The Food and Drug Administration will hold a meeting of its Digital Health Advisory Committee on Nov. 20-21, according to a notice published in the Federal Register.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss premarket performance evaluation, risk management, and postmarket performance monitoring for generative AI-enabled devices, according to the notice.
House Republicans are searching for a new plan to avert a government shutdown in 15 days, a move that could shine the spotlight on expiring health provisions during the lame duck session.
However, even a short-term continuing resolution would delay the start of new initiatives at the Health and Human Services Department that rely on new appropriations. The National Institutes of Health has warned in the past it would have to dole out grants below the original amount until the government finalizes spending plans.
House Speaker Mike Johnson Johnson’s (R-La.) pitch for a stopgap funding bill through March 28, 2025 — paired with a GOP bill to require voters to show proof of citizenship — sputtered last week. He delayed a vote that was initially planned for Wednesday. The Speaker told reporters he’d work through the weekend to build consensus on a plan.
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said he planned to talk with Johnson in person about the next steps. Top GOP members of Cole’s committee have said they’d prefer a stopgap into December, rather than March, Jack Fitzpatrick and Ken Tran report.
“The CR battle seems to be playing out in a predictable manner with a bare bones funding resolution into December the most likely outcome,” Duane Wright, a senior government analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, told Bloomberg Government.
“This sets the stage for a number of expiring health provisions to be front and center for lawmakers,” he added.
Wright said he’s keeping an eye on extending programs that allows patients to receive acute care at home instead of the hospital and Medicare payment cuts to clinical labs. “We think both will be addressed. This package could include the House-passed Biosecure Act, if it’s not included in the annual defense policy bill.”
A growing number of hospitals in New Jersey are embracing protocols shown to improve the birthing experience for mothers and could help reduce the state’s troublesome racial disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes.
By the end of this year, staff at more than a dozen birthing centers will have been trained in a shared decision-making tool called TeamBirth, according to the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, a nonprofit leading the initiative in the state. Nearly 90% of preventable medical errors are the result of gaps in communication and teamwork, according to Ariadne Labs, a partnership involving Massachusetts’ Brigham Health and Harvard’s school of public health that has introduced the model at more than 150 hospitals nationwide.
At least 9 out of 10 mothers who experienced a TeamBirth delivery said they felt involved in decisions, informed and educated about their options and that their choices were respected, according to a survey of nearly 2,000 people scheduled to be publicly shared Monday by the Quality Institute. Women who did not participate in the model were as much as 20% less satisfied with the experience, the survey found.
“Our survey results show that birthing people feel more informed and heard. More feel that their choices are respected,” said Adelisa Perez Hudgins, the institute’s director of quality. “That is considerable and a reason that more New Jersey hospitals are committing to TeamBirth.”
New Jersey has struggled to reduce its maternal mortality of nearly 26 fatalities per 100,000 births, based on the most recent federal analysis of data from 2018 through 2021. It also faces glaring racial disparities that leave Black women nearly seven times — and Hispanic women three times — more likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth or the postpartum period, when compared with white women.
The TeamBirth model was particularly powerful for Black women, with those involved 35% more likely to report feeling empowered, when compared to Black moms who were not in the program, the Quality Institute found.
The institute’s announcement comes on the heels of a new study that found Black mothers who had not scheduled a surgical, or cesarean birth, are 25% more likely to deliver by C-section than white, non-Hispanic woman. The analysis, by the National Bureau of Economic Research, is based on New Jersey data covering nearly 1 million births from 2008 through 2017 and echoes previous research that showed racial disparities in birth practices.
“The findings in this study are wholly unacceptable and deeply disturbing,” first lady Tammy Murphy said in a news release last week. Murphy has championed efforts to improve maternal health and reduce racial disparities under the Nurture NJ campaign. The push includes a free nurse home-visit program available to all new moms regardless of income, insurance coverage or immigration status; the creation of a new maternal health authority to oversee the work, and programs to train culturally competent doulas, or birth coaches, to help women advocate for themselves before, during and after delivery.
“This research is critical to supporting the ongoing development of new initiatives that will continue to make a difference for families in New Jersey,” Murphy said.
While C-sections are an important option in some pregnancies, experts agree that surgical birth should be limited to critical cases. The procedure carries risks, including the potential for infection and blood clots for the mother, and can lead to breathing problems, allergies and other health challenges for the baby. C-sections also may involve longer recovery time, when compared to a vaginal birth, and can limit a woman’s delivery options in the future. The higher likelihood of surgical births among Black women likely contributes to overall maternal health disparities, experts suggest.
New Jersey has worked to reduce its overall rate of cesarean births. That effort includes work by outside advocates like the Quality Institute and a dedicated focus on maternal care by the New Jersey Hospital Association, which represents the state’s 43 hospital birthing centers. It also includes policy changes at the state level. In 2017, 3 out of 4 New Jersey hospitals with labor and delivery practices failed to meet the target rate of 24% for medically unnecessary C-sections established by national experts, according to The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit watchdog that monitors health care quality. In one facility, 60% of the babies were delivered surgically at that time.
By 2022, half of the birthing hospitals in New Jersey were below this recommended threshold and C-section rates ranged from 9.6% at Inspira Medical Center in Elmer to 37.7% at St. Mary’s General Hospital in Passaic, according to Leapfrog data distributed by the Quality Institute. A Hospital Association report from late 2022 shows that these changes in pregnancy care enabled an estimated 10,000 New Jersey women to avoid unnecessary surgical births over five years. Statewide, the rate for all C-sections was just under 28% by 2021, it showed.
The Hospital Association report — “Path to Progress,” created by maternal health providers working as the New Jersey Perinatal Collaborative — also showed the racial distortions in C-section deliveries continued. By 2020, Asian women comprised 29% of all surgical births in the state and Black women made up almost 29% more, with Hispanic women accounting for 25% and white mothers adding just over 23%, the data showed. (New Jersey’s population is roughly 54% white, 21% Hispanic, 15% Black and 11% Asian.)
Cathy Bennett, the Hospital Association’s president and CEO, said birthing hospitals’ intentional focus on racial disparities is “yielding results. Even in the midst of the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, New Jersey’s C-section rate for Black persons declined 5.3% between 2018 and 2022.”
Hospitals have worked together under the banner of the Perinatal Collaborative to implement various strategies that involve both proven clinical standards “along with a strong focus on patient and family engagement and communication,” Bennett said, work that continues as part of the state’s Nurture NJ strategy.
In New Jersey the decline in C-sections has been driven by a growing awareness about maternal health challenges and the racial disparities, better clinical training and improved communication among the birthing team and patient, experts note. The TeamBirth model builds on that, with structured huddles for the hospital’s care team that include the person giving birth. A whiteboard is used bedside to highlight the mother’s wishes and keep everyone on track. In the past, clinical decisions were traditionally dominated by a medical hierarchy that did not always involve the patient, the Quality Institute notes.
The TeamBirth model has also been shown to drive down unnecessary C-sections in at least one location, according to a report from Ariadne Labs. At a hospital in Oklahoma the rate of these surgical procedures dropped from 33% to 24% once the model was introduced, the group said, and the protocol is equally popular with mothers of different races, from varying economic backgrounds and geographic locations.
Linda Schwimmer, president and CEO of the Quality Institute and board chair for Leapfrog, said the shared-decision model is also impacting outcomes in New Jersey, in addition to improving the birth experience for moms. “We are seeing improvement on this front — especially for Black women. This work is essential to changing things for all pregnant people and families in New Jersey,” she said.
