The expansion was unveiled just over a week after Babylon, headquartered in London, announced three U.S.-based members to its C-suite.
Babylon Health, the U.K.-based health technology company, announced Thursday that it has expanded its value-based care model in California.
Babylon 360, the company's AI-powered value-based care platform, is being extended in the Golden State by a "multi-million dollar investment" from FirstChoice Medicare Group, a Fresno-based organization that services 50,000 Medicare Advantage and Medi-Cal members.
As part of the arrangement, Babylon will be connected with nearly 180 primary care providers and 1,000 specialists in the state. The company added that its digital-first offering will now reach nearly 120,000 covered lives.
The company made a similar deal to roll out services across 10 counties in southeast Missouri in mid-January.
Dr. Ali Parsa, CEO of Babylon, said in a statement that Babylon 360 aims to "create a holistic, easily accessible and affordable healthcare option that promotes prevention over the cure."
"We aim to bridge the gap between people and providers to create a seamless healthcare experience for all," Parsa said. "Therefore, we are honored to have the opportunity to partner with this pioneering network of members and doctors in Fresno, and aim to gradually introduce our Babylon 360 care model in California after the recent introduction of our end-to-end, digital-first services in Missouri."
The expansion was unveiled just over a week after Babylon, headquartered in London, announced three U.S.-based members will be added to its C-suite.
According to a company press release, Babylon is currently offering app-based services in New York, California, Missouri, Nevada, Iowa, and "building toward a 50-state network."
Outgoing Columbus Regional Health CFO Marlene Weatherwax opined on how healthcare finance has changed over the past few decades and what advice she'd give a young hospital CFO just starting out.
Marlene Weatherwax, CFO of Columbus Regional Health and a longtime member of the HealthLeaders Exchange, announced in January that she would be retiring this year.
Weatherwax's impending departure from the independent health system based in Columbus, Indiana brings an end to a more than 25-year healthcare finance career in the southeastern portion of the state.
Ahead of her upcoming retirement, Weatherwax shared her thoughts with HealthLeaders on how healthcare finance has changed over the past few decades and what advice she'd give a young hospital CFO just starting out.
This transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
HealthLeaders: After a 25-year career in healthcare finance leadership, what are the changes that most stand out to you?
Weatherwax: I came [to CRH] after DRGs were put into place. The biggest [factors] were owning physician practices, trying to align the physicians with the hospital, and implementing our Epic EHR system to try to get everybody on the same IT platform.
We completed our Epic implementation in July 2019, and we had all our employed physicians and the hospital on the same system. That was probably one of the biggest [factors,] and then trying to stay independent while continuously making improvements to the bottom line was the next biggest challenge.
HL: Independent hospitals like CRH were already dealing with tight financial margins prior to the pandemic, so what are your thoughts on what those provider organizations need to do to survive going forward?
Weatherwax: You have to always be rethinking [strategies,] be a little bit more innovative, always be improving your efficiency, and figure out new services that you and only you can provide.
[CRH] is a little bit lucky because we're in a pretty affluent town, although we do have our share of Medicaid and self-pay populations, so we take care of everybody from the poor to the rich in our city. [It's important] to make sure you've got that continued focus on expense improvements, while also figuring out how you can expand your services.
[Independent hospitals] must be creative. There are a couple of other hospitals in southeastern Indiana that also want to maintain their independence, and so we just have to figure out how we can collaborate and work better with them.
The other thing that I would say is that we have been fortunate to be part-owners of a health plan with a large health system in Indianapolis and one in Evansville.
We created a joint venture to start a Medicare Advantage program and there are smaller hospitals south of us that have ownership in managed care organizations which could bring the infrastructure to a Medicare Advantage program. I think that's probably the next venture: trying to figure out how you can supplement the hospital revenues with premium dollars, and how you can work to do some good population health. Entering that Medicare Advantage space, you have to get kind of creative with how you become both the insurer and the health provider.
