Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Records System Epic Launches Lawsuit Over Illegally Accessed Files
Epic Systems, the company behind the largest electronic health records system in medicine, is suing health information network Health Gorilla and several of Health Gorilla鈥檚 clients over improperly accessing nearly 300,000 patient records managed by Epic. (Trang, 1/13)
Hospital officials and union leaders traded barbs Tuesday, but failed to return to the bargaining table on the second day of New York City鈥檚 biggest nursing strike in decades. The union accused one hospital, Mount Sinai, of illegally firing three nurses, though the medical center claimed the individuals had sabotaged emergency preparedness drills. Another hospital, Montefiore Medical Center, criticized what it described as the union鈥檚 鈥渞eckless demands鈥 and 鈥渢roubling proposals鈥 in contract talks. (Marcelo and Frederick, 1/13)
CommonSpirit Health plans to sell more facilities this year in an effort to boost the sprawling health system鈥檚 finances and expand its ambulatory network. It鈥檚 unclear whether it鈥檚 letting go of more hospitals. President and CEO Wright Lassiter told attendees at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Tuesday that the Chicago-based system will announce its plans in the next quarter. (Kacik, 1/13)
For the past few years, as Americans poured back into doctors鈥 offices and operating rooms, U.S. healthcare split into clear winners and losers. Hospitals and other providers鈥攂usinesses that make money on volume鈥攖hrived. Insurers, which bear the risk of paying for that care, didn鈥檛. (Wainer, 1/13)
On Medicare and Medicaid 鈥
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has thrown a lot of new payment models at providers and value-based care organizations since President Donald Trump returned to the White House a year ago. The agency鈥檚 Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation rolled out a slew of demonstrations in 2025, including a half a dozen in December alone. The healthcare sector is sorting through what it all adds up to as CMS strives to fulfill the agenda it announced last May. (Early, 1/13)
The Food and Drug Administration鈥檚 breakthrough device program continues to expand at a breakneck pace. Established to grease the wheels of regulatory conversation and submission for innovative devices that promise to help patients with debilitating disease, the FDA has stamped 1,176 products with the breakthrough label 鈥 and so far authorized 160 of them to enter the market. (Palmer, 1/14)
North Carolina has less than a year to implement a federal rule requiring 鈥渁ble-bodied鈥 Medicaid participants to prove they are working, volunteering or attending school for at least 80 hours a month. (Baxley, 1/14)
A growing sect of digital health companies see opportunity in helping providers navigate upcoming Medicaid funding cuts. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was signed into law last July includes more than $900 billion in federal funding cuts for Medicaid. There are also additional Medicaid reimbursement rate decreases happening in Idaho, North Carolina and elsewhere. These funding cuts are opening the door for digital health companies that work with Medicaid providers and health plans. (Famakinwa, 1/13)