The following hospital and health system CFO moves have been shared with or reported by Becker’s this year:
Aug. 23-Sept. 13
1. Brenda Baker was named vice president of finance and CFO of Norfolk, Neb.-based Faith Regional Health Services.
2. Denver health tapped April Audain as CFO.
3. Teresa Batchelor was named CFO of UT Health Athens (Texas).
4. Tadd Richert was appointed as CFO of Chicago-based CommonSpirit’s mountain region.
5. Winterset, Iowa-based Madison County Health Care System tapped Audra Ford as its CFO.
6. Tony Fortmann was named CFO of Independence, Iowa-based Buchanan County Health Center.
7. Minot, N.D.-based Trinity Health appointed Jason Hotchkiss as CFO.
8. Alabaster, Ala.-based Shelby Baptist Medical Center tapped Marc Nakagawa as its new CFO.
9. Onel Rodriguez was named CFO of Riverside (Calif.) Community Hospital, a 517-bed facility part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare.
10. Leslie Flake, BSN, exited her role as CFO of Orlando (Fla.) Health.
11. Charleston, S.C.-based Roper St. Francis Healthcare tapped Becky Tucker as CFO.
Aug. 9-Aug. 21
1. Douglas Winner was named CFO of DuBois, Pa.-based Penn Highlands Healthcare.
2. Westwood, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Pascack Valley Medical Center tapped Thomas Bisignani as CFO.
3. Ernest Ngirimana was appointed vice president and CFO of Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare’s physician division.
4. Lynchburg, Va.-based Centra Health tapped Rob Tonkinson as senior vice president and CFO.
5. Romaine Layne was named CFO of West Palm Beach, Fla.-based St. Mary’s Medical Center and Palm Beach Children’s Hospital, part of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare.
6. TriStar Hendersonville (Tenn.) Medical Center appointed David Solomon as CFO.
7. Sherri Hitchcock was tapped as CFO of McDonough District Hospital in Macomb, Ill.
8. Andrew McMullin was named CFO of Las Vegas-based West Henderson Hospital, part of Las Vegas-based The Valley Health System.
Aug. 5-Aug 7
1. Justin Inglett was named CFO of Memorial Satilla Health in Waycross, Ga., part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare.
2. Todd Radosevich has been appointed assistant vice president of Orlando Health West Region and CFO of St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital.
3. Bayonne, N.J.-based CarePoint Health System tapped Shamiq Syed as CFO.
July 29-July 30
1. Chase Hammon was appointed CFO of Downers Grove, Ill.-based Duly Health and Care.
2. Texas Health Hospital Frisco, part of Arlington-based Texas Health Resources, named Adam Proctor entity finance officer (CFO).
3. Ryan Kennedy was tapped as CFO of Lewes, Del.-based Beebe Healthcare.
4. Dulles, Va.-based StoneSprings Hospital Center, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, appointed Julia Safina as CFO.
5. Cheyenne Holland was named CFO of Randolph, Vt.-based Gifford Health Care.
July 18-July 24
1. Paula Littleton was appointed CFO of Osage Beach, Mo.-based Lake Regional Health System.
2. Dothan, Ala.-based Flowers Hospital and Medical Center Enterprise (Ala.) named Tyler Adkins market CFO.
3. Harvey Torres was tapped as CFO of Amarillo, Texas-based Northwest Texas Healthcare System, part of King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services.
4. Salem, Va.-based Lewis-Gale Medical Center, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, named Chase Walters assistant CFO.
5. Washington, D.C.-based Risant Health appointed Bryce Bach, partner at Oliver Wyman, as the company’s CFO.
6. Greg Anderson was named CFO of Birmingham, Ala.-based Princeton Baptist Medical Center.
7. Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health tapped Gabriel Bahala as CFO of Mercy Fairfield (Ohio) Hospital.
July 15-July 17
1. Victor Sprague was appointed CFO of the Cincinnati-based Jewish Hospital and Mercy Kings Mills Hospital in Mason, Ohio. The two hospitals are part of Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health.
2. Ed Chabalowski is retiring as vice president of finance and CFO of Hershey, Pa.-based Penn State Health’s Berks and Lancaster counties.
3. Penn State Health named Randy Morris vice president and CFO of its community Hospitals.
4. Stacey Malakoff will retire as executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer of New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery at the end of 2025.
June 25-July 9
1. Katie Clement was named CFO of Rexburg, Idaho-based Madisonhealth.
2. Justin Voelker was tapped as CFO of Renton, Wash.-based Providence’s Inland Northwest Washington service area.
3. Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi in Oxford appointed Robyn Dorris CFO.
4. Cameron Meyer was named CFO of Hutchinson (Kan.) Regional Healthcare System.
5. HCA Florida Poinciana (Fla.) Hospital, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, named Nathalie Espinales CFO.
6. Boone County (Iowa) Hospital tapped Chris Torres as CFO.
7. Margaret Fontana exited her role as CFO of Rawlins, Wyo.-based Memorial Hospital of Carbon County.
June 11-21
1. Abelardo Núñez was named CFO of USC Arcadia (Calif.) Hospital. He will succeed Bill Grigg who is retiring after 12 years in the role.
2. Columbia-based University of Missouri Health tapped Greg Damron as CFO.
3. Samantha McMillian was appointed CFO of Twin County Regional Healthcare in Galax, Va.
4. Kirkland, Wash.-based EvergreenHealth tapped Bill Howe as CFO.
5. Jason Rohr was appointed CFO of Wooster (Ohio) Community Hospital.
6. Effingham Health System in Springfield, Ga., named Antoine Poythress COO and CFO.
7. Medical City Frisco (Texas), part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare’s Medical City Healthcare in Dallas, appointed Andy Kelly as CFO.
8. Phillip Childree was named CFO of Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health’s Southwest Virginia market.
9. New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System tapped Vincent Tammaro as executive vice president and CFO. Mr. Tammaro will succeed Stephen Harvey.
June 3-10
1. Lisa Lee was named CFO of Delta (Colo.) County Memorial Hospital, also known as Delta Health.
2. South Charleston, W.Va.-based WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals tapped Rachel Jones as CFO.
3. Sanford, N.C.-based Central Carolina Hospital appointed David Munton CFO June 3.
4. William Rodrigues was named CFO of Saint Clare’s Health, part of Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare.
May 24-31
1. Nikki Hutchinson was appointed CFO of Cincinnati-based Mercy Health’s Lima (Ohio) market May 20. Ms. Hutchinson succeeded Tim Rieger, who retires July 12.
2. Greg McCulloch was promoted to president of Adventist Health Sonora (Calif.) after serving as the hospital’s CFO since 2014.
3. New York City-based Montefiore Health System executive vice president and CFO Colleen Blye added chief business officer to her title.
4. Portland-based MaineHealth CFO Albert Swallow III will retire in early 2025.
5. Minneapolis-based Allina Health named Doug Watson as CFO. Mr. Watson had served as the system’s interim finance executive since January.
6. Stella Chen was named associate CFO of Los- Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai.
May 20-22
1. Brett Esrock, executive vice president, CFO and COO of Rockledge, Fla.-based Health First, left the organization after an external candidate for the CEO role was hired.
2. Ty Renbarger was named CFO of Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Parkview Health effective June 3. Mr. Renbarger will succeed Jeanne’ Wickens, who is retiring after serving as the health system’s CFO for eight years.
3. Albuquerque-based Lovelace Health System appointed George Wiley as CFO of Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque and Heart Hospital of New Mexico, part of Lovelace Medical Center, effective May 28.
4. Tampa, Fla.-based Moffitt Cancer Center named Joana Weiss CFO and executive vice president.
5. Julia Puchtler was named CFO of Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania Health System, effective July 1. Ms. Puchtler will succeed CFO Keith Kasper, who will become chief administrative officer for the health system.
6. Lexington, Ky.-based UK HealthCare tapped Mark Steward as associate CFO of health system operational finance.
May 13-May 16
1. Sonia Baughman was named CFO of Las Vegas-based MountainView Hospital, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare.
2. Benjamin Baggi was tapped as assistant CFO of Medical City Fort Worth (Texas).
3. Los Angeles-based MLK Community Hospital appointed Steven Ciampa as its permanent CFO.
4. Bharadwaj “Brad” Mantha was named vice president and CFO of Kinston, N.C.-based UNC Health Lenoir, effective June 10.
5. Opelousas (La.) General Health System promoted CFO Jim Juneau to executive vice president of business strategy and finance.
