First Edition: February 24, 2015
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Fancy Flourishes At Hospitals Don’t Impress Patients, Study Finds
For decades, hospital executives across the country have justified expensive renovation and expansion projects by saying they will lead to better patient reviews and recommendations. ... Patient judgments have become even more important to hospitals since Medicare started publishing ratings and basing some of its pay on surveys patients fill out after they have left the hospital. [Dr. Zishan] Siddiqui’s study, published this month by the Journal of Hospital Medicine, contradicts the presumption that better facilities translate into better patient reviews. (Rau, 2/24)
The Associated Press:
Survey: Uninsured Rate Hit New Low In 2014
The share of Americans without health insurance dropped to its lowest level in seven years in 2014 as President Barack Obama's overhaul took full effect, according to an extensive survey released Tuesday. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index found that the trend appears likely to continue this year, since 55 percent of those who remained uninsured told the pollster they plan to get coverage rather than face escalating tax penalties. (2/24)
Los Angeles Times:
Health Law Drives Down U.S. Rate Of Uninsured Adults, Survey Finds
America's uninsured rate plummeted last year, with the improvement driven by states that have fully implemented the Affordable Care Act, a new nationwide Gallup survey indicates. Led by Arkansas and Kentucky, which both had double-digit declines, seven states saw the percentage of adults without insurance fall by more than 5 percentage points between 2013 and 2014. (Levey, 2/24)
The Associated Press:
Capitol Hill Buzz: Sen. Hatch Prepping Health Plan
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch is backing a Supreme Court challenge to one of the keystones of President Barack Obama's health care law. Now, he says he's preparing a plan to help people who might be hurt if his side wins the case. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments next week in a case by conservatives and Republicans that says many subsidies the law provides for millions of people are unconstitutional. They argue that the law only allows such subsidies for the 13 states that set up their own marketplaces to sell health insurance, not the 37 states that use the federal HealthCare.gov website. (2/23)
The New York Times:
Health Law Challenge Tests Supreme Court’s Firmness On Right To Sue
The Supreme Court has developed elaborate tests to determine if plaintiffs have standing to sue. But their essence, Justice Antonin Scalia once observed, is a four-word question: “What’s it to you?” To get into court, it is not enough to be unhappy about something. Only people with a direct stake in a dispute have standing to sue. Which brings us to the four plaintiffs in the latest threat to President Obama’s health care law, to be heard next week. (Liptak, 2/23)
The Associated Press:
Meaning Of Four Words At Center Of High Court Health Law Fight
The Supreme Court next week hears a challenge to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul that hinges on just four words in the massive law that seeks to dramatically reduce the ranks of the uninsured. The argument threatens subsidies that help make insurance affordable to consumers in about three dozen states. (Sherman, 2/23)
The Washington Post:
The Obamacare Challenge That Won’t Die
Back in 2010, Sen. Charles E. Grassley proposed a minor amendment to a massive health care bill, requiring that federal lawmakers and their staffs start buying coverage through new insurance marketplaces that would – if the legislation ever passed – be set up by the government. In doing so, the Iowa Republican set into motion a strange series of events, entangling both city and federal officials in Washington, triggering one of the most stubbornly resilient legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act, and ultimately giving rise to a bizarre question: Can Congress be considered a small business? (Harrison, 2/23)
USA Today:
Changes At The Top Of Medicare, Medicaid Agency
Big changes are in store later this month at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services after Administrator Marilyn Tavenner officially steps down. Andy Slavitt, CMS' principal deputy administrator and a top spokesman for the dramatically improved Affordable Care Act rollout this year, takes over for Tavenner, the agency said last month. On Monday the agency announced Slavitt will be replaced in an acting capacity by Patrick Conway, a doctor who is chief medical officer at CMS. (O'Donnell, 2/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
Humana, Aetna Predict Drop In Medicare Funding For 2016
Humana Inc. and Aetna Inc. said Monday that they expect their Medicare funding to drop in 2016, after federal regulators last week proposed slight decline in payments for insurers that offer private Medicare plans. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimated that the Medicare Advantage rate proposal represented a decline of 0.95% on average for 2016, though the agency said the insurers would likely see overall revenue increase about 1.05% as they deliver, and bill for, more intense services. (Dulaney, 2/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
Tenet Healthcare Swings To Profit On Higher Admissions
Tenet Healthcare Corp. swung to a profit in the fourth quarter, as the hospital operator recorded higher admissions and revenue. The company, which in recent quarters had seen improved results from the U.S. health-care policy overhaul as newly insured patients sought treatment, attributed most of its admissions growth in the fourth quarter to operational adjustments. In the current quarter, the Dallas company expects to make five cents to 55 cents a share and revenue of $4.3 billion to $4.5 billion, compared with the consensus of 42 cents a share and $4.28 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. (Armental, 2/23)
NPR:
New Hospital Buildings Define Future Of Health Care
Across the country, the health care industry is pouring billions of dollars into new hospitals and medical centers. And the new hospitals of today are very different than the ones they're replacing. (Silverman, 2/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Gun Injuries Are A Public Health Emergency, Nine Organizations Say
Seven medical specialty societies, the American Bar Assn. and the American Public Health Assn. on Monday joined forces to declare gun-related injuries, which annually kill an average of 32,000 Americans and harm nearly twice that number, "a public health crisis" that should be studied and solved "free of political influence or restriction." (Healy, 2/23)
The Washington Post:
Va. Budget Negotiators Reach Agreement
House and Senate budget negotiators announced on Monday that they have struck a deal that rejects the fee increases and Medicaid expansion sought by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, but embraces some of the governor’s other spending priorities for mental health and economic development. Negotiators quickly struck the agreement after working over the weekend — a dramatic change from last year, when a months-long standoff over Medicaid delayed passage of a budget until the state was on the verge of a government shutdown. (Vozzella, 2/23)
Los Angeles Times:
FDA Official Casts Doubt On New Method To Clean Scopes Linked To Infections
A senior Food and Drug Administration official voiced reservations about the new method UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center is using to clean medical scopes linked to an outbreak of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The official also said Monday that the agency will require makers of any new devices to show that they can be cleaned more reliably. In the aftermath of the outbreak at UCLA, which contributed to the deaths of two patients, university officials began sterilizing the instruments, known as duodenoscopes, using a toxic gas. (Willman and Terhune, 2/23)
The Associated Press:
California Congressman Wants Hearing On Superbug Outbreak
Congress should launch an investigation into what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is doing to prevent additional superbug infections after a deadly outbreak at a Los Angeles hospital linked to tainted medical scopes, a lawmaker said Monday. (2/23)
Los Angeles Times:
UCLA Superbug: Lawmaker Asks Congress To Investigate FDA Response
Prompted by the UCLA superbug outbreak, a federal lawmaker is calling on Congress to investigate what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and device makers are doing to prevent further patient deaths and infections. In a letter sent Monday to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) said outbreaks related to contaminated medical scopes “have national security ramifications.” (Terhune, 2/23)
The New York Times:
Geisinger Health System, Known For Innovations, Names UCLA Health President As Chief
Geisinger Health System, which is viewed as a national model in providing both high-quality and cost-effective medical care, announced on Monday that it had chosen Dr. David T. Feinberg, the president of the UCLA Health System, as its next chief executive. (Abelson, 2/23)