Health Care Matters | September 27, 2024
Government Shutdown Averted
On Wednesday, September 25th, Congress approved a stop-gap spending bill to fund the government through December 20th at current levels. This pushes additional funding and legislative priorities until after the November election. The bill secured increased funding for the U.S. Secret Service but did not include a rider championed by members of the GOP to require proof of citizenship at the ballot box. The bill also did not include additional funding for the VA to address a $12 billion shortfall.
Why It Matters
There are a number of health care priorities that have now been pushed into the lame duck session of Congress to be included in an end-of-year funding bill where a lot will depend on the outcome of the November election for both houses of Congress and the President.
Steward Health Care CEO Held in Contempt of Congress
This week, the Senate voted unanimously to hold Ralph de la Torre, the CEO of Steward Health Care in criminal contempt for failing to appear after being issued a congressional subpoena in July. This is the first time in over half a century that the Senate referred a contempt charge for criminal prosecution. The subpoena was issued as members of the HELP committee held hearings related to Steward’s bankruptcy filing and impending collapse with heartbreaking testimony around how patients were put in peril or in some cases died due to lack of medical equipment and staffing shortages. Two Steward hospitals have closed in Massachusetts this month while the CEO received upwards of $250 million in compensation over the last 4 years.
Why It Matters
The HELP committee hearing on Steward Health Care Bankruptcy, held on September 12th, revealed how management decisions with the health system had a direct effect on patient care including executive compensation and private equity investments. During the hearing, Senator Markey stated that “Steward, led by its founder and CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre and his corporate enablers, looted hospitals across the country for their own profit. While they got rich, workers, patients and communities suffered.” Over the summer, Senator Markey introduced a Health Over Wealth Act requiring increased transparency, and regulations around private-equity owned health care entities. While this bill has not moved forward, there is a growing scrutiny by Congress and regulators that some additional guardrails or transparency requirements for private-equity investment in health care is needed.
What We Are reading
Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing U.S. Health System
This is the Commonwealth Fund’s eighth comparison of health systems performance across ten nations, it offers areas of improvement for the U.S. health care system.
Medicare Advantage Quality Bonus Payments Will Total at Least $11.8 Billion in 2024
The KFF analyzes Medicare Advantage (MA) quality bonus payments for 2024.
What We Are Listening To
A Health Podyssey: Melissa Aldridge on Private Equity Acquisitions Of Hospices
Health Affairs' Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interviews Melissa Aldridge of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and James J. Peters Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center about her recent paper exploring the increasing trend of private equity acquisitions of hospices and how ownership structures still remain complex and opaque.