May 1-May 10
1. Jeff Daneff was appointed CFO of Chicago-based CommonSpirit’s California Central Coast market.
2. Ernest Borjas was named assistant CFO of AllianceHealth Durant (Okla.) and AllianceHealth Madill (Okla.), both part of Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems.
3. Keene, N.H.-based Cheshire Medical Center CFO Dan Gross retired.
4. Craig McDonald was tapped as vice president and CFO of Porterville, Calif.-based Sierra View Medical Center. Mr. McDonald will assume the role in June and replace current CFO and vice president Doug Dickerson, who is retiring.
5. Salem (Mo.) Memorial Hospital District named Kayla Chamberlain CFO on May 1.
April 29-April 30
1. Drew Hartmann was tapped as CFO of Jacksonville, Fla.-based HCA Florida Memorial Hospital, effective May 20.
2. Saurabh Tripathi was appointed executive vice president and CFO of St. Louis-based Ascension April 29. Mr. Tripathi will succeed Liz Foshage, who is retiring in September.
3. Newport, Vt.-based North County Hospital tapped Fred Schaffner CFO.
4. Kristin Kearney’s CFO role of Tower Health Medical group, part of West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health, expanded to include CFO of Reading Hospital in West Reading, Pa.
5. Tower Health promoted Rob Ehinger from senior vice president of financial operations to associate CFO.
6. Doug Hoban resigned May 22 as CFO of Salem (Mo.) Memorial Hospital District, citing personal reasons.
7. Opelousas (La.) General Health System named Shelly Soileau as CFO, effective June 3.
April 18-April 25
1. Justin Kats was named CFO of Fransciscan Health Crown Point (Ind.) and Franciscan Health Michigan City (Ind.), both part of Mishawaka, Ind.-based Franciscan Health, effective April 8.
2. Caldwell, Idaho-based West Valley Medical Center, part of Nashville-based HCA Healthcare, tapped Jared Rucks as CFO.
3. Stephen “Jan” Grigsby Jr. was appointed vice president and CFO of Brunswick-based Southeast Georgia Health System on April 29.
4. Reno, Nev.-based Renown Health tapped Anna Loomis as CFO, effective July 1.
5. Cheryl Sadro was named senior vice president and CFO of Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine.
April 2-April 17
1. Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare’s Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Mass., and Tenet’s Massachusetts market has named Jeffrey Thomas as CFO.
2. Jonathan Armstrong was tapped as CFO of AdventHealth DeLand (Fla.), part of Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth.
3. Rob Chestnut was named CFO of Lawrence, Kan.-based LMH Health on May 20. CFO Mike Rogers was terminated in November after nearly a month on the job for lying about his identity and felony record.
4. Annapolis, Md.-based Luminis Health named Stephanie Schnittger CFO.
5. Cortez, Colo.-based Southwest Health System tapped Adam Conley as CFO.
6. Jeanne McKerrigan has been named CFO of Scottsbluff, Neb.-based Regional West Health Services.
March 22-March 28
1. Dave Recupero resigned as CFO of Kern Valley Healthcare District, based in Mountain Mesa, Calif., on Feb. 12. Amy Smith, the district’s controller, will work with accounting firm Wipfli to develop financial reports.
2. McCook, Neb.-based Community Hospital CFO Sean Wolfe has been selected as interim CEO of Chadron (Neb.) Community Hospital and Health Services. Mr. Wolfe will serve in both roles at once.
3. Michael Ducote has been named CFO of Gainesville-based North Texas Medical Center.
4. Mattoon, Ill.-based Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System has tapped Sean Fischer as its vice president of finance and CFO.
5. Duluth, Minn.-based St. Luke’s co-President and CFO Eric Lohn retired April 12. Nicholas Van Deelen, MD, co-president of St. Luke’s, was promoted April 15 to sole president of St. Luke’s and of Wausau, Wis.-based Aspirus Health’s Minnesota Region following Mr. Lohn’s departure. Chris Johnson, vice president of strategy and finance, was also promoted April 15, to interim COO.
6. Paul Perrotti was named CFO of Montrose (Colo.) Regional Health.
7. Stephen Kuhn was promoted from CFO to CEO of River Park Hospital in Huntington, W.Va. Mr. Kuhn had served as interim CEO since November.
March 19-March 21
1. HCA Florida Lake City (Fla.) Hospital, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, appointed Kim Williams CFO.
2. Renton, Wash.-based Providence has named Alice Galstian CFO for philanthropy in its South division, effective March 25.
3. Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health CFO Debbie Bloomfield, PhD, is retiring at the end of 2024 and will begin transitioning from her role on July 1. Travis Crum, BSMH’s current senior vice president of finance, will take over as CFO on July 1.
4. Fayetteville, Tenn.-based HH Lincoln Health has tapped Tammy Cob as CFO.
5. Atlanta-based Grady Health System CFO Anthony Saul has been promoted to a dual CFO, COO position.
March 1-March 18
1. Washington, D.C.-based George Washington University Hospital has tapped Maia Healy as CFO.
2. Alice Pope has been named executive vice president and CFO of Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health.
3. Jon Vitiello was named CFO of Chesterfield, Mo.-based St. Luke’s Hospital.
4. Nacogdoches (Texas) Memorial Health’s CFO, Rhonda McCabe, was promoted to CEO of Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital.
5. Durham, N.C.-based Duke University Health System tapped Lisa Goodlett as CFO on March 4.
6. Medical City Decatur (Texas) named Lucy Hedari CFO on March 1. Ms. Hedari had served as the hospital’s interim president of finance since December.
7. Margaret Fontana was tapped as CFO of Rawlins, Wyo.-based Memorial Hospital of Carbon County.
Feb.1-Feb. 27
1. Medical City Arlington (Texas) tapped Nathan Tindall as its CFO.
2. Marley Koons was promoted from CFO to CEO of Lakin, Kan.-based Kearny County Hospital.
3. Warrenton, Va.-based Fauquier Health has appointed Janelle Padgett as CFO.
4. Julie Leonard has been named CFO of Libby, Mont.-based Cabinet Peaks Medical Center.
5. Bellin and Gundersen Health System has tapped John Ceelen as its new CFO. Bellin and Gundersen Health System formed in December 2022 from the merger of La Crosse, Wis.-based Gundersen Health and Green Bay, Wis.-based Bellin Health.
6. Brentwood, Tenn.-based Lifepoint Health has named Bill Ziesmer its new CFO of its Western division.
7. Orange City, Fla.-based AdventHealth Fish Memorial has tapped Jennifer Ambs as CFO.
8. Bradley Bond has officially been named CFO at Cleveland-based University Hospitals, succeeding Michael Szubski, who retired after more than 15 years in the job.
Jan. 1-Jan. 31
1. Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare’s CFO, Bill Rutherford, retired. Mike Marks assumed the role of HCA’s executive vice president and CFO on May 1.
2, Zach Riggins has been appointed CFO of Independence, Mo.-based Centerpoint Medical Center.
3. Sean Mills was named CFO of Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health’s Northern region.
4. Hamilton, N.Y.-based Community Memorial Hospital tapped Tracy Frank as CFO.
5. Carla Chandler was named vice president and market CFO for Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger.
6. Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System tapped Michael Scialdone as senior vice president and CFO.
7. Michael Cropp, MD, president and CEO of Buffalo, N.Y.-based Independent Health, passed his president title on to Jim Dunlop, the independent, nonprofit health system’s current executive vice president and CFO.
8. Wausau, Wis.-based Aspirus selected Jerry Yang to succeed its CFO Sid Sczygelski.
9. Ric Magnuson exited his role as CFO of Minneapolis-based Allina Health in April.
10. Troy (Ala.) Regional Medical Center names Kathy Hill its CFO.
11. Raju Iyer has been named senior vice president and CFO of Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health.
12. Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health appointed Scott Wooten as CFO.
13. Kevin Benson departed his role as CFO of Thermopolis, Wyo.-based Hot Springs Health.
14. Burlington, Mass.-based Tufts Medicine tapped Andrew DeVoe as CFO. Mr. DeVoe replaces Tufts’ former CFO Susan Green.
15. Chuck Robb, former senior vice president and CFO of Kansas City, Mo.-based Saint Luke’s Health System, was named CFO of St. Louis-based BJC Health System.
16. Vickie Magurean was named CFO of Tamiammi-based HCA Florida Kendall Hospital.
17. Inverness-based HCA Florida Citrus Hospital named Jordan Fulkerson CFO.
The House Energy & Commerce Committee officially announced late Monday it will hold a long-awaited markup Wednesday to extend telehealth provisions for two years, and a day earlier the full House will vote Tuesday on two smaller virtual care measures under a streamlined suspension process. Lawmakers are racing against the clock to pass legislation that would extend pandemic telehealth flexibilities beyond the end of the year after stakeholders have repeatedly signaled a lapse in virtual health services would cut off thousands of patients from necessary care.
The E&C markup on Wednesday (Sept. 18) at 10 a.m. will include the Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024, among other health bills, which would extend pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities for two years.
A day earlier, two telehealth bills are set to be voted on under suspension on the House floor after passing out of E&C committee in June.
The Telehealth Enhancement for Mental Health Act of 2024 would establish a Medicare modifier for telemental health services and require HHS to provide guidance on facilitating telemental health services for patients with limited English proficiency and that are visually or hearing impaired.
HHS also would be required to provide communication regarding interstate licensure requirements and providers would be mandated to include whether they offer telehealth services in their provider directories. The mental health bill likely won’t have a budgetary impact.
Supporting Patient Education and Knowledge (SPEAK) Act of 2023 will also be on the floor Tuesday. The bill would require HHS to establish a task force to improve access to health care information technology for non-English speakers. The agency would be mandated to release best practices on integrating interpreters during a telemedicine appointment and provide mobile health vendors with guidance on how to serve patients with LEP.
But the bigger news for stakeholders is E&C’s official announcement late Monday that it will vote on a two-year extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities.
“The Energy and Commerce Committee is continuing its work to deliver solutions and make life better for the American people. At this week’s markup, we will consider more than a dozen bills, including legislation to repeal harmful regulations that are jeopardizing America’s economic and energy security, extend telehealth services for seniors, and continue to incentivize important innovation for pediatric rare diseases,” said Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA).
The Telehealth Modernization Act passed out of the E&C health subcommittee in May. In June, the full E&C abruptly canceled its scheduled markup of privacy and telehealth bills amid partisan squabbles over the private right of action provision in the proposed national privacy legislation.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) gave the two-year telehealth extension bill a $4 billion price tag, sources told Inside Health Policy in July, but at that point was still collecting additional research to adjust the final score. Sources said the bill’s cost could reach $4.3 billion.
CBO has been looking for more information on telehealth payment rates, substitution effects and downstream spending to reduce uncertainty in its models to more accurately score the cost of telehealth extension legislation.
The House Energy & Commerce Committee officially announced late Monday it will hold a long-awaited markup Wednesday to extend telehealth provisions for two years, and a day earlier the full House will vote Tuesday on two smaller virtual care measures under a streamlined suspension process.
A number of hospitals and health systems are reducing their workforces or jobs due to financial and operational challenges.
Below are workforce reduction efforts or job eliminations announced this year.
Editor’s Note: This webpage was created Jan. 19 and updated Sept. 13.
September
Southwestern Health Resources, a 31-hospital joint venture based in Farmers Branch, Texas, laid off 129 employees. The layoffs occurred on Sept. 10 and affected some managerial and director positions.
Modesto, Calif.-based Stanislaus Surgical Hospital will suspend operations indefinitely and lay off all 160 employees. The layoffs, anticipated before Sept. 15, will affect various positions, including registered nurses, nursing assistants, supervisors, physical therapy assistants, midlevel providers, imaging technicians and admissions and office staff, according to The Modesto Bee.
Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente will close its last skilled nursing facility in the U.S., the Kaiser Permanente Post Acute Care Center in San Leandro, Calif. The closure, which began in June, will affect 249 jobs.
August
Dallas-based Steward Health Care will lay off 944 employees in Ohio due to hospital closures. The layoffs will affect workers at Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital, both in Warren, Ohio, which are expected to close on or around Sept. 20. Employees at Steward’s Northside Regional Medical Center, a breast health center affiliated with Trumbull, will also be affected.
Presque Isle, Maine-based Northern Light AR Gould Hospital, part of Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health, is laying off an undisclosed number of layoffs. Management positions are affected, but inpatient nursing positions are not, according to an Aug. 15 statement shared with Becker’s.
Houston-based Texas Children’s Hospital is laying off 5% of its workforce, or roughly 1,000 employees. The layoffs include front-line healthcare workers and those in leadership positions, The Houston Chronicle reported Aug. 6.
Dallas-based Steward Health Care plans to lay off 1,243 employees due to the closure of two of its hospitals: Dorchester, Mass.-based Carney Hospital and Ayer, Mass.-based Nashoba Valley Medical Center. Steward will lay off 753 employees at Carney Hospital and 490 employees at Nashoba Valley Medical Center, effective Aug. 31, according to WARN notices filed by the system.
Beaver, Pa.-based Heritage Valley Health System laid off several workers and is closing multiple facilities. The workforce and service cuts were made for financial reasons as the system continues to evaluate a potential partner, president and CEO Norman Mitry said in a July 31 letter to employees, according to Beaver County Radio.
July
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago laid off a “very small” number of employees following a comprehensive budget review, the hospital confirmed in a July 27 statement shared with Becker’s. The hospital declined to confirm the number of affected positions.
Chicago-based CommonSpirit plans to lay off employees at hospitals in Oregon and Tennessee. CHI Mercy Health-Mercy Medical Center and Centennial Medical Group in Roseburg, Ore., is eliminating 18 jobs, mostly in leadership support, according to local news outlet KLCC. Additionally, Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CHI Memorial Hospital is laying off workers and reassigning others to address financial challenges, according to the Times Free Press.
Howard Brown Health, a federally qualified health center that serves the LGBTQ+ community in the Chicago area, is laying off 43 employees, or 7% of its workforce. The layoffs include management, administrative and other staff positions, according to a July 1 Howard Brown news release. They are effective Aug. 30.
Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente laid off 51 IT workers in Pleasanton, Calif. Affected positions do not provide direct patient medical care, according to the health system.
June
Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health is laying off 81 IT workers as it transitions additional digital products and services to Deloitte Digital. The layoffs are slated to take effect Aug. 25, according to a notice filed with the state.
Middletown, N.Y.-based Garnet Health laid off 26 employees, or about 1% of its workforce. The layoffs amount to about $4.6 million in salaries and benefits costs and affect staff in management, union and non-union positions.
West Monroe, La.-based Glenwood Regional Medical Center, part of Dallas-based Steward Health Care, laid off 23 employees. Affected roles included leadership, a spokesperson for the hospital said in a statement shared with Becker’s.
Cleveland-based University Hospitals is reducing its leadership structure by more than 10% as part of more than 300 layoffs. COO Paul Hinchey, MD, told Becker’s C-suite level leaders and vice presidents were included in the cuts.
Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University told staff June 6 that it plans to lay off at least 500 employees, citing financial issues. The news follows the institution and Portland-based Legacy Health signing a binding, definitive agreement to come together as one health system under OHSU Health.
May
The All of Us Research Program, a collaboration of the University of Arizona in Tucson and Phoenix-based Banner Health, plans to lay off 45 workers due to reduced federal research funding, according to an Arizona WARN notice filed May 28. The program, launched in 2018, is part of HHS’ National Institutes of Health.