HL: Looking back on your career, what are some of the highlights or moments you're most proud of?
Weatherwax: One of the things I'm most proud of is that I've been able to help our health system remain independent; I've been in this position for [more than] 20 years. In addition to COVID, we had another natural disaster that hit our hospital back in 2008.
We had a flood in Columbus, and the water came up through the basement into the first floor of the hospital which took out all the electrical and mechanical infrastructure. We were closed for five months while [the building] was being repaired. We were able to get FEMA assistance, so I worked hard because the flood insurance limits of our property and casualty insurance were only $25 million and the damages were over $100 million. We had to put a plan in place to scrape together the funds to cover that total loss. We were able to keep our employees on the payroll that whole time, we reopened, then we recovered from it.
Within five years, our cash position was back up to where it was before the flood. We were ready to look at providing some new services. We had expanded our cardiovascular program before the flood, but after the flood, we brought in some excellent medical and radiation oncologists to build our cancer program up again.
Then COVID-19 hit.
Within that short time frame, we were able to get about $9 million from the Provider Relief Fund. We did avail ourselves of the accelerated Medicare payments, but of course, those are just loans. Those helped stabilize our cash position, so we were able to make it through the first six to eight weeks of the shutdown period back in March and April [of 2020.]
We were able to maintain our cash position and we finished the end of the year with a positive EBITDA. We kept ourselves out of any trouble with our debt covenants and didn't have to borrow on any lines of credit or anything like that, so that was another thing I'm pretty proud of.
HL: Is there any advice that you've given or received during your time as a leader that you've been able to rely upon over the years?
Weatherwax: It's funny because, when I first started to attend the HealthLeaders CFO Exchange, I know it happened with me and it happened with other CFOs, we struck up pretty close friendships.
If you can make a connection with at least one other CFO that's in an area outside of your market, one that you can call on and you know they'll tell you how they're doing things in their market, it's good to network. Having their name, number, and having developed a relationship with them that you can call them, ask questions, and pick their brain is just a good thing to do.
HL: Do you have any advice for young CFOs who might be starting out at their first hospital or health system?
Weatherwax: Keep an open mind and try new things to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Attend some of these networking opportunities and develop some relationships with other CFOs across the country. Always be on the lookout for good educational opportunities because [dynamics] evolve so quickly that you've got to be up to speed and willing to learn new things.
You kind of have to reinvent what you're doing every four or five years because [dynamics] change so quickly.
HL: Do you have any parting advice for our audience of healthcare executives?
Weatherwax: I don't know that I have anything earth-shattering other than you just have to be prepared for anything. You also have to keep a positive attitude and have fun at work.
The HealthLeaders Exchange is an executive community for sharing ideas, solutions, and insights. Please join the community at our LinkedIn page.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will now have to move to discharge Becerra's nomination from the committee to a full floor vote.
The Senate Finance Committee recorded a tie vote on the nomination of Xavier Becerra, the Attorney General of California and President Joe Biden's choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Wednesday morning.
The Finance Committee voted 14-14 on Becerra's nomination in a party-line vote highlighting the partisan divide on Biden's choice to lead the nation's healthcare department.
The vote took place one week after two confirmation hearings were conducted, one in front of the Finance Committee while the other was in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will now have to move to discharge Becerra's nomination from the Finance Committee to a full floor vote.
Much like the committee vote, a floor vote is likely to further display the differences between Republicans and Democrats about how HHS should be run.
Last week, ahead of the confirmation hearings, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., issued a statement opposing Becerra's nomination.
"Mr. Becerra has no particular experience or expertise in health," McConnell said. "His chief passion project in California seemed to be using the force of government to attack Americans’ religious liberty and freedom of conscience."
Heritage Action for America, which launched advertising campaigns against Becerra's nomination prior to the confirmation hearings, rolled out new commercials this week targeting Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., ahead of a floor vote.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., a member of the Finance Committee, told a Fox News reporter Wednesday that Becerra is "not right for the job" and urged his colleagues to reject Biden's "hyper-partisan" nominee.
