DOJ silent on appeal as UnitedHealth-Change deal close looms

The Latest

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  Medicare Part B premium to drop for first time in a decade, Biden says

  The reduction is tied to lower-than-expected spending for the controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm.

  Payer

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  Stopgap Senate bill advances, but leaves COVID-19 funding behind

  The bill cuts funding for COVID-19 and monkeypox aid but extends two rural hospital programs.

  Government

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  Hospitals altered charity care policies during pandemic, study shows

  Many made positive changes, but vague and unpublicized eligibility criteria were also common, research published in JAMA Network Open found.

  Hospitals

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  In surprise result, Alzheimer’s drug shows benefit in large trial

  Eisai and Biogen said the drug, called lecanemab, met all of its goals in the Phase 3 study. The data are a significant finding and provide stronger support for a much-debated hypothesis for treating Alzheimer’s.

  Updated Sept. 27, 2022

  Medical Groups

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  AHA asks HHS to delay Oct. 6 deadline for information blocking compliance

  Health groups must start sharing health information electronically as regulators seek to make it easier for consumers to access their health data. But groups warn they’re not prepared to meet the deadline.

  Hospitals

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  Nebraska awards Medicaid managed care contracts to 3 insurers

  The health plans, selected from a field of five, will receive five-year contracts.

  Payer

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  NYT investigation finds Providence pressured poor patients to pay

  The report raises questions about how much charity care Providence provides. Last year, the health system spent less than 1% of its expenses on free or reduced care for patients.

  Hospitals

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  Moody’s downgrades Envision, citing high bankruptcy risk

  The private equity-owned physician staffing firm faces a deteriorating operating performance that could deplete its cash by the end of 2023, the rating agency warned.

  Payer

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  Q&A

  Friday Q&A: Scripps’ Jay Pandit talks about wearables, decentralized trials and what’s next for digital health

  As wearables confirm their ability to collect data, the big question is what to do with it all. And the next technical challenge: improving wrist-based blood pressure monitors.

  Health IT

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  Overturning of Roe v. Wade

  Tracking state abortion bans in the US

  Abortion is legal in Ohio until Oct. 12 after a county judge issued an additional 14-day injunction against the state’s near-total ban.

  Updated Sept. 28, 2022

  Government

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  CommonSpirit posts $1.3B full-year operating loss

  It’s the latest system to report that pressures from inflation and expenses are outpacing revenue growth.

  Hospitals

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  DOJ’s case against UnitedHealth’s Change buy was hampered by ‘serious flaws,’ judge finds

  The most serious flaws were failing to prove that UnitedHealth is likely to misuse Change Healthcare’s data to advantage the company, Judge Carl Nichols wrote.

  Payer

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  Tracker

  Strikes among healthcare workers in 2022

  A strike among 1,400 healthcare workers at six KPC facilities in Southern California was averted after the two sides reached an agreement Sunday, the day before the planned work stoppage.

  Updated Sept. 26, 2022

  Hospitals

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  Texas Medical Association files another lawsuit over surprise billing ban

  “We are, once again, asking for the law to be followed as Congress intended, and for the challenged provisions to be invalidated,” TMA’s president said.

  Hospitals

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  Violence against emergency room physicians is on the rise, survey finds

  Two-thirds of emergency room physicians reported being assaulted in the past year alone.

  Hospitals

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  COVID-19 testing startup Curative pivots to health plan offering

  The plan will offer $0 copays and $0 deductibles to employers in the Austin, Texas, area after a baseline health visit is conducted.

  Payer

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  Bipartisan Senate bill aims to boost mental health access, improve worker shortages

  The legislation comes as the Biden Administration aims to tackle the country’s worsening mental health crisis, which was exacerbated by the pandemic.

  Hospitals

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  Watchdog faults FDA for rushing COVID tests to market by easing emergency use rules

  The HHS Office of Inspector General found that by loosening emergency use authorization requirements to bring COVID-19 tests to market faster, the agency allowed inaccurate tests to be distributed.

  Government

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  Doctor, hospital lobbies move to dismiss lawsuit over surprise billing ban

  The groups hinted that another lawsuit may be on the way despite the bid to dismiss the original claims.

  Hospitals

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  Opinion

  Will the healthcare labor shortage fuel more consolidation?

  J.P. Morgan’s head of healthcare corporate client banking lays out trends to consider as private equity firms snap up physician groups.

  Medical Groups

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  Centene to pay Texas $166M in latest state settlement

  Of the settlements made public, the insurer’s settlements so far total at least $462.7 million.

  Payer

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  Emotional exhaustion worse for healthcare workers in second year of pandemic, research finds

  Nurses reported feeling more emotionally exhausted during the pandemic, with physicians also noticing an increase. The report comes as some nurses fight for better working conditions.

  Hospitals

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  HHS ‘roadmap’ aims to tackle nation’s mental health crisis

  The initiative prioritizes integrating behavioral health services into primary and other specialty care areas as well as community-based settings like schools.

  Government

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  Majority of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, CDC says

  Mental health conditions were the No. 1 cause of pregnancy-related mortality, the agency said.

  Government

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  Judge denies DOJ’s move to block $13B UnitedHealth, Change deal

  The judge’s ruling follows a trial in which the DOJ argued that UnitedHealth’s bid for Change would disadvantage rivals and result in higher costs, lower quality and less innovative commercial health insurance.

  Payer

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