Baystate Health is cutting nearly 100 corporate positions as the hospital group works to address its financial problems. Baystate Health says the staff reduction impacts less than 1% of their workforce with 98 corporate positions being eliminated. In November, Baystate Health cut another 134 leadership positions. Some of the impacted positions are currently vacant and will no longer be filled, but there are also individuals leaving Baystate. Baystate Health says they are working to find alternate positions for people whose jobs were eliminated. Eligible employees who are not moved to other positions will receive severance pay and other job support, including access to career transition services.
Mehmet Oz, the doctor and TV personality known as Dr. Oz, has started meeting with senators to garner support for his nomination to lead CMS. Oz was on Capitol Hill Tuesday and told POLITICO he met with key moderate Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). His visit coincided with the Senate Finance Committee's narrow vote to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to serve as HHS secretary. The Finance Committee will also decide whether Oz will lead CMS. President Donald Trump named Oz to lead CMS in November.
Negotiations between bankrupt hospital owner Prospect Medical Holdings and the Pennsylvania attorney general over Crozer Health's transfer to a new nonprofit "hit a snag" over the weekend, Prospect's lawyer told a bankruptcy judge Monday. Prospect will be back in federal court Thursday to either ask for a 30-day extension of bankruptcy funding for Crozer or with a plan for shutting down the Delaware County hospitals, Prospect's lawyer, Thomas R. Califano, of Sidley Austin, told the judge. "I really hope it's not the agreed shutdown," he said. Califano said Prospect and the Pennsylvania attorney general's office worked over the weekend. He did not say what the snag was. On Friday, Prospect put out a news release saying it had reached a deal to transfer Crozer Health to a "not-for-profit consortium of health-care operators" with state support, even though no agreement had been reached.
Airica Steed, who became CEO of MetroHealth in December 2022 and was fired less than two years later, sued the public hospital's board Monday. Steed alleges in the lawsuit that she was subjected to racial discrimination and fired by the board unlawfully while on medical leave despite having received positive performance reviews. She also claims that the board retaliated against her after she raised concerns about racial discrimination within the executive ranks and about missing public records; the board made public comments after her firing that harmed her reputation; and the board leaked her travel expenses to reporters to make her look bad.
Teladoc Health on Wednesday announced it will acquire the preventative care company Catapult Health in an all-cash deal for $65 million. Catapult offers an at-home wellness exam that allows members to check their blood pressure, collect a blood sample, log other screening information and meet virtually with a nurse practitioner. Teladoc, a virtual care platform, said the acquisition will help it improve its ability to detect health conditions early. The company said Catapult will operate within its integrated care segment after the deal closes. At JPMorgan's healthcare conference in January, Teladoc said it is actively working to grow membership and use of services within its integrated care segment.
Disruption of patient care because of UnitedHealthcare's denial rates and long wait times for payment “remain a sticking point” in negotiations with the insurer, Oregon Health & Science University says. OHSU has warned 74,000 patients covered by UnitedHealthcare that they may lose access to OHSU hospitals and clinics unless difficult negotiations result in an agreement before the existing contract expires March 31. "Operational and financial issues in the UnitedHealthcare contracts have resulted in significant disruption of patient care, which OHSU finds unacceptable and remains a sticking point in negotiations," an OHSU spokeswoman says.