“This isn’t complicated: In the middle of a deadly global pandemic, Americans want their Department of Health and Human Services to be focused on health and human services — not culture wars," Sasse said.
In an interview with HealthLeaders last week, Roger Severino, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and former director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS under President Donald Trump, said Becerra's nomination was "imperiled and headed for defeat."
"In a time of a national pandemic, we should have somebody with experience and a focus on improving people's health, as opposed to a focus on expanding abortion on demand," Severino said. "Becerra's positions make him unfit for the position of HHS Secretary; the American people deserve better, especially in this time of crisis."
The ratings action came days after the Pennsylvania-based system announced a CEO transition.
Fitch Ratings downgraded Tower Health, the ratings agency announced Monday afternoon.
Fitch downgraded Tower's long-term issuer default rating (IDR) from 'BB+' to 'B+.' The rating outlook for the provider organization remains 'Negative.'
Fitch attributed its decision to Tower's ongoing financial issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as lingering "operational/integration challenges" from a 2017 acquisition of five hospitals in eastern Pennsylvania.
"Tower has significant size and scale, a strong regional presence, and a successful track record as a standalone provider at Reading Hospital," the report stated. "The system has made some balance sheet gains made through monetization of certain assets and an abundance of operational improvements. However, operational challenges and a lack of sufficiently rigorous expense cuts have put Tower's balance sheet on an inevitably downward path."
The report stated that Fitch previously anticipated Tower could improve its balance sheet and return to stability but noted that average monthly losses of $14 million "suggest that additional cost cutting and/or revenue enhancement is needed."
"The Negative Outlook reflects Tower's significant short-term financial strain and uncertainty about longer-term operational performance," the report stated. "Further multi-notch downgrades are possible if Tower is unable to execute on or adjust their current strategy and financial trajectory."
Additionally, S&P Global Ratings lowered its rating on Tower's taxable and tax-exempt bonds Tuesday afternoon, from 'BB+' to 'BB-.'
"The two-notch downgrade reflects our view of Tower Health's continued significant operating losses through the interim period ended Dec. 31, 2020, which have been higher than expected, coupled with recent resignations of members of the senior management team," Anne Cosgrove, a credit analyst for S&P Global Ratings, said in a statement.
The ratings action came days after the Pennsylvania-based system announced a CEO transition.
On February 22, the system named P. Sue Perrotty as interim president and CEO, following the announced retirement of CEO Clint Matthews.
Tower's CFO Gary Conner resigned in January while the organization announced plans to hire a restructuring advisor to assist in selling five of its Philadelphia-based hospitals.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include commentary from S&P Global Ratings.
Marketplace subsidy implementation was also associated with a 30% lower probability of catastrophic health expenditures among low-income adults.
Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace subsidies were associated with lower out-of-pocket spending among healthcare consumers, according to a Health Affairs study released Monday afternoon.
In reviewing survey data from 2008 to 2017, researchers found that marketplace subsidy implementation was associated with a 30% lower probability of catastrophic health expenditures among low-income adults, those at 139–250 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL).
Among that same group, individual marketplace subsidy implementation was also associated with a 17% drop in out-of-pocket spending.
Meanwhile, middle-income adults, those at 251–400% of the FPL, did not "experience reduced financial burden by either measure."
The study concluded that the marketplace subsidies are effective measures to assist healthcare consumers, especially low-income individuals, across the country.
"Amid efforts to undermine the ACA Marketplaces, including halting of cost-sharing subsidy payments to insurers and elimination of the individual mandate, our findings provide evidence that the Marketplace subsidies are advancing one of their central objectives: reducing the financial burden of health care for working-age people in the US," the researchers wrote.
The Health Affairs findings were released as the fate of the ACA rests with the Supreme Court, which heard a challenge to the constitutionality of the landmark healthcare law in November.
