�鶹Ů��

Johnson & Johnson is opening a new front in the pharmaceutical industry’s fight against lucrative drug discounts for hospitals. Johnson & Johnson told certain hospitals around the U.S. Friday, in a letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, they will have to pay full price for two drugs that the company has sold at a discount under the drug-savings program and can apply later for a rebate. (Evans and Loftus, 8/23)

A U.S. government agency said that a planned move by Johnson & Johnson to alter payment methods for some hospitals participating in a controversial drug discount program was “inconsistent” with federal law and requires approval before the company can proceed. (Silverman, 8/23)

Nestle intends to keep its Health Science unit, Chairman Paul Bulcke said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday, after the food giant announced it was replacing its CEO Mark Schneider with company veteran Laurent Freixe. The health business is among the Nestle units which some analysts say could be sold over the medium turn. (8/25)

A select group of private equity-backed physician practices benefited from the federal process for resolving billing disputes for out-of-network care, collecting payouts well above what insurers would have paid in-network, an analysis of 2023 data shows. (Bettelheim, 8/26)

Now that the U.S. government has negotiated prices for some Medicare program drugs effective in 2026, Wall Street analysts are betting on a 2027 list that will include Novo Nordisk's blockbuster (NOVOb.CO) Ozempic for diