Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Employer Health Care Costs Driven Mainly By Cancer Diagnoses
Cancer care has become the top driver of large employers' health care costs due to an increase in late-stage diagnoses, according to a new survey from the Business Group on Health. (Reed, 8/24)
More on the high cost of health care —
Some legislators say they began focusing on the issue of medical debt after a related issue, surprise medical billing, spurred legislative action in many states and in Congress in the past few years. Surprise medical billing refers to unexpected, often exorbitant bills patients receive for out-of-network medical services, often during surgeries and emergency room visits. (Ollove, 8/24)
KHN: Watch:Â Crashing Into Surprise Ambulance BillsÂ
Peggy Dula was driving two of her siblings on an unfamiliar road in Illinois when she pulled into an intersection and crashed into a truck. All three were taken to a nearby hospital, and though Peggy was the least injured, her ambulance bill was almost three times her sister’s bill. CBS Mornings spotlighted this Bill of the Month and interviewed Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal, editor-in-chief of KHN, about the conundrum people are in when they need an ambulance. Ground ambulance bills were not regulated in the No Surprises Act, the consumer protection law that went into effect at the beginning of 2022. (8/24)
Some of the biggest hospital chains are seeing business rebound to pre-pandemic levels, but the industry as a whole is pressing for more federal relief before year's end, citing inflation, labor and supply cost pressures. (Dreher, 8/25)
In other health care industry news —
Hundreds of nurses with UW Health voted Wednesday to hold a three-day strike in September if hospital administrators do not recognize their union, an escalation in a yearslong fight to regain bargaining rights. (Vanegeren, 8/24)
Ransomware attacks at revenue-cycle management vendor Practice Resources and accounts receivable management firm Professional Finance Company possibly exposed data on 942,138 patients and 1.9 million patients, respectively. A cyberattack at OneTouchPoint, a vendor that offers printing and mailing services, possibly compromised data on nearly 1.1 million patients. (Kim Cohen, 8/24)
When a routine cancer screening came back showing an elevated PSA reading, George Brickhouse knew he should take it seriously. (McFarling, 8/25)
Thermo Fisher Scientific plans to officially open a 300,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Plainville on Wednesday that underscores the laboratory equipment supplier’s investment in the growing field of gene therapy. (Saltzman, 8/24)