In an interview with HealthLeaders following the oral arguments in California v. Texas, Brenda Pawlak, managing director at Manatt Health, said that the potential repeal of the ACA is "frightening" for provider organizations because "somebody's going to have to pick up that cost and states are in such a crisis everywhere, so it's going to fall on hospitals."
This is also the latest Health Affairs research into the financial impact of ACA marketplace subsidies.
At the end of 2019, a study found premiums for subsidized health plans under the ACA fell more in rural markets than they did in urban markets from 2017 to 2019.
Monthly premiums fell from $288 in 2017 to $162 in 2019 for subsidy-eligible enrollees in rural markets.
One major announcement for UHS in Q4 was the appointment of Mark Friedlander, MD, MBA as the organization's CMO.
Universal Health Services, Inc., (UHS) recorded increases in net income and revenues during Q4 2020, according to the company's latest earnings reportreleased Thursday afternoon.
The King of Prussia, Pennsylvania–based hospital management company's net income topped $308 million, up more than $60 million year-over-year, while quarterly net revenues increased 6.6%, inching past $3 billion.
UHS stated that its net income benefited from a favorable impact of approximately $151.4 million due to $200 million grant revenues from the CARES Act.
Meanwhile, the cyberattack on the company in September resulted in an unfavorable estimated impact of $42.1 million, according to the company. For the full year, UHS estimated that the cyberattack resulted in a pre-tax unfavorable impact of $67 million.
Additionally, the company stated that the ongoing vaccination effort is likely to ease the number of patients infected with COVID-19 being admitted to UHS facilities but added that the pace is difficult to predict.
"The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken in response thereto impact our business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on numerous factors and future developments, most of which are beyond our control or ability to predict," the report stated. "The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is highly uncertain and subject to change. We are not able to fully quantify the impact that these factors will have on our future financial results, but expect developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic to materially affect our financial performance in 2021."
One major announcement for UHS in Q4 was the appointment of Mark Friedlander, MD, MBA as the organization's CMO.
"The vision needs to recognize that behavioral health patients have a chronic condition that is going to keep coming back," Friedlander told HealthLeaders Clinical Care Editor Chris Cheney in December. "These conditions not only affect individuals but also their families, their friends, and their jobs. These conditions do not occur in isolation. They are impacted by social determinants of health, health literacy, and access to care—those factors are aspects of the mission that UHS has for behavioral health."
Virtua Health CFO Robert Segin details how the New Jersey-based health system endured the most recent COVID-19 surge and how the organization continues to provide care and resources to its communities.
Like many provider organizations, the winter surge of COVID-19 cases presented Virtua Health with some of the most challenging circumstances since the pandemic began last spring.
Virtua, a five-hospital health system based in Marlton, New Jersey, saw "dramatic" spikes in infections and inpatient hospitalizations following Thanksgiving and Christmas, according to Robert Segin, the organization's CFO.
Despite the operational changes related to the virus, Segin said the current situation highlights how well Virtua and other provider organizations have adapted to working through the pandemic.
Months removed from having to contact non-traditional vendors and face record-high prices to secure PPE in a moment of crisis, Segin said Virtua is back to negotiating with its primary and secondary supply chain contacts.
Additionally, the system has been operating one of New Jersey’s four vaccination mega-sites at the location of a former Lord & Taylor store in the Moorestown Mall in Burlington County. Segin said Virtua is distributing almost 2,000 vaccines per day at the location, which is being run by existing staff within the organization.
Speaking with HealthLeaders earlier this month, as the inpatient volume of COVID-19 cases at Virtua decreased, Segin detailed how the New Jersey-based health system endured the most recent COVID-19 surge this winter as well as how it continues to provide care and resources to its communities.
System status update
Coming off an arduous 2020, Segin said Virtua leadership was trying to map out a realistic path for the organization in 2021.
