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USA Today editorial board: Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan can’t ‘fix our nonsensical health care system’
While health insurers and benefit managers saw stocks tumble on news Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. will enter the healthcare arena, the editorial board at USA Today isn’t convinced the move will be as disruptive as some think.
In an opinion piece published Feb. 20, USA Today editors wrote, “To BBD [Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon] we say: Go for it. If you can come up with ways to provide your employees with better health care for less money, more power to you. To the rest of the country we would say this: Don’t get too excited. Not even a company as crafty as Amazon, or a bot as all-knowing as Alexa, can fix our nonsensical health care system.”
USA Today said the reason an Amazon-Berkshire-JPMorgan company won’t create overarching change is because U.S. healthcare is built upon an “upside-down” architecture. They wrote providers and drug companies “have monopoly or near-monopoly powers” to set prices, while employers and payers are much more fragmented.
“The three companies — particularly Amazon — are known for their ability to disrupt industries. But in health care, they aren’t up against an old-school industry fallen behind the times; they’re facing powerful monopolies or near-monopolies brimming with technology of their own,” according to the report.
To view the full opinion piece, click here.
Monopoly Medicine: How Big Pharma Stops Its Competitors and Monopolizes the Health Industry
Moody’s: Nonprofit hospitals face volume, margin declines as insurers acquire physicians
As commercial payers swallow up more physician groups and nonacute care services, nonprofit hospitals will see greater pressure on their volumes and margins, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
Moody’s analysts predict insurers will be able to provide preventive, outpatient and post-acute care to their members through acquired providers at a lower cost than hospitals. As a result, insurers will begin carving out hospitals and select services from their contracts, leaving nonprofit hospitals with fewer patients and less revenue.
CVS Health’s $69 billion bid for Aetna and Optum’s takeover of Surgical Care Affiliates are examples of integrations that could threaten nonprofit hospitals’ bottom lines, Moody’s said.
On another front, nonprofit hospitals face increasing pressure from insurers moving quickly to value-based payment programs. Payers will also leverage their growing scale, driven by Medicare and managed Medicaid expansions, in rate negotiations.
“Insurers flexing their negotiating power by offering lower rate increases will likely result in more standoffs and terminations of contracts between insurers and hospitals,” according to Diana Lee, a Moody’s vice president. “To regain leverage, we expect hospitals to continue [merger and acquisition] and consolidation.”
UNC Health Care, Atrium execs reportedly frustrated by issue of control over merged entity
Executives at Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health Care and Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health have reportedly addressed a number of shared concerns regarding their proposed merger. However, the issue of control over the merged organization has yet to be decided — a decision that will have ramifications for both institutions, according to The News & Observer.
William L. Roper, MD, CEO of UNC Health Care and dean of the UNC School of Medicine, provided an update about the organizations’ negotiations Feb. 20 following a closed-door session with a special committee of the UNC System’s board of directors earlier that same day.
“I had a lengthy conversation with our Charlotte friends this morning, and I think we are making some progress in narrowing the differences but we have not yet reached agreement,” Dr. Roper told The News & Observer. “Both sides are interested in the key questions of who’s in charge, how are decisions going to be made, how can we balance the interests so that both sides feel fairly represented in the decision-making process. Those are the big questions and we’re still working on them.”
The decision of who maintains control over the merged entity, which would comprise 60 hospitals and at least 90,000 employees, would have significant effects on UNC’s medical research and the UNC School of Medicine, a state-owned entity belonging to the UNC System.
The organizations entered into negotiations regarding a potential merger last August. At that time, officials selected Atrium Health CEO Gene Woods to serve as CEO and Dr. Roper as chair of the combined system’s board of directors. Dr. Roper said Feb. 20 that following the completion of his term as chairman, Atrium Health’s board chairman would assume the role. After that, UNC Health Care and Atrium Health would alternate appointing leaders to the role.
Dr. Roper’s update comes after multiple organizations, including the state’s largest insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, said they could not support the proposed merger. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein wrote a letter Feb. 15 to the chief executives of both health systems demanding additional information regarding the proposed deal, stating the systems had not provided enough information about how the transaction would affect healthcare costs for consumers.
Dr. Roper’s announcement Tuesday also reportedly did not satisfy concerns voiced by North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell, who last week called on UNC Health Care to issue a $1 billion performance bond to guarantee cost savings from the proposed deal.
Mr. Folwell said Tuesday Dr. Roper’s update did not provide assurance healthcare costs would decrease and that the update underscores the huge stakes involved in the negotiations, according to the report.
CHI Health CEO Dr. Cliff Robertson on the greatest misconception about CEOs
Cliff Robertson, MD, is senior vice president of divisional operations at Englewood, Colo.-based CHI and CEO of CHI Health, the system’s Nebraska/Southwest Iowa Division.
As CEO of CHI Health, he oversees 14 hospitals, 136 clinical locations and over 12,500 employees. Prior to joining the system in 2014, Dr. Robertson simultaneously served as interim CEO of Houston-based St. Luke’s Health System and COO of CHI Franciscan Health in Tacoma, Wash.
Dr. Robertson took the time to answer three key leadership questions from Becker’s.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and style.
Question: Is it important for CEOs to have a public presence?
Cliff Robertson: A public presence is critically important for a CEO; in fact it was one of the biggest changes I experienced when I transitioned from COO to CEO.
