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An expert task force on Thursday released a new and much-anticipated approach for diagnosing kidney function, saying there is no need for controversial algorithms that consider race in the assessment of kidney disease. The new recommendations come as a victory for a growing number of physicians and activists who argue the use of race-based tools in medicine is outdated and wrong because race is not a good proxy for genetic difference — and sends the message that some races are biologically inferior. Many also argue that the separate racial thresholds for classifying kidney disease underestimate the extent of disease in Black patients, leaving them less likely to receive the specialty kidney care they need or be placed on transplant waitlists. (McFarling, 9/23)

A scientific task force on Thursday called for jettisoning a common measure of kidney function that adjusts results by race, providing different assessments for Black patients than for others. The adjustment may make Black patients seem less ill than they really are, according to many experts. Instead, doctors should rely on a race-neutral method for diagnosing and managing kidney disease, concluded a report from the National Kidney Foundation and the American Society of Nephrology. (Rabin, 9/23)

The National Institutes of Health will renew three awards totaling $73.2 million over the next five years to expand a precision medicine effort at several large systems and medical schools. Five institutions and principal investigators will receive the awards: Christa Martin and Erin Riggs at Geisinger Health System, Jonathan Berg at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Sharon Plon and Aleks Milosavljevic at Baylor College of Medicine, Teri Klein at Stanford University, and the Broad Institute's Heidi Rehm. (9/23)

CMS is reevaluating hospitals' applications for exceptions from reimbursement cuts to their off-campus outpatient facilities following pushback from the industry. In January, CMS rejected more than 60% of the mid-build exceptions, which is designed to preserve higher payments if hospitals document that their off-campus outpatient departments were under construction when the Bipartisan Budget Act passed in 2015. (Kacik, 9/23)

Devoted Health, a health insurance startup that focuses on Medicare Advantage plans, is raising up to $1.2 billion in new funding at around an $11.5 billion valuation, according to a Delaware stock authorization filing. The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company serves around 40,000 seniors in four states, more than double from the first half of 2020, and wants to eventually become a nationwide provider. (Primack and Herman, 9/23)

St. Joseph's/Candler Health System announced Thursday that it plans to build a medical complex on six acres it has purchased near the Bryan County Mega-site at the I-16/Highway 280 interchange. The medical facility eventually will encompass 40,000 square feet of space at full build-out and will include office space for the Development Authority of Bryan County. The DABC was also a key player in acquiring the adjacent 2,200-acre mega-site. (Nicholson, 9/23)