Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Weight-Loss Drug Frenzy Could Worsen 'Fatphobia,' Patients Say
Stat: Weight Bias In Eating Disorder Treatment Complicated By New Weight Loss Drugs
People with larger bodies who struggle with eating disorders frequently face bias from the people who are supposed to help them, according to experts. ... The issue may be about to get even more pressing for teenagers and young adults. Some experts fear that even more kids will develop eating disorders in the wake of the current frenzy over weight loss drugs, as well as new American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines on obesity treatment that recommend weight loss drugs for kids as young as 12 and bariatric surgery for kids as young as 13. (Gaffney, 4/25)
In other health care industry news —
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW Health, Madison College Combine To Address Sprawling Nurse Shortage
A job working at Madison-based UW Health while attending nursing school at Madison College. Full-time benefits and salaries. Paid time-off to attend classes. Free college tuition, books and supplies. That's the offer on the table for those aspiring to earn a nursing degree through a recently announced, first-of-its-kind apprenticeship program in Wisconsin launching this fall. The program is designed specifically to address staffing shortages in Wisconsin that Rudy Jackson, UW Health's chief nurse executive, said have reached "crisis levels." (Van Egeren, 4/24)
The Boston Globe: BMC And Point32Health Partner To Improve Maternal Care
Massachusetts’ second largest insurer has partnered with Boston Medical Center to grow an initiative aimed at closing racial disparities in maternal health. (Mohammed, 4/24)
Modern Healthcare: Clover Health Settles Lawsuit Amid Delisting Risk
Clover Health’s outlook continues to darken as the company settles the first of several shareholder class-action lawsuits and struggles to remain listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. The health insurance startup agreed to pay $22 million to resolve shareholder allegations that it committed securities fraud by failing to disclose a Justice Department investigation and other important information about its operations prior to its initial public offering through a special purpose acquisition company in 2021, Clover Health announced Monday. (Tepper, 4/24)
Crain's Chicago Business: Outcome Health Trial: Convicted Execs Look To Settle SEC Case
Top executives from Outcome Health who were convicted of criminal fraud are likely to settle a pending civil case with the Securities & Exchange Commission. An attorney for the SEC said today that “a settlement is a real possibility,” given the result of the 10-week criminal trial of Outcome co-founders Rishi Shah and Shradha Agarwal, and Brad Purdy, the company’s former chief financial officer. Each of them faces up to 30 years in prison after being convicted by a jury nearly two weeks ago on more than a dozen counts of fraud. (Pletz, 4/24)
Reuters: Louisiana Accuses FTC Of Stepping On State Power In Hospital Merger Dispute
The Louisiana attorney general's office has accused the Federal Trade Commission of unlawfully intruding on state power in a dispute over whether a $150 million hospital transaction in New Orleans needed to be cleared by the federal agency even though the state had approved the deal. (Scarcella, 4/24)