I believe a CEO has an obligation to dedicate time toward community engagement because that leads to a public presence for the organization. I actively participate in the local Chamber of Commerce, am willing to meet with media to discuss the issues of the day and specifically meet with business leaders. These gatherings are not only “meet and greets,” but they give me an opportunity to share information about our organization’s strategic direction and initiatives. I also make a point of communicating with community stakeholders directly through monthly updates and video blogs. All of these efforts can be valuable and are designed to create a more public presence for CHI Health.
Q: What is the biggest challenge you face right now as a CEO?
CR: The biggest challenge all CEOs face is explaining the “why” to front-line staff and clinicians. The considerable changes taking place in healthcare today and accompanying disruption create doubt about the future and anxiety for all of us in healthcare.
I focus on helping our team understand “what” is changing and then the “why” behind the decisions we make as an organization. I learned a while ago the best thing I can do as CEO is help our team understand where we are going and at the same time answer their question of, “What does this change mean for me?”
Q: What is the greatest misconception people have about being a CEO?
CR: I think some folks assume I make decisions all the time. I actually believe in the wisdom of groups. That includes having our front-line staff involved in deciding how best to resolve our organizational problems. I see my role as a facilitator of groups that have to “get their hands dirty” as they help us solve the many challenges we face.
Mercy Health and Bon Secours Announce Merger
The Maryland and Ohio health systems announced Wednesday their intention to merge. The joint venture would be the nation’s fifth-largest Catholic health system.
Bon Secours Health System and Mercy Health announced their intention Wednesday to merge, potentially forming the fifth-largest Catholic health system in the country.
The proposed merger would join Mercy, the largest health system in Ohio, with Bon Secours, a Maryland-based Catholic health system with locations throughout the East Coast.
Related: Expect M&A Deluge To Continue Through 2018 And Beyond
If approved, the new system would operate 43 hospitals and more than 1,000 care sites across seven states, while generating close to $9 billion in annual operating revenues. Additionally, the new system would employ more than 2,100 physicians and advanced practice clinicians.
“Our decision to join forces with Bon Secours is rooted in our shared and very deep commitment to delivering compassionate, low-cost, high-quality health care to our communities,” said John M. Starcher Jr., president and CEO of Mercy Health, in a statement. “Working together, our strong faith-based heritage fuels our mutual focus to provide efficient and effective health care for each patient who comes through our doors.”
The proposed merger will need to gain approval from state and federal regulators as well as the Catholic Church, which oversees both systems. Leaders from Mercy and Bon Secours expect the deal to be completed by the end of the year.
“The mission, vision, values and geographic service areas of Bon Secours and Mercy Health are remarkably well-aligned and highly complementary,” said Richard J. Statuto, president and CEO of Bon Secours, in a statement. “This merger strengthens our shared commitment to improve population health, eliminate health disparities, build strength to address social determinants of health, and invest heavily in innovating our approaches to health care.”
Penn State’s THON 2018 raises more than $10 million for children, families impacted by pediatric cancer
https://www.landof10.com/penn-state/penn-state-thon-2018-total-nittany-lions
Penn State’s THON 2018 went from Feb. 16-18 and it was revealed on Sunday that more than $10 million was raised this year.
The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) raises money, awareness and provides support for children and families to fight pediatric cancer. The support THON receives and provides helps to conduct research at Penn State Children’s Hospital.
This year, THON 2018 raised $10,151,663.93.
According to THON.org, it is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world and has raised $147 million since it began in 1973. That total came prior to Sunday’s announcement of more than $10 million.
The annual dance marathon — which takes place for 46 hours — has a number of performances that take place over the weekend at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center.
Cancer vaccine made from stem cells could open another door in immunotherapy
Cancer vaccine made from stem cells could open another door in immunotherapy
With a special type of stem cell that can be spun from skin or blood, researchers have developed a vaccine that helped stave off cancer in mice, opening up another branch in the booming field of immunotherapy.
Cancer cells and stem cells share some of the same molecules on their surfaces. In the new research, which was described Thursday in the journal Cell Stem Cell, scientists injected mice with their own stem cells, essentially training their immune systems to launch attacks when they identified those molecules — called antigens — elsewhere, including on cancer cells.
George Washington on Leadership & Vision
https://www.c-span.org/video/?403436-1/george-washingtons-journey
An exciting introduction to a George Washington we rarely see, a president who strategically traveled to all thirteen states and transformed American political culture. “Breen’s clearly written account of these sojourns give readers a fresh understanding of the president’s personality, his public and private lives, and the political and social climate of the time” (Library Journal).
During his first term as President, George Washington made arduous journeys to each of the thirteen new states. He understood that Americans did not yet feel part of a nation, and that he alone could bring them to that conviction. For Washington, the stakes were high. In scores of communities, he communicated a powerful and enduring message—that America was now a nation, not a loose collection of states. And the people responded to his invitation in ways that he could never have predicted.
In George Washington’s Journey, T.H. Breen introduces us to a George Washington we rarely meet. By nature shy and reserved, the brand new president decided that he would visit the new citizens in their own states, that only by showing himself could he make them feel part of a new nation. He displayed himself as victorious general (he wore his regal uniform and rode his white stallion) and as President (grand dinners, military parades, arcs of triumph, and fancy balls). He travelled by open carriage on terrible roads, in awful weather, staying and eating at lousy inns.
Breen takes us on Washington’s journeys. We see the country through his eyes and listen through his ears. Washington drew on his immense popularity, even hero worship, to send a powerful and lasting message—that America was now a nation, not a collection of states. In George Washington’s Journey, we come to understand why the first president is the indispensable Founding Father.
HENRY KOTULA 