Burlington, Mass.-based Tufts Medicine will lay off 174 employees due to industry challenges, the health system confirmed in a May 21 statement shared with Becker’s. The layoffs, which have varying effective dates, will primarily affect administrative and non-direct patient care roles. Some leadership roles were affected, a spokesperson told Becker’s.
Doral, Fla.-based Sanitas Medical Center laid off 56 employees between May 17 and May 20. Some of the affected roles included nine care coordinators, one care educator, and two case managers, according to a May 20 WARN notice accessed by Becker’s.
Select Specialty Hospital in Longview, Texas, will close on or about June 30, affecting 94 employees, Becker’s has confirmed. The hospital, operated by Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based Select Medical, is a 32-bed, critical illness recovery facility.
White Rock Medical Center in Dallas laid off nearly 35% of its staff. The hospital temporarily stopped taking patients transported by emergency medical services due to the layoffs, The Dallas Morning News reported. It has since resumed accepting those patients.
Oakland-based Kaiser Foundation Hospitals is laying off 76 workers in California. The layoffs primarily affect employees in IT and marketing, according to regulatory documents filed with the state May 1.
April
Pittsburgh-based UPMC will lay off approximately 1,000 employees. The layoffs, which represent more than 1% of the health system’s 100,000 workforce will primarily affect nonclinical, administrative and non-member-facing employees.
Union Springs, Ala.-based Bullock County Hospital laid off 95 employees beginning April 9, according to regulatory documents filed with the state. The layoffs occurred as Bullock seeks to become a rural emergency hospital and is ending psychiatric services as part of the shift, AL.com reported April 25.
Jackson Health System reduced compensation programs for senior leaders; laid off fewer than 25 people, including one hospital CEO; and froze many vacant positions, especially in support and nonclinical areas, a spokesperson for the Miami-based organization confirmed to Becker’s. President and CEO Carlos Migoya shared these efforts in a message to staff, citing financial challenges.
Coos Bay, Ore.-based Bay Area Hospital plans to conduct layoffs as it outsources its revenue cycle management operations, a spokesperson for the hospital confirmed to Becker’s. The transition will affect 27 positions.
Manchester, N.H.-based Catholic Medical Center plans to cut 142 positions, including 54 layoffs. An April 18 letter to employees from CMC president and CEO Alex Walker, obtained by Becker’s, said cuts would occur through the 54 staff eliminations, open position cuts, reduced hours, planned departures, and resource redeployment in satellite locations for CMC.
Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic Health System will lay off furloughed staff, effective in early May. The health system furloughed about 3% of its workforce in January, affecting positions mostly in non-patient-seeing departments, including leadership roles.
Norwalk, Ohio-based Fisher-Titus Medical Center laid off some workers in nonclinical roles and reduced hours for others. Seven employees, about 0.5% of the health system’s workforce, were laid off April 1. Work hours were reduced for another 10 positions, a hospital spokesperson told Becker’s.
March
Robbinsdale, Minn.-based North Memorial Health is laying off 103 employees in clinical and nonclinical roles, citing financial challenges. The layoffs affect several services across the two-hospital system.
AHMC’s San Gabriel (Calif.) Valley Medical Center is laying off 62 workers, according to regulatory documents filed with the state March 13. The layoffs take effect May 13.
Miami-based North Shore Medical Center, part of Steward Health Care, started conducting layoffs as part of cuts to some of its programs amid the Dallas-based health system’s continued financial struggles. Around 152 workers represented by 1199SEIU were laid off, a union spokesperson confirmed. However that number could be higher as their members do not represent every employee at NSMC, the spokesperson said.
Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Foundation Hospitals is laying off more than 70 employees. The layoffs primarily affect those in IT roles.
February
Lion Star, the group that operates Nacogdoches (Texas) Memorial Hospital, is closing four of its clinics on March 22, which will result in fewer than 50 layoffs, a Lion Star spokesperson confirmed to Becker’s. No additional layoffs are planned.
Little Rock-based Arkansas Heart Hospital has laid off fewer than 50 employees since the beginning of 2024, citing low reimbursement rates. The layoffs affected lower-paying positions, Bruce Murphy, MD, CEO of the hospital, said, according to Arkansas Business.
Cincinnati-based Mercy Health will lay off some call center positions. The system attributed the move to its partnership with a third party to operate its enterprise contact center for primary care scheduling.
Ridgecrest (Calif.) Regional Hospital announced more layoffs to avoid closure. It is laying off 31 more employees, including seven licensed vocational nurses and four registered nurses, two months after it announced plans to lay off nearly 30 others and suspend its labor and delivery unit, Bakersfield.com reported Feb. 15.
Medford, Ore.-based Asante health system laid off about 3% of its workforce. The layoffs primarily affected administrative and support roles and were necessary to offset “financial headwinds” over the past several years, according to a report from NBC affiliate KOBI-TV, which is based on an internal memo sent to staff Feb. 9.
Oakdale, Calif.-based Oak Valley Hospital District is scaling back services and laying off workers to improve its finances. The hospital said in a Feb. 2 statement shared with Becker’s that it will close its five-bed intensive care unit, discontinue its family support network department and lay off 28 employees, including those in senior management and supervisor positions.
Chicago-based Rush University System for Health laid off an undisclosed number of workers in administrative and leadership positions, citing “financial headwinds affecting healthcare providers nationwide.” No additional information was provided about the layoffs, including the number of affected employees.
University of Chicago Medical Center laid off about 180 employees, or less than 2% of its roughly 13,000-person workforce. The majority of affected positions are not direct patient facing, the organization said in a statement shared with Becker’s.
Fountain Valley, Calif.-based MemorialCare laid off 72 workers due to restructuring efforts at its Long Beach (Calif.) Medical Center and Long Beach, Calif.-based Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital. The layoffs include 13 positions at Long Beach Medical Center’s outpatient retail pharmacy, which is closing Feb. 2, a spokesperson for MemorialCare said in a statement shared with Becker’s.
January
George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., part of King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services, is laying off “less than 3%” of its employees. The move is attributed to restructuring efforts.
Amarillo-based Northwest Texas Healthcare System, also part of Universal Health Services, announced plans to lay off a “limited number of positions.” The move is attributed to restructuring efforts.
Lehigh Valley Health Network is cutting its chiropractic services and laying off 10 chiropractors. The layoffs are effective April 12 and due to restructuring. The Allentown, Pa.-based health system has 10 chiropractic locations, according to its website.
Central Maine Healthcare is laying off 45 employees as part of management reorganization. The Lewiston-based system, which also ended urgent care services at its Maine Urgent Care on Sabattus Street in Lewiston on Jan. 12, has 3,100 employees total.
University of Vermont Health Network, based in Burlington, is cutting 130 open positions. The move is part of the health system’s efforts to reduce expenses by $20 million.
Med-Trans, a medical transport provider based in Lewisville, Texas, closed its UF Health ShandsCair base serving Gainesville, Fla.-based UF Health Shands Hospital on Jan. 10 due to decreased transportation demands. The move also resulted in layoffs, a spokesperson for UF Health, the hospital’s parent company, told Becker’s in a statement.
RWJBarnabas Health, based in West Orange, N.J., is laying off 79 employees, according to documents filed with the state on Jan. 8. The layoffs are effective March 31 and April 5. A spokesperson for the health system told Becker’s that 74 of the positions were “time-limited information technology training job functions.” The other layoffs were due to closure of an urgent care center.
Cigna Health & Life Insurance Co. defeated a $100 million lawsuit by hospitals that said they were underpaid for out-of-network medical services, when a New Jersey federal judge said the complaint didn’t point to specific language in Cigna’s health plans.