An unexpected bright side to the pandemic is that Virtua, like many hospitals, is not seeing as many flu cases this year, a trend Segin attributed to social distancing measures and mask-wearing.
Still, Segin said it was difficult to budget for 2021 given that the pandemic was so unprecedented in its nature.
"Basically, we took where our volumes stood at around the September time point and we said that was probably when we were most stable in the organization. [It was] not quite getting back the 2020 budgeted levels but getting more towards 90% to 95% of budgeted levels. We felt that that would be an appropriate volume marker to establish our volumes projecting up to 2021," Segin said. "From an expense standpoint, we implemented what was called ‘Lights on Incorporated.’ Basically, what expenses do [departments] need to cut to keep the lights on and keep the organization functioning, without any additional amenities? We were looking at significant corporate reductions across the board, of which, fortunately, all the leaders stepped up and achieved."
Segin said Virtua’s corporate and operations departments did their parts, working to reduce length of stay metrics, as well as reconfiguring staffing and overtime. He mentioned that Virtua is now projecting a breakeven operating budget for 2021.
This is a welcome dynamic shift from last spring when Segin said the only thing he was thinking about was Virtua’s "survival."
Virtua experienced financial stresses related to the outbreak and subsequent suspension of elective procedures, a main revenue generator for provider organizations. Segin said Virtua did not have control of its profit and loss statement (P&L), expenses fluctuated for both staffing and PPE considerations, and the cost of treating a patient infected with COVID-19 remained unknown.
Segin said that while there were several financial factors out of his control, having strong liquidity allowed Virtua to navigate the market volatility even before the federal government passed the CARES Act.
As hospitals and health systems emerge from the pandemic, there is a growing expectation that there will be increased consolidation across the provider community. While Segin said that there could be an uptick, he added that the south New Jersey market is "somewhat stable" and that he doesn't expect significant M&A moves.
Thoughts on the vaccine rollout
According to Segin, Virtua is hosting a vaccination mega-site at the request of the state government, which means the organization is not guaranteed reimbursement for its services.
However, Segin noted Virtua has reached out to its payers to request reimbursement at the Medicare vaccination rate, a request which has been accepted by most insurers.
Segin said the organization’s primary mission is still to vaccinate as many New Jersey residents as possible but added that even if Virtua faces a shortfall related to vaccination reimbursement, the system could recover 75% of its shortfall through FEMA.
Looking at the broader vaccination effort, Segin said Virtua had vaccinated more than 50,000 residents by mid-February, though he noted that there is "always the need for more vaccines."
The logistics for establishing a vaccination mega-site also required Virtua to overcome some unexpected obstacles.
Segin stated that Virtua had to establish a scheduling system for its patients through Epic, which doesn’t have a ‘Ticketmaster-style’ scheduling function. He said the organization’s IT department worked with the EMR provider to create an efficient registration operation.
Anticipating a stimulus and investing in SDOH
While another COVID-19 relief stimulus package is being debated in Washington, D.C., Segin said Virtua would welcome additional financial assistance, but isn’t counting on it and hasn’t budgeted for additional federal funding.
"The other issue that's up in the air is the discussion about [health] systems that have received Medicare advance payments through the CARES Act, and the possibility of that being permanently given as revenue," Segin said. "That hasn't been resolved yet, but there's been some talk at the congressional level about that, and if it happens, it would be wonderful, but if it doesn’t, it won’t materially harm Virtua."
Outside of the organization’s continuing response to the pandemic, Virtua has focused on addressing the social determinants of health (SDOH) through its food access programs, including the Eat Well Mobile Grocery Store, which was announced in October and launched this winter.
Segin said that the organization was analyzing how to invest in its community even prior to the pandemic, which exposed significant racial health disparities in cities across the country. He also noted that Camden, New Jersey, a city with more than 70,000 residents, does not a have a supermarket or grocery store, effectively making it a food desert.
