/28)
More news about health care personnel —
NPR: Home Care Workers Could Lose Wage Protections Under Trump
Caring for the elderly in America is costly – too costly for many people to afford. Now, the Trump administration is attempting to tackle that problem by rolling back wage protections for more than 3 million workers who care for seniors and the disabled in their homes. (Hsu, 1/29)
AP: Manhattan Prosecutors Push For July Trial Date In Luigi Mangione Murder Case
Manhattan prosecutors urged a judge on Wednesday to set a July trial date in Luigi Mangione ’s state murder case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, two months before jury selection in his federal death penalty case. In a letter, Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann asked Judge Gregory Carro to begin the New York trial on July 1, arguing that the state’s interests “would be unfairly prejudiced by an unnecessary delay” until after the federal trial. (Sisak, 1/29)
Chicago Tribune: Fugitive Former Loretto Executive Arrested In Serbia
Fugitive former Loretto Hospital executive Anosh Ahmed, who fled to Dubai before his indictment on massive fraud charges, has been arrested in Serbia and is awaiting possible extradition to stand trial in Chicago, federal prosecutors disclosed in a court filing Wednesday. (Meisner, 1/28)
AP: Woman Who Stole Identities To Work As Nurse Sentenced To Six Years In Federal Prison
A woman who stole identities to work as a nurse or physician’s assistant in multiple states has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Tim VerHey in western Michigan said it was a “happy accident” that Leticia Gallarzo didn’t harm anyone while starting intravenous lines, distributing medications, removing catheter lines and supervising others. (Dall, 1/28)
The Washington Post: White Biologist Sues Cornell, Alleging Illegal Race-Based Hiring
An evolutionary biologist filed a lawsuit against Cornell University this week that alleges the Ivy League school used unlawful race-based hiring practices and intentionally discriminated against qualified candidates by refusing to consider White people. (Svrluga and Meckler, 1/28)
The New York Times: Angella Ferguson, A Leader In Sickle Cell Anemia Research, Dies At 100
Dr. Angella D. Ferguson, a pediatrician whose groundbreaking research aided in the early diagnosis and treatment of sickle cell anemia, a painful and deadly disease that disproportionately afflicts people of African descent, died on Jan. 6 at her home in Chevy Chase, Md. She was 100. Her death was confirmed by her nephew Roger W. Ferguson Jr., an economist and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve. (Roberts, 1/28)
In other health industry developments —
AP: Nursing Home Reported A Gas Smell Hours Before Deadly Explosion
Hours before a deadly explosion ripped through a Pennsylvania nursing home last month, staff grew concerned about the smell of natural gas on several floors and brought in workers from the local utility company to check it out, federal regulators said Wednesday. The preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board provides details about the three hours that passed between the report of a gas odor and the thunderous blast in Bristol, just outside Philadelphia, as well as how utility workers were on the scene for much of that time. It also notes that a utility worker traced the leak to a valve in a meter set in the basement boiler room. (Scoloforo, 1/28)
Chicago Tribune: Lurie Children's Planning New Hospital In Downers Grove Area
Lurie Children’s Hospital is in the early stages of planning a new children’s hospital in the Downers Grove area, Lurie announced Wednesday. The new hospital would be the system’s first hospital with inpatient beds outside of its main facility in Streeterville. The plan follows years of closures of pediatric units at community hospitals across Illinois. (Schencker, 1/28)
Modern Healthcare: Sword Health Acquires Kaia Health In $285M Deal
Sword Health has acquired Kaia Health in a $285 million deal, the companies said Wednesday. Both companies operate in the virtual musculoskeletal care space. Sword combines artificial intelligence and motion-tracking technology to deliver virtual physical therapy services. Kaia is focused on both musculoskeletal and pulmonary care.The deal will allow Sword to expand its U.S. presence and marks the company’s entry into Germany. (Famakinwa, 1/28)
Also —
MedPage Today: CMS Makes Push To Maximize Donor Organs, Even The Imperfect Ones
Organs from medically complex donors would get more use as part of a proposed rule for greater federal government oversight of organ procurement organizations (OPOs). The proposed rule, released Wednesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), would require OPOs to assess their performance in placing organs from older donors or donors with less-than-optimal health status, and when possible take action to improve their performance to help widen the pool of life-saving matches. (Frieden, 1/28)
Stat: DeepMind Opens AlphaGenome Code To Widen DNA Research
When the world’s scientists finally pieced together a first draft of the human genome in 2003, one of the biggest surprises was just how little of it — only about 20,000 genes — are involved in the business of producing proteins. At first, the remaining 98% appeared not to do much of anything at all. (Molteni, 1/28)