The hospitals, which are owned by New Jersey-based CarePoint Health Systems Inc., said Cigna had an intentional and unlawful pattern of underpaying them for emergency and elective services, with more than $100 million owed on at least 4,708 discrete claims. Judge Jamel K. Semper of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed the hospitals’ claims for benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act in an unpublished order issued Thursday. He said they “do not point to, describe, or quote any language from the actual Cigna Plans that they claim entitle them to reimbursement.”
igna Health & Life Insurance Co. defeated a $100 million lawsuit by hospitals that said they were underpaid for out-of-network medical services, when a New Jersey federal judge said the complaint didn’t point to specific language in Cigna’s health plans.
Delia Halpin was being treated for a lung infection at Hackensack University Medical Center over three days in July when doctors came to her room with a suggestion: You can go home if you’d like.
Halpin, 80, wasn’t being discharged. She was returning to her Maywood house with a load of medical equipment, a tablet to let her keep in touch with doctors, and a team of nurses who would visit every day until she recovered.
“No one wants to be in the hospital,” she said. “It was great to be home, be around family, be around the things you’re comfortable with.”
Halpin is among the first wave of patients who received care under Hackensack’s new “Hospital from Home” program — but she is far from the last.
Born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, this new way of providing care is expected to spread quickly among New Jersey hospitals thanks to a new law that greatly expanded the number of patients eligible for these services by requiring all private health insurers to cover them.
“You’re going to see care continue to shift to home in a big way over the next few years,” said Kristin Bloom, an assistant vice president overseeing Virtua Health’s Hospital at Home program in South Jersey. “You can’t ignore the benefits and the outcomes that you see.
“The health care industry will not be able to sleep on this,” she said.
Health care providers have been looking at alternative ways to care for patients as they deal with a current staffing crisis and an expected tsunami of older patients who will likely require greater care in the years and decades to come. The number of New Jerseyans over 60 is expected to increase by 1 million this decade when those in the tail end of the baby boomer generation become senior citizens.
Each hospital has its own protocols, but typically a patient is identified for hospital-at-home programs almost immediately when they are brought into the emergency room, or a few days after they are admitted. A number of boxes need to be checked before a patient is able to participate. Are they well enough to be treated at home? Do they live in a stable home? Do they live with a caretaker?
The most common ailments among those sent home at Hackensack and Virtua are early-stage infections or pneumonia, along with those whose chronic heart disease or chronic lung disease has flared up, doctors said.
Patients arrive at home with a monitor that transmits all their vital signs in real time to a command center staffed mostly by nurses. Other common equipment includes IV pumps, oxygen tanks and a tablet for telehealth sessions. Nurses come at least once a day to check on the patient.
“If we can bypass any brick-and-mortar care, we will going forward,” said Dr. Jason Korcak, an internist who oversees the program at Hackensack. “In-hospital treatment is necessary for many people who come through our doors, but at the end of the day you’re still in a hospital. The missing piece is the comfort of their own bed or family by their side day and night.”
Receiving care at home is nothing new. It harks back to a time when the neighborhood doctor made house calls carrying a black leather bag. And it has evolved in recent years mostly to long-term elder care at home, hospice care, and visiting nurses and physical therapists checking in on people recently discharged from a hospital.
But providing full acute services at home wasn’t done extensively until the pandemic. In the spring of 2020, as COVID spread like wildfire in New Jersey and the rest of the Northeast, the federal government launched the “Hospitals Without Walls” program to free up beds and reduce the spread of coronavirus in hospitals.
Most patients have been seniors, since Medicare was the only insurer to cover the costs — until recently. A few notable hospital networks across the U.S. have begun using it extensively, including Mount Sinai Health System in New York and Massachusetts General Hospital.
About a dozen New Jersey hospitals have been approved by federal regulators to provide home services that were covered almost exclusively by Medicare.
But last year, Gov. Phil Murphy gave a jolt to these programs when he signed the “Hospital at Home Act” into law. It ordered private insurance companies, NJ FamilyCare and Medicaid programs to provide coverage for hospital services delivered at home “on the same basis as when services are delivered within the facilities of a hospital.”
The patient pool has expanded greatly now that insurance coverage is no longer limited to those 65 years and above.
Doctors say they have seen benefits for patients in and out of hospitals. Patients sleep much better at home. The risk for infections usually associated with hospital goes down. “It’s virtually nonexistent,” said Dr. Diego Ortega, lead physician for Virtua’s Hospital at Home program.
Meanwhile, more hospital beds are available for the sickest patients, and demand for care goes down at a time when staffing is a major problem at medical centers.
“It frees up a lot of capacity, especially during the flu and respiratory illness season,” Ortega said. “It also frees up staff. Doctors and nurses can now spend more time with the sickest patients inside the brick-and-mortar hospital.”
Not every case works out. About two or three of the 50 Hackensack patients who have received care at home since late April have had to go back to the hospital after taking a turn for the worse, said Korcak, the internist. Virtua Health, which has treated 1,100 patients at home since 2022, has had a 4% readmission rate this year, Bloom said.
Among those who stayed at home was Delia Halpin. She had the sort of living arrangement that the staff at Hackensack liked to see before allowing a patient to go home. Her husband and an adult son lived at home with her and were capable of lending a hand in her care.
Her house was big enough that a spot could be carved out in the living room where she could rest instead of having to climb stairs.
A truck arrived at her home with an oxygen machine and tanks, along with intravenous equipment, health monitors and a tablet to connect to doctors and nurses around the clock.
In the mornings she would contact a nurse on the terminal and go over her vital signs. A nurse would come in later in the day and examine her, including scanning her kidneys to see if they were functioning correctly. She received virtual visits from her doctor. “I always felt safe because I knew someone was near,” she said.
About a week later, Halpin was “discharged.” Workers took away the medical equipment, and she was given an itinerary of follow-up visits, medication and preventive tips as if she were being wheeled out of the hospital.
Halpin said she recovered much faster than she would have in the hospital.
“I’m not the most active person, but I don’t want to just lie in a hospital bed for days doing nothing,” she said. “I was at home. I could get up if needed. It was where I wanted to be.”
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) director would gain stronger authority to access sensitive health care data from federal agencies with fewer delays under bipartisan legislation the Senate passed by unanimous consent on Tuesday (Sept. 10).
Although the bill doesn’t directly address the CBO’s interactions with federal health agencies, it is expected to have health care policy implications by helping the CBO overcome bureaucratic hurdles to secure essential health data and deliver faster, more accurate analyses of health care proposals.
The CBO Data Sharing Act [H.R.7032], introduced by House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) and ranking Democrat Brendan Boyle (PA) in January, would give the CBO director the authority to request and receive information, including sensitive data, from federal agencies without lengthy negotiations or formal agreements, provided confidentiality is upheld. The bill also ensures that future laws cannot unintentionally restrict the CBO’s access to such data unless explicitly stated.
“In order for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide lawmakers accurate and timely information about the cost of legislation, they need access to all relevant government data,” House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) said in a statement on Tuesday after the bill’s Senate passage. “Our budget reform bill will empower CBO to provide information critical to good public policy and stewardship of tax dollars.”
The House Budget Committee initially advanced the bill with a unanimous vote of 30-0 during a full committee markup on Feb. 6. It later passed the House on April 29 under suspension of the rules.
On the health policy front, the bill aims to prevent data-sharing roadblocks and ensure that Congress has more reliable information when considering changes to Medicare, Medicaid, and other public health policies.
For instance, in 2023, the CBO released a report on proposals to modify or eliminate the Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) exclusion that limits Medicaid funding for inpatient care in psychiatric hospitals or other mental health facilities. To fully assess the potential impact of these proposals, the CBO requested detailed data from CMS on facilities meeting the IMD criteria. However, CMS denied the request, citing legal restrictions under the Public Health Service Act of 2000.
As a result, the CBO had to rely on less detailed public information, which limited the accuracy of its analysis. Had this bill been in place, the CBO could have bypassed that bureaucratic hurdle and provided Congress with more reliable data, according to the House Budget Committee’s bipartisan fact sheet of the legislation.
