Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Wisconsin Hospitals Are Wait-Listing Patients Before Trump Rally
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Hospitals Waitlist, Transfer Patients During COVID-19 Surge
Some Wisconsin hospitals are resorting to wait-listing patients, or sending them to other facilities, as the state's coronavirus surge continues to rage. Hospitals have been especially overwhelmed in Green Bay, Wausau and the Fox Valley, which are among the state's latest COVID-19 hot spots. Officials at Bellin Hospital in Green Bay, for example, said the facility was at 94% capacity as of Tuesday, just days before a Saturday campaign rally for President Donald Trump that could draw thousands of supporters to the city. (Spicuzza, Heim, Hickman and Jones, 9/30)
Bloomberg: Health Plans Undercutting Obamacare Get Boost From Texas Ruling
The U.S. judge in Texas who ruled that Obamacare’s individual mandate was unconstitutional has signed off on a kind of low-cost insurance alternative that could pull young, healthy people away from the exchanges and drive up health-care costs for those left behind. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth overruled the U.S. Labor Department’s objections to novel plans proposed by two would-be providers, including a small Georgia company that proposes to offer health plans to individuals who agree to have their internet activity tracked. (Wheeler and Glovin, 9/30)
Becker's Hospital Review: Northwell Develops COVID-19 Predictive Tool That Spots Outbreaks 2 Weeks In Advance
New Hyde, N.Y.-based Northwell Health created a new predictive tool that can anticipate a spike in COVID-19 cases at its hospitals by mining user data patterns from the system's website, according to a Sept. 30 news release. The digital dashboard gathers 15 different indicators from the Northwell.edu website and inputs them into a machine learning algorithm to identify patterns in website traffic, including searches for emergency department wait times and physician page clicks. (Drees, 9/30)
FierceHealthcare: UnitedHealth Group Buys DivvyDose To Compete With Amazon's PillPack: Report
UnitedHealth Group is jumping into the online pharmacy space with the acquisition of startup DivvyDose, according to a media report. CNBC's Christina Farr reported Tuesday that the insurer bought DivvyDose for more than $300 million, citing a person familiar with the deal. (Landi, 9/30)
AP: Sanford Health Opens New Unit At Bismarck Hospital
Sanford Health opens a new unit at its Bismarck hospital Wednesday, adding 14 more beds. Sanford says it’s not exclusively for coronavirus patients, but it could be used to treat them if the need arises. Six of the 14 beds in the new unit opening Wednesday are designated for intensive care patients. (9/30)
Kaiser Health News: New Laws Keep Pandemic-Weary California At Forefront Of Health Policy Innovation
Though COVID-19 forced California leaders to scale back their ambitious health care agenda, they still managed to enact significant new laws intended to lower consumer health care spending and expand access to health coverage. When Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom concluded the chaotic legislative year Wednesday — his deadline to sign or veto bills — what emerged wasn’t the sweeping platform he and state lawmakers had outlined at the beginning of the year. But the dozens of health care measures they approved included first-in-the-nation policies to require more comprehensive coverage of mental health and addiction, and thrusting the state into the generic drug-making business. (Young and Hart, 10/1)
