About health insurance/insurers
UnitedHealth Group posts $1.4B loss in Q1 amid Change cyberattack fallout “UnitedHealth Group released its first-quarter earnings Tuesday morning as the industry continues to reel from the massive cyberattack on its Change Healthcare unit.
UHG reported a loss of $1.4 billion in the quarter, compared to $5.6 billion in profit for the first quarter of 2023. Revenues reached $99.8 billion, up from $91.9 billion in the prior-year quarter. The hack was a major factor in the company's performance, along with the sale of its Brazil-based business Amil, which drove $7 billion charge in the quarter.”
Hackers leak Change Healthcare contracts, patient data “Hackers leaked contracts and patient records purportedly stolen in the Change Healthcare cyberattack, TechCrunch reported April 15.
Ransomware group RansomHub posted files on its dark web leak site April 15 comprising personal and protected health information on patients whose data was taken in the Change hack, according to the story. The files also include contracts and agreements between Change and its clients. It marked the first time hackers have posted data from the cyberattack.”
HSAs Reduce Use of Outpatient Services and Prescription Drugs, Increase Use of Inpatient Services; Overall Spending Unaffected A few highlights:
“• Office visits shifted from specialist visits to primary care visits among HSA plan enrollees.
• HSA plan enrollees filled fewer prescriptions as compared with PPO enrollees.
• Overall, HSA plan enrollment had no impact on total spending — there was no statistically significant difference in overall spending between HSA plan and PPO enrollees. However, spending was $60.30 or 2 percent lower PMPY among HSA plan enrollees with no health conditions as compared with PPO enrollees, but spending was $2,490 or 6 percent higher PMPY among HSA plan enrollees with two or more health conditions. This higher spending was driven by 21 percent higher spending on inpatient services.”
CMS delays implementation of new Medicare, Medicaid data rules “CMS will delay implementation of new policies designed to heighten security around Medicare and Medicaid data that drew criticism from researchers.
On April 15, the agency said it will delay implementation of the policies, originally slated to take effect in August, to 2025 at the earliest. CMS also extended the deadline for public comment on the rules to May 15.
The new proposal would up starting costs for Medicare and Medicaid data to $35,000 and allow only one researcher access to the requested data, which will be stored on a CMS platform. In January, more than 300 researchers signed a draft letter opposing the change, writing it would have a ‘catastrophic impact’ on health policy research, limiting access to data to institutions able to pay higher costs for it.”
Elevance Health strikes primary care deal with private equity firm “Elevance Health will enter a partnership with private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice to develop advanced primary care models.
The joint effort will operate across multiple states and commercial, individual, Medicare and Medicaid markets, according to an April 15 news release. The payer-agnostic platform will serve more than 1 million members, the companies said.
The deal is financed primarily "through a combination of cash and our equity interest in certain care delivery and enablement assets of Carelon Health," according to the news release. The two companies did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, and it is not expected to have a material impact on Elevance's 2024 earnings.”
About pharma
CVS' Oak Street Health to open clinics at retail pharmacies “CVS Health is opening Oak Street Health primary care clinics at its retail pharmacy stores — a move that hasn’t always worked out for competitors.
CVS acquired Chicago-based primary care provider Oak Street in May for $10.6 billion and announced plans to add 50 to 60 Oak Street clinics in 2024. Most of those clinics are expected to be standalone locations, including some located in closed CVS stores. But CVS also is piloting a setup that replaces much of the retail space in existing stores with clinics.”
Comment: It is unclear how this strategy/management will differ from the failing VillageMD efforts of Walgreens.
About the public’s health
Biden administration announces new partnership with 50 countries to stifle future pandemics “U.S. government officials will offer support in the countries, most of them located in Africa and Asia, to develop better testing, surveillance, communication, and preparedness for such outbreaks in those countries.”