The CBO Data Sharing Act is the second House-passed bill from the House Budget Committee that seeks to reform the government office that scores legislation, following the March 19 passage of the Dr. Michael C. Burgess Preventive Health Savings Act (H.R. 766). That bill requires CBO, upon request, to extend its analysis window from 10 to 30 years, to better capture long-term impacts and to enable policymakers to make more informed decisions about preventive health care and the nation’s fiscal health. The bill was amended during mark-up to clarify that the 30-year score cannot be used for pay-go
With Burgess set to retire in November at the end of his 11th term in Congress, and with the American Medical Association (AMA) advocating for the bill’s passage in its comments to the Senate Finance Committee’s physician payment reform efforts, there’s a strong chance the Senate will act on it soon–either before the November elections or during the lame-duck session.
But this might not be the only CBO reform proposal seen from Burgess before his retirement. During a House Budget Committee hearing on Wednesday (Sept. 11) focused on improving the CBO, he suggested codifying the role of the CBO’s health advisory panel in providing technical recommendations for the agency’s health care models and estimates.
The CBO’s panel of health advisors provides guidance on health policy issues to improve the accuracy and relevance of its analyses and cost estimates. Burgess says formalizing the panel’s role would strengthen congressional oversight of the agency, particularly after it projected a lower number of new drugs that could be negatively impacted by the Inflation Reduction Act’s prescription drug price negotiations compared to other economists.
CBO Director Phillip Swagel pushed back on Burgess’ suggestion, warning that codifying the panel’s role could introduce political dynamics and compromise its non-partisan, expert-driven mission.
“[The panel] is non-political, and I would worry about moving it, even inadvertently, toward the political side,” Swagel, serving as a witness, said during Wednesday’s oversight hearing.
If Johnson & Johnson moves forward with its plan to undermine the 340B Drug Pricing Program by unilaterally imposing a rebate model rather than the longstanding upfront discount model, the Health Resources and Services Administration should take “immediate enforcement action,” including assessing civil monetary penalties on J&J for intentionally overcharging 340B hospitals, the AHA said Aug. 28 in a letter to HRSA.
“J&J is yet again engaging in 340B vigilantism,” AHA’s General Counsel Chad Golder wrote. “J&J’s adoption of this rebate model is yet another example of a drug company seeking to squeeze every possible penny from the hospitals and health systems that care for America’s underserved patients.”
On Aug. 23, J&J announced that it would be upending its approach to 340B pricing for two of its most popular products, Stelara and Xarelto. Historically, J&J offered upfront discounts to 340B hospitals when they purchased these drugs. Starting on Oct. 15, however, J&J will require all disproportionate share hospitals participating in the 340B Drug Pricing Program to purchase these drugs at full price and apply for a rebate from J&J. Under the new program, these hospitals will be required to submit certain data to J&J when they purchase the drugs at full price. After J&J verifies the drug’s 340B status, it will send disproportionate share hospitals a rebate for the difference between the amount paid and the discounted 340B price.
AHA said that J&J’s new policy is a fundamental shift in how the 340B program has operated for over 30 years and “could jeopardize patients’ access to these drugs.” In addition, disproportionate share hospitals, which already operate on the thinnest of margins, will be forced to develop pricey administrative mechanisms to make and track rebate requests.
“And J&J will essentially transform itself into the ultimate arbiter of whether a rebate should be approved and paid, with the likely consequence of J&J denying rebates to hospitals that they appropriately owe,” AHA said. “While J&J may contend that this new policy is needed to improve program transparency, Congress did not permit drug companies to take the law into their own hands. … This new rebate policy — like the drug companies’ contract pharmacy policies that preceded it — is a money-making scheme dressed up as a program integrity measure.”
Congress returns Sept. 9 for a three-week sprint, during which lawmakers will face key legislative deadlines and work to push their political messages before departing again for campaign season.
Political pressure and considerations could complicate how Congress addresses must-pass items.
The legislative dash will also be a prime time for lawmakers to push messages that aid their parties ahead of the November election.
Here are six items to watch in Congress this September.
Government funding for fiscal 2024 expires Sept. 30, and virtually no one expects Congress will come to an agreement on funding for 2025 by that deadline. The Senate has passed zero regular funding bills, and while the House has passed partisan versions of more than half of the 12 regular funding bills, intraparty squabbling has stopped others from passing on the House floor.
Attention is now turning to what the terms will be for a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government at current levels to avoid a government shutdown and buy Congress more time.
One consideration is the length of a continuing resolution. Hard-line conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus are pushing for a stopgap to extend into 2025, with the thought that doing so could avoid a massive end-of-year omnibus negotiated primarily by party leaders. That could also give Republicans a chance of getting more influence over funding levels if they win the House, Senate, and White House.
Other Republicans prefer starting 2025 with a clean slate, arguing that even if former President Trump wins, he will not want to be distracted by a funding fight in his first months back in office.
Ahead of the month-end deadline, House GOP leaders are tying a non-citizen voting bill to a six-month funding patch.
Speaker Mike Johnson is rolling out the House GOP’s strategy for a high-stakes government funding fight, teeing up a showdown with Senate Democrats ahead of the Oct. 1 shutdown deadline.
House Republicans on Friday unveiled a stopgap funding bill, also known as a continuing resolution, that will fund the government at largely current levels through March 28. The funding measure includes a GOP proposal to require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections — a measure that former President Donald Trump insisted on but is a non-starter for Senate Democrats.
The stopgap also includes $10 billion to boost FEMA’s disaster aid fund, depleted after hurricanes in Texas and Florida, along with West Coast wildfires and severe storms across the Midwest and Northeast. Republicans also included nearly $2 billion for Navy submarines, a total requested by the White House.
The speaker called the bill rollout “a critically important step” for House Republicans, saying in a statement that Congress “has a responsibility” to both fund the government and “ensure that only American citizens can decide American elections.”
Johnson wants to put the bill on the floor on Wednesday in an effort to squeeze Democrats on non-citizen voting, which is already banned in federal elections but is still a top Republican focus heading into peak campaign season. But the GOP spending plan is all but doomed in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
“If Speaker Johnson drives House Republicans down this highly partisan path, the odds of a shutdown go way up, and Americans will know that the responsibility of a shutdown will be on the House Republicans’ hands,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a joint statement.
OMB Director Shalanda Young added that Republicans are “wasting time” and that “there is a clear, bipartisan path to responsibly fund the government.”
But it’s not yet certain that Johnson has the votes to even get it through the House given skepticism from multiple corners of his own conference.
A small bloc of conservative members are skeptical of any CR, even if it’s loaded up with partisan wins. One person familiar with the House GOP’s internal dynamics estimated that camp has roughly five members — smaller than last year, when a similar headache thwarted then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s funding plan, but still large enough to cause headaches for GOP leadership.
Johnson is also facing questions from a coalition of centrists, battleground members and governing-minded Republicans, who believe they will eventually need to cut a deal with Democrats and pass a clean spending extension by Oct. 1. Though those members are signaling they could go along with Johnson’s plans for now, they don’t want to see the government shut down over the GOP’s voting fight.
But Johnson’s right flank demanded that he attach the non-citizen voting bill and argued that Republicans should kick the funding deadline into March, when they hope Trump will be back in office and give them more leverage in any spending negotiations. Trump, for his part, has floated that Republicans should shut down the government unless they get the citizenship voting bill attached.
Notably, the stopgap bill does not include a farm bill extension, despite House GOP leaders raising interest in recent days about attaching a one-year extension. House Republicans have been privately discussing the matter for several weeks now.
But key agriculture lawmakers, including Republicans, only want to negotiate a farm bill extension after the election. That means lawmakers will need to pass a short-term extension — or break the current deadlock on a new $1.5 trillion reauthorization — before the end of the year.
Separately from the stopgap, House Republicans hope to swiftly pass a $3 billion bill that would address the beginnings of a $15 billion veterans funding shortfall, which also includes provisions demanding answers from the Biden administration on how the Department of Veterans Affairs racked up the budget gap.
