Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Amazon Trying to Expand Its Home Health Reach With Bid For Signify
Amazon.com Inc. is among the bidders for healthcare company Signify Health Inc., joining other heavy hitters vying in an auction for the home-health-services provider, according to people familiar with the matter. Signify is for sale in an auction that could value it at more than $8 billion, the people said. Bids are due around Labor Day, according to the people, but it is always possible an eager bidder could strike a deal before then. (Cooper, 8/21)
UnitedHealth has submitted the highest bid in excess of $30 a share, while Amazon’s offer is close behind, said the people, asking not be identified as the discussions are private. Signify, a provider of technology and services for home health, is holding a board meeting Monday to discuss the bids, the people said. (Porter and Davis, 8/22)
In other health care industry news —
More hospitals are tapping into billions of dollars from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to offset costs for caring for Covid-19 patients. (Herman, 8/22)
Nevada has the highest percentage of one-star acute-care hospitals of any state, the lowest rating given by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The state has a single five-star hospital, Renown South Meadows Medical Center in Reno, placing Nevada 12th worst for percentage of top-rated facilities, according to a data analysis by the Review-Journal. (Hynes and Scott Davidson, 8/20)
Members of the Michigan Nurses Association will vote from Aug. 27 through Sept. 2 on whether to authorize nurse negotiation leaders to call a strike at the University of Michigan. (Gooch, 8/19)
Commonwealth Health will lay off 245 employees when it closes facilities at the end of October. The health system is closing First Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Kingston, Pa., and its various outpatient centers on Oct. 30. The hospital stopped accepting new admissions at the beginning of August. (Ellison, 8/19)
Meeting with clinicians for one hour may cost up to $1,000 of missed clinical revenue, physicians estimate. OB-GYNs Brian Iriye, MD, and Jim Keller, MD, discussed meeting upticks in an Aug. 4 article for the journal Contemporary OB-GYN. According to the physicians, migration to a virtual sphere has made it easier to create a meeting and invite participants. However, holding a meeting is not always essential, they said, adding that it detracts from valuable time with patients, leading to lost income. (Kayser, 8/19)