When Virtua CEO Dennis Pullin, FACHE presented the concept to the Virtua Foundation, Segin said donors stepped up to cover the capital expenses, which included a $1 million renovation of the mobile grocery bus donated from New Jersey Transit.
"Operationally, we have a department that takes care of food insecurities, not only through the bus, but through a local grocery store, and pantries within our hospitals," Segin said. "With the partners that we purchased the food from, we don't mark that food up, we sell it at that purchase price. It's a model that in the end, we'll probably lose some money on, but it's not going to be materially significant. It's our way of giving back to the community."
The Purchase, New York–based telemedicine company saw its total visits increase 156% last year.
Teladoc Health finished 2020 with more than $1 billion in total revenue, according to the telemedicine company's earnings report released Wednesday afternoon.
Teladoc Health benefited from the virtual care services boom related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as full year access fees revenue rose 107% year-over-year, while visit fee revenue increased 132%.
The Purchase, New York–based telemedicine company saw its total visits increase 156% last year.
The company's U.S. paid membership hit 51.8 million at the end of 2020, a 41% increase compared to the membership at the end of 2019. Additionally, the company's visit fee only access membership rose 10%.
Despite the positive growth metrics, Teladoc Health's net loss ballooned from $19 million in Q4 2019 to $394 million in Q4 2020. Similarly, the full year net loss topped $485 million.
The company stated that this was partially affected by the acquisition and integration-related costs associated with the Livongo merger announced in Q3 2020.
C-suite perspective:
"As virtual care shifted to become a consumer expectation in 2020, Teladoc Health not only met the rapidly growing demand, but we transformed our company to define a new category of whole-person virtual care," Jason Gorevic, CEO of Teladoc Health, said in a statement. "By accelerating our mission to transform the health care experience, we exceeded our fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 expectations and see strong momentum across our global business in 2021 as the market embraces the breadth and depth of our unique capabilities."
Like the net loss, Teladoc's EBITDA was a loss of $421.5 million in Q4 2020, one year after posting a $5.7 million EBITDA loss.
However, the company's adjusted EBITDA rose during both Q4 2020 and for the full year.
Forward looking, the company projected total revenue to be between $1.95 billion to $2 billion for the full year.
Teladoc Health's total U.S. paid membership is projected to be in the range of 52 million to 54 million members, with total visits between 12 million to 13 million.
Despite the positive financial metrics, the company did see its net loss grow to nearly $36 million during the quarter, as well as its net loss per basic and diluted share, which reached $0.43.
Becerra testified in front of the Senate Finance Committee ahead of a likely confirmation vote.
Xavier Becerra, the Attorney General of California and President Joe Biden's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), testified in front of the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday afternoon ahead of a likely confirmation vote.
This was the second confirmation hearing for Becerra; he spoke in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Tuesday morning.
As was the case during the first hearing, questions during Wednesday's hearing centered around Becerra's plan to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the Biden administration's plan to build on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), reduce racial health disparities, and monitor healthcare consolidation.
In contrast to the HELP hearing, there was also an increased focus on the federal government's role in funding mental health services and Becerra's record on abortion rights.
Becerra also promised that the Office of Minority Health would have "real prominence" if he is confirmed as HHS Secretary.
Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked if the Biden administration would support the Wyden-Grassley bipartisan prescription drug bill, to which Becerra promised to work together in an effort to lower costs for consumers. Becerra also told Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that he would work to curb prescription drug shortages.
In response to another question from Grassley, Becerra highlighted his work to protect rural providers and combat industry consolidation as California Attorney General. He underscored the importance of rural hospitals and the social determinants of health (SDOH) in response to a question from Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wy.
"Any time a community is impacted where it loses jobs, access to care, schools, you're going to see an impact," Becerra said. "I want to make sure that we're doing everything possible so that families, wherever they locate, have the opportunities that we expect in America,"
Becerra told Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., that he was committed to supporting the 340B Drug Pricing Program and will seek to boost telehealth, adding that virtual care services will only continue to expand.
