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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will cut short a big experiment to try and change the way dialysis is done in the U.S. The agency, led by Mehmet Oz, will end its End-Stage Renal Disease Treatment Choices (ETC) model on Dec. 31, according to a final rule published in the Federal Register last week. (Cueto, 12/1)

Medicare reimbursements to home health providers will dip 1.3% next year under a final rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published Friday. The pay cut is substantially smaller than the 6.4% reduction the agency proposed in June. Under the Patient-Driven Groupings Model for home health, Medicare reimburses based on patient characteristics, rather than volume of visits. CMS asserts this policy, which it began implementing in 2020, is necessary to curb “upcoding” by providers. (Early, 12/1)

The CMS Innovation Center has debuted a new model to encourage the use of technology to treat chronic diseases that could be a boon for health tech companies that have struggled with reimbursement. The Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions (ACCESS) Model is a 10-year payment program that would offer stable, recurrent payment for technology used to treat diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, obesity, depression and anxiety. (Beavins, 12/1)

Genesis HealthCare, a large, troubled nursing home chain with 49 facilities across New England and a history of serious health violations, succeeded in an unusual legal action — selling the chain to itself in bankruptcy court, according to documents made public Monday. The complex and controversial move, if approved on Dec. 10 by a judge in the Texas bankruptcy proceedings, would wipe out much of the liability claims against the company, which has roughly 175 facilities nationwide. Many of those claims are from families who accused Genesis facilities of negligent care that harmed patients or resulted in their death. (Lazar, 12/1)

An anonymous donation expected to exceed $50 million is helping cover tuition costs for medical laboratory science students at the University of Washington for the next half-century. The dean of the university’s School of Medicine, Dr. Tim Dellit, made the surprise announcement Monday to about 30 grateful undergrads, who will each see two quarters’ worth of tuition covered for their senior-year clinical rotations, The Seattle Times reported. “I’m really shocked,” said Jasmine Wertz, eyes filling with tears. “Overwhelmed. Extremely grateful.” (12/2)

A new study finds that the COVID-19 pandemic narrowed the wage gap between high and low paid workers in the health care industry, as the lowest earners saw the biggest boost in pay in the years since the pandemic began. The findings show a sharp disruption of a decades-long trend in which the wage gap had consistently widened, with high income earners enjoying the biggest pay gains. (Work, 12/1)

A former mental health counselor at a Chicago behavioral health hospital has been charged with sexually assaulting five boys during his time there, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. (Schencker, 12/1)

Amid ongoing concern over conflicts of interest that may affect medical practice, a new study found that 14% of the $4.5 million paid to authors in two leading psychiatry journals was undisclosed and nearly all of the payments were made to researchers conducting randomized controlled trials for pharmaceuticals. (Silverman, 12/1)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: They Need A Ventilator To Stay Alive. Getting One Can Be A Nightmare

On vacation in Mexico last year, Michael DiPlacido passed out twice while scuba diving and again in his hotel. Back in St. Louis, doctors diagnosed him with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, an incurable disease that often requires mechanical ventilation. When his son Adam DiPlacido tried to find a permanent place to care for his father, who now needed a ventilator to breathe through a tracheostomy tube, he discovered none of Missouri’s nearly 500 nursing homes could take him. (Rau, 12/2)

Alleged gunman Luigi Mangione will be back in court Tuesday for a second day of testimony as the judge overseeing his state murder case weighs whether to throw out key evidence. (Scannell and Brown, 12/2)