Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Senators Seek IRS Investigation Of Nonprofit Hospitals' Local Care Efforts
A bipartisan group of senators wants federal tax regulators to probe nonprofit hospitals’ compliance with community benefit requirements, ratcheting up a longtime campaign to hold the tax-exempt providers accountable. Nonprofit hospitals are often subsidized by state or federal funding and exempt from many taxes. In exchange, they are required to aid their surrounding area through public health programs and providing free or discounted care to low-income patients. (Owermohle, 8/8)
51ÊÓƵ Health News: As A Union Pushes To Cap Hospital CEO Pay, It’s Accused Of Playing PoliticsÂ
The aim is aspirational: Hospital executives shouldn’t make more than the president of the United States. Next spring, Los Angeles city voters will have a chance to put the brake on runaway salaries by capping hospital executives’ pay at $450,000 a year. The measure, proposed by a local union and approved by the City Council in June, will appear on the March 2024 ballot. (Castle Work, 8/9)
Oscar Health plans to extend its geographic reach and launch new products next year to counter shrinking membership, CEO Mark Bertolini said Tuesday. (Tepper, 8/8)
It's early days for health system leaders interested in implementing generative artificial intelligence, according to a report published Monday from consultancy Bain & Company. For the report, Bain surveyed 94 health system leaders, the overwhelming majority of which haven’t fully strategized on how to use the technology. Despite this, there is still considerable excitement over how generative AI applications like ChatGPT can be used to reduce administrative headaches. (Turner, 8/8)
On privacy and security —
The personal data of about 2,000 Lurie Children’s Surgical Foundation patients was leaked earlier this year following a security breach in the foundation’s billing software. Patients affected by the breach saw their Social Security numbers leaked to a still-unknown party, along with their names, dates of birth and addresses. The breach took place between March 29 and April 14 of this year, and affected patients found out on April 28, according to a Tuesday news release from Lurie Children’s Hospital. (Arougheti, 8/8)
This year has seen the Federal Trade Commission crack down on digital health companies’ irresponsible data use. Since February, it has charged four companies with improperly handling sensitive health information — starting with the first-ever enforcement of its long-stagnant Health Breach Notification Rule, against GoodRx. Now, the FTC is arming itself for even more aggressive enforcement. (Palmer, 8/9)
