General
Medicare chief sought to bring complaints against previous boss, as well
Rachana Pradhan et al., Politico
Medicare chief Seema Verma allegedly retained a lawyer to discuss a claim that President Donald Trump’s first Health and Human Services secretary, Tom Price, was creating a hostile work environment, according to an internal 2017 memo prepared by a HHS appointee.
Six CEOs and No Operating Room: The Impossible Job of Fixing the Indian Health Service
Anna Wilde Mathews and Christopher Weaver, The Wall Street Journal
Rear Adm. Michael Weahkee, nominated to lead the troubled agency, struggled to turn around a South Dakota hospital.
Political complaint against Seema Verma dropped for ‘insufficient evidence’
Harris Meyer, Modern Healthcare
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel said it found insufficient evidence to conclude that CMS Administrator Seema Verma violated the law barring federal employees from engaging in political activities while on the job.
FDA can regulate e-cigarettes just like conventional cigarettes, appeals court says
Ann E. Marimow, The Washington Post
The Food and Drug Administration can regulate e-cigarettes like it does conventional cigarettes, an appeals court said Tuesday, finding that the products are “indisputably highly addictive and pose health risks, especially to youth, that are not well understood.”
Democrats’ drug pricing bill is a sneak peek at the party’s 2020 campaign message
Lev Facher, Stat News
If Democrats are spoiling for a 2020 fight focused on anything besides impeaching President Trump, consider this week’s vote on a massive drug pricing package their opening salvo.
How Pete Buttigieg Spent His McKinsey Days: Blue Cross, Best Buy, U.S. Agencies
Reid J. Epstein and Stephanie Saul, The New York Times
The list is the latest in a series of disclosures his campaign has made after it was criticized for lacking transparency.
The I.R.S. Sent a Letter to 3.9 Million People. It Saved Some of Their Lives.
Sarah Kliff, The New York Times
The study was an accident. The results show the positive effects of health insurance.
GWU sues corporate hospital partner, leaving fate of Southeast project uncertain
Peter Jamison, The Washington Post
George Washington University Hospital is at the center of a lawsuit filed by GWU against Pennsylvania-based Universal Health Services.
Among U.S. States, New York’s Suicide Rate Is The Lowest. How’s That?
Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News
“I just snapped” is how Jessica Lioy describes her attempt in April to kill herself.
U.S. Futures Fluctuate Before Fed; Bonds Advance: Markets Wrap
Yakob Peterseil, Bloomberg
U.S. equity futures fluctuated with stocks before the Federal Reserve’s final policy decision of the year and amid lingering uncertainty over the progress of trade negotiations between America and China. Treasuries advanced.
Payers
Report: Medicaid recipients often use ER for dental issues
The Associated Press
A new state report found that many Virginians on Medicaid often go to emergency rooms for dental issues that could have been prevented or treated at a dentist’s office.
Tiny Tax Moves Can Save You Big on Medicare Premiums
Laura Saunders, The Wall Street Journal
Even a dollar less in income can, in some cases, result in dramatically lower insurance costs.
Supreme Court Hears Another Obamacare Case, With A Twist
Nina Totenberg, NPR News
The U.S. Supreme Court examined Obamacare for the fifth time on Tuesday, only this time the justices cast their skeptical gaze on Republican efforts to hobble the law.
Providers
U.S. officials deny access to doctors seeking to give flu shots to migrant children
Wendy Fry, Modern Healthcare
A group of doctors, who last month pressured U.S. Customs and Border Protection to allow them to give flu vaccines to detained migrant children, have now taken their fight to the driveway of a detention facility in San Ysidro, Calif., and said they are not leaving until they get approval.
Pelosi drug pricing plan would save $456 billion over ten years: analysis
Jessie Hellmann, The Hill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bill that would let Medicare negotiate prices with drug companies would save the government $456 billion over ten years, according to an analysis released Tuesday.
Pharma, Biotech and Devices
‘Dump it down the drain’: How contaminants from prescription-drug factories pollute waterways
Natasha Gilbert, Stat News
A cacophony of machines, some as big as a dump truck, mix pharmaceutical ingredients, press them into tablets, and fill capsules at a West Virginia factory owned by generic-drug giant Mylan. By the end of each run, the walls, ceilings, floors, and nearly every nook and cranny of the intricate equipment were caked in powdery drug residues, say three former Mylan employees.
In its largest fundraising effort to date, Omega Funds pulls in over $400 million
Kate Sheridan, Stat News
Boston-based biotech investor Omega Funds now has $438 million more to spend. The company announced Wednesday that it completed its sixth and largest-ever venture capital investment fundraising effort.
GAO finds ongoing problems with FDA inspections of foreign drug facilities
Ed Silverman, Stat News
Amid rising concern over the quality of the pharmaceutical supply chain, a government report finds that the number of domestic and foreign plant inspections conducted by the Food and Drug Administration declined from 2016 through 2018, partly due to a dearth of available inspectors.
Health IT
Health systems weigh return on investment as they ramp up tech
Alex Kacik, Modern Healthcare
As healthcare executives look to prepare their organizations for a digital overhaul, many are still uncertain about the return on investment while they seek more effective ways to use all the incoming data, according to a new report.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
Congress Must Protect Patient Access When Addressing Surprise Billing
Lynn Jeffers, Morning Consult
Across the country, insurance companies are creating extremely narrow networks, removing physicians from their plans, and effectively decreasing access for patients while increasing their profits.
Drug Makers Cry Wolf Yet Again
Henry A. Waxman, Health Affairs
Here we go again. Congress is considering legislation to lower drug prices and, lo and behold, the pharmaceutical companies are returning to their old argument that innovation and new drug development will suffer terribly.
Research Reports
Budgetary Effects of H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act
Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation have completed an analysis of H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, as posted by the House Committee on Rules on December 6, 2019, and including modifications discussed with staff.
Top health industry issues of 2020: Will digital start to show an ROI?
PwC Health Research Institute
In 2020, US healthcare, and especially how it is delivered and how much we pay for it, will be top of mind. Politicians will float many bold plans for transforming the industry.
Drug Safety: Preliminary Findings Indicate Persistent Challenges with FDA Foreign Inspections
U.S. Government Accountability Office
More than 60% of drug manufacturers for the U.S. market are located overseas. The Food and Drug Administration inspects foreign and domestic drug manufacturers to ensure drug safety and effectiveness.
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