About health insurance/insurers
Investors call on UnitedHealth to disclose human and economic costs of policies that limit care “Seven UnitedHealth Group shareholders are calling on the health care conglomerate to produce a report on how often its policies lead to denied or delayed care, and the effects on patients and the economy.
The proposal, which could go up for a vote by UnitedHealth’s investors at the company’s annual meeting later this year, comes as the company is under tremendous public scrutiny for tactics such as prior authorization and care denials.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Changes in Patient Care Experience After Private Equity Acquisition of US Hospitals “ In this difference-in-differences analysis of 73 private equity–acquired hospitals and 293 matched control hospitals, global measures of patient care experience worsened after private equity acquisition of hospitals, as did patient-reported staff responsiveness. The difference in these measures of patient care experience at private equity–acquired hospitals compared with matched control hospitals increased with each subsequent year after acquisition.”
Joint Commission revamps survey process: 5 things to know “The Joint Commission has enhanced its survey process for 2025, after calls from member organizations to alleviate administrative burden with more modernized and improved tools.
The enhancements include redesigned survey reports, an updated process for uploading documents and a new peer benchmarking tool, according to a Jan. 8 news release from the organization.”
About pharma
US ‘notorious markets’ report warns of risks from online pharmacies “Nearly all of the world’s 35,000 online pharmacies are being run illegally and consumers who use them risk getting ineffective or dangerous drugs, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s annual report on “ notorious markets.” The report also singled out 19 countries over concerns about counterfeit or pirated products.
The report also named about three dozen online retailers, many of them in China or elsewhere in Asia that it said are allegedly engaged in selling counterfeit products or other illegal activities.
The report says 96% of online pharmacies were found to be violating the law, many operating without a license and selling medicines without prescriptions and safety warnings.”
About the public’s health
Want to start a fight among virus experts? Ask about HIV’s new name “Many new names sounded as if they'd been cooked up by a medieval monk. HIV-1 would henceforth be known as Lentivirus humimdef1. SARs-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid, would be known as Betacoronavirus pandemicum.”
Trips off the tip of the tongue?
About healthcare personnel
Medical schools report steep drop in enrollment of Black and Hispanic students after Supreme Court ruling “Enrollment of Black and Hispanic students in medical schools dropped precipitously last year after the Supreme Court banned the consideration of race in admissions, according to data released Thursday by the Association of American Medical Colleges.
The number of Black enrollees fell by 11.6% compared to last year, while the number of Hispanic enrollees decreased 10.8%. The numbers were even starker for Indigenous students; the number of American Indian or Alaska Natives dropped by 22.1%, while students who were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders dropped by 4.3%.”