Regarding health insurance, Becerra committed to Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, that he would hold private payers accountable and reign in Medicare overpayments to protect consumers.
Csrxp cheers Becerra agenda
Lauren Aronson, executive director for the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP), a coalition that claims PCMA, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the American Hospital Association, and other major industry groups as members, told HealthLeaders that Becerra will "provide the leadership necessary advance the public health of our nation."
Aronson said that the organization hopes Becerra will continue two policies promoted by former HHS Secretary Alex Azar: increasing manufacturer liability in the catastrophic phase of Medicare Part D and efforts to bring transparency to list prices by requiring drug companies to disclose prices in direct-to-consumer advertising.
"CSRxP looks forward to working with Attorney General Becerra and the administration to advance market-based solutions to lower prescription drug prices, cut through drug companies’ blame game by pulling back the misguided rebate rule and hold Big Pharma accountable," Aronson said. "It will be particularly critical for the next HHS secretary to encourage greater prescription drug pricing transparency, foster generic and biosimilar competition and crack down on Big Pharma’s egregious price-gouging and anti-competitive practices."
Former Trump HHS official bashes Becerra nomination
Roger Severino is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C., directing the organization's HHS Accountability Project. Severino previously served as director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS under President Donald Trump.
Severino told HealthLeaders that Becerra is "unfit for the role" and that his nomination is "imperiled and headed for defeat."
Severino, like many Republican senators in both confirmation hearings, cast doubt on Becerra's qualifications to lead HHS, stating that he "just doesn't have the experience" to "lead the largest health organization in the world" during a pandemic.
He also described Becerra as a "cultural warrior" rather than a public health advocate.
"In a time of a national pandemic, we should have somebody with experience and a focus on improving people's health, as opposed to a focus on expanding abortion on demand," Severino said. "Becerra's positions make him unfit for the position of HHS Secretary; the American people deserve better, especially in this time of crisis."
Microsoft made the announcement while rolling out three new cloud offerings for financial services, manufacturing companies, and nonprofits.
Microsoft announced the first update to its Cloud for Healthcare offering Wednesday morning.
The technology company first announced its Cloud for Healthcare in October 2020 as a software offering to support provider organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first update will be available in April and include new features for "virtual health, remote patient monitoring, care coordination and patient self-service, and support for eight new languages."
"Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is helping clinicians stay connected across the health system, and to their patients by offering new home health care plan management applications and remote patient monitoring features," Tom McGuiness, corporate vice president of global healthcare at Microsoft, said in a statement. "We’re providing robust functionality in dynamics 365 care management features that allow care managers to develop and follow-through on care plan activities and goals, set timeline views of the patient care plans,and improve workflow efficiency with the ability to view clinical events sequentially to discern the best next step in care, and avoid costly duplication."
In a press release, Microsoft included commentary from healthcare organizations using its Cloud for Healthcare service, including Providence St. Joseph, one of the nation's largest nonprofit health systems based in Rendon, Washington.
“At Providence, our vision of health for a better world drives us to continuously innovate on behalf of our caregivers and patients. As part of our journey to simplify, modernize and innovate across our technology ecosystem, we are proud to have adopted many Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare solutions, as well as contributed to the development of key capabilities of the platform,"B.J. Moore, CIO of Providence St. Joseph Health, said in a statement. "By bringing together the right technology and data at the point of care, we are empowering clinicians on the front lines. The Microsoft and Providence strategic partnership proved to be invaluable to us during this critical time for our communities and patients during the pandemic and economic crisis. The partnership has enabled remote work with Office 365 and Teams, and we are using predictive modeling leveraging Azure machine learning and AI to manage precious resources like PPE, ventilators and ICU bed utilization."
Microsoft announced its cloud update one week after LinkedIn announced that it would use its platform to connect vaccination volunteers with "paid support opportunities" in an effort to mitigate the damage of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.