Read today’s Kaiser Health News
In other news:
4% of Health Spending Goes to Primary Care: In both ESI [employer sponsored insurance] and Medicare FFS, the share of primary care spending decreased slightly from 2018 to 2022 (see Figure 1). The share of primary care spending in ESI decreased by 11% (from 4.93% to 4.39%) while the share in Medicare decreased 9% (from 4.24% to 3.86%).
PROMoting quality of care through patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) From the OECD, a study of 38 countries. See the Executive Summary on page 6.
About health insurance/insurers
Medicaid Demonstrations:Information on Administrative Spending for Georgia Work Requirements: Administrative spending for the demonstration was $54.2 million out of the $80.3 million in total demonstration spending in the first 4.5 years, according to data reported by Georgia to CMS. The majority of the administrative spending ($47.4 million or about 88 percent) was financed by federal dollars.
Comment: Is the cure worse than the alleged disease?
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Premier to go private in $2.6B deal: Charlotte, N.C.-based Premier, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of Patient Square Capital in a $2.6 billion all-cash transaction, according to a Sept. 22 news release.
The deal would take the publicly traded company private and end its listing on the NASDAQ. The news comes after Premier reported net fourth quarter revenue of $262.9 million, a 12% drop year over year. Michael Alkire, Premier’s president and CEO, said the company faced contract renewal headwinds in the quarter.
11 most common sentinel events in 2024: Joint Commission: In 2024, healthcare facilities voluntarily reported 1,575 serious harmful events to The Joint Commission, which has been tracking sentinel events since 1996.
The Joint Commission defines a sentinel event as a patient safety event that results in severe temporary harm, permanent harm or death. Because the reports are voluntary, the organization says its dataset represents a small portion of actual sentinel events and that “no conclusions should be drawn about the actual relative frequency of events or trends in events over time.”
Of the 1,575 events, 21% were associated with patient death, 49% with severe harm, 21% with moderate harm, 5% with mild harm, 2% with psychological harm and 2% with no harm, according to the commission’s report.
Comment: By far, the most common event is the “falls” category.
More hospitals to face high readmission penalties in fiscal 2026: …preliminary data released Friday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services showed the number of hospitals set to pay penalties of 1% or more under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program will increase to 8.1%, or 240 hospitals, in fiscal 2026 compared to 7%, or 208 hospitals, in fiscal 2025.
Hospital Staffing and Patient Outcomes After Private Equity Acquisition: fter private equity acquisition, hospitals on average reduced salaries and staffing relative to nonacquired hospitals, notably in the EDs and ICUs, which are higher-acuity and staffing-sensitive areas. This decreased capacity to deliver care may explain the increased patient transfers to other hospitals, shortened ICU lengths of stay, and increased ED mortality.
About pharma
Pfizer to buy obesity-focused Metsera in $4.9 billion deal: Pfizer, which has struggled in the race for new obesity drugs, said Monday it would buy the biotech Metsera, picking up a range of experimental weight loss medicines.
Pfizer is paying $47.50 a share in cash for Metsera, a 43% premium on the startup’s closing price on Friday; the price gives the deal an enterprise value of $4.9 billion. The pact also includes a contingent value right worth up to $22.50 a share based on potential clinical and regulatory milestones for Metsera’s medicines.
About the public’s health
National action plans on antimicrobial resistance have had no impact on antibiotic sales: An analysis of antibiotic sales data from 37 countries found that implementation of national action plans (NAPs) for addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was not associated with changes in antibiotic sales…
About healthcare personnel
Doctors could qualify for exemptions …from the Trump administration’s new $100,000 fee for high-skilled H-1B visa applications, the White House said Monday, after some of the biggest medical bodies called out the risk to rural America where there’s already a dearth of providers. The executive order released Friday said that the application fees can be waived if the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that the hiring of these workers on an individual basis, or to work for a specific company or industry, is “in the national interest.”