Abortion continues to play a key role in the lead-up to November’s elections, the Lykos CEO resigns following the Food and Drug Administration’s rejection of the company’s MDMA-assisted therapy application, mpox vaccines hit the ground in the Congo and a push to expand methadone access runs into a roadblock.
Eyes on abortion
Abortion access remains a central campaign issue. My colleague, Alice Miranda Ollstein, details the experience of one doctor who had to travel from her conservative state to Delaware for abortion training — and had to pull together several grants and scholarships to the cover $8,000 for a flight, hotel, rental car, medical licensing fees, malpractice insurance and background check. The training wasn’t required, but she felt it was a “moral imperative” — as many doctors who make the trip do.
Meanwhile, pressure from anti-abortion groups is also ramping up for Donald Trump’s campaign. The Republican presidential nominee said he would vote against an abortion ballot measure in his home state of Florida after signaling that he might not. But anti-abortion activists — worried by Trump’s “leave-it-to-the-states” position — weren’t placated. They’re now calling for a promise from Trump to staff his administration with abortion opponents if he wins, Alice reports.
Another setback for Lykos
Lykos Therapeutics is still recovering from an FDA decision to reject its application to offer the psychedelic drug MDMA as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Now, it’s also dealing with a major transition.
CEO Amy Emerson is leaving, POLITICO’s Erin Shumaker reports. Emerson’s departure comes after the company cut 75 percent of its staff and Rick Doblin, who led the push for MDMA-assisted therapy, left its board.
The fight against mpox
After months of delay over bureaucratic issues, 99,000 mpox vaccines have arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to help stem the outbreak of the virus’ deadly Ib variant — different from the clade 2b variant that led to the 2022 outbreak in the U.S.
The vaccines come after the variant has recently spread outside of the African continent, including to Europe, your host reports with POLITICO’s Carmen Paun. And it could still be weeks until the vaccines are deployed.
The methadone fight
Expanding methadone access to allow the medication to be dispensed outside of clinics has garnered bipartisan support in the Senate, Carmen reports. But some, including many directors at methadone clinics and enough Republicans to stall the bill, fear expanded access would actually worsen the opioid crisis because of the drug’s potential for abuse.
Earlier this week, as Vice President Kamala Harris took to the campaign trail to roll out a new set of economic policy proposals, her Republican vice presidential opponent, Sen. JD Vance, took to the internet to criticize them.
“As Kamala Harris talks a big game about standing up for workers, remember that her administration wanted to fire hundreds of thousands of people for refusing the COVID shot,” Vance posted on social media. “It’s all fake.”
Vance’s take-down may sound fairly routine, but one word stands out: “Fake.” Like his running mate Donald Trump and Trump’s many surrogates, Vance has embraced that four-letter word as a catch-all political epithet, used to describe everything from the news media to unfavorable polls to Kamala Harris’ entire personality.
But Vance’s use of the term to describe Harris’ economic proposals gets at something deeper than Trump’s verbal tic. To those in the know on the right, Vance’s repeated use of the word “fake” points toward a broader critique of America’s economic order. It’s one that has gained purchase among the small clique of conservative writers and activists surrounding Vance — a group often known as the “New Right.” And if Trump wins in November, the critique that underlies Vance’s use of the word could play a critical role in shaping the economic policy of a potential Trump-Vance administration.
So, what does Vance really mean by “fake”? In the eyes of many on the New Right, the United States has not one but two economies — a “real economy” grounded in productive industries like manufacturing and transportation, and a “fake economy,” based on non-productive industries like finance and consulting, where productivity is measured in terms of intangible economic growth rather than the production of tangible goods and services.
As Vance put it during a speech in Byron Center, Michigan in mid-August, “I like to talk about the ‘real’ versus the ‘fake’ economy. The ‘real’ economy is for the people who build things with their hands, who get it to our stores, who transport it from one place to another.” The “fake” economy, by contrast, is all the economic activity that shows up in GDP measurements but that doesn’t “put people to work making real products for American families” as Vance put it in his speech at the Republican National Convention.
As Vance and his New Right allies see it, the “fake economy” has gradually swallowed up the “real economy” as the spread of globalization and the financialization of economic markets have shifted the focus of U.S. economic policy from producing goods and services to growing financial assets and ensuring returns on investments. This shift, in turn, has had profound consequences for the United States: In addition to blowing up the trade deficit and making the U.S. reliant on foreign imports for basic goods, the rise of the “fake economy” has concentrated economic power in the hands of asset-owning elites and harmed working-class communities — like the southwestern Ohio steel town that Vance grew up in — that depend on the “real economy” for their economic livelihood. As Vance said while running for an Ohio Senate seat in 2022, “You’re going to have a fiscal problem in this country so long as we have a fake economy where we rely on countries that hate us to make our stuff.”
To be sure, Vance’s casual reliance on calling things “fake” as a shorthand for this broader critique can result in some bizarre soundbites — like the time last year when Vance declared that “economics is fake” because his 40-year-old refrigerator kept lettuce fresher than a newer fridge that he had just purchased.
But some iterations of Vance’s argument have even gained acceptance across the political spectrum. During last year’s legislative fight over U.S. aid for Ukraine, for instance, Vance repeatedly argued that the relative strength of the American economy — measured purely in terms of GDP — did not reflect its actual military strength in a match-up with Russia. That point garnered significant agreement at this year’s Munich Security Conference, where even supporters of U.S. aid to Ukraine acknowledged that U.S. economic power doesn’t mean it has the industrial capacity to support an extended war with Russia.
In other settings, Vance has embraced the critique — shared by many mainstream economists — that economic indicators like GDP are not meaningful measures of a society’s economic health. “One of the [animating] forces in my politics is I have a deep skepticism of how we measure things and whether it’s actually captured reality,” Vance told POLITICO Magazine earlier this year.
On the campaign trail, though, Vance has been vague about how he and Trump plan to restrain the growth of the “fake” economy and resuscitate the “real” one. So far, he has largely paid lip service to Trump’s economic agenda, which pairs sweeping immigration restrictions, aggressive tariffs and deregulation of American energy markets with broad-based tax-breaks that would benefit big businesses and high-earners. The closest that Vance has come to laying out a blueprint for the stimulating the “real economy” came during a talk he gave at the right-leaning economic think tank American Compass in 2023, where he talked in broad strokes about shifting economic policy to “make working on real things pay more money than it does right now … [and] make working on fake things pay less.”
But until he lays out a more substantial plan for growing the “real” economy, Vance will have to contend with a familiar criticism: that his economic populism is as fake as the economy he decries.
There are more than 100,000 people awaiting an organ with a new person added to the list every eight minutes, according to HHS.
A congressional committee will review the overhauling of the U.S. transplant system a year after it was ordered in law.
The House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Sept. 11, focusing on how successfully the federal government has implemented the law to reform the system.
Years of bipartisan congressional inquiry uncovered mismanagement in the organ transplant system, which has been run by a single nonprofit contractor since the 1980s.
Last September, President Joe Biden signed a law to decentralize the organ transplant network, restructuring the system into manageable parts. That allowed different entities to oversee certain functions of the system, and the appointment of a new board of directors. Just last week, the Biden administration awarded its first contract to a nonprofit to oversee the election of a new board of directors.
There are more than 100,000 people awaiting an organ with a new person added to the list every eight minutes, according to HHS. As POLITICO has reported, the reform has hit snags in recent months as members of Congress, the federal government and providers have sparred over oversight. Some of the questions revolved around how big a role the federal government should have and whether people who were involved in the previous setup should continue to work in the new one.
“Unfortunately, for years the organ transplant system has been hampered by inefficiencies, mismanagement, and risks to patient safety,” Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and subcommittee chair Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) said in a statement. “This hearing will provide an opportunity to hear from experts and stakeholders about how the law is being implemented and what challenges remain.”
Witnesses have not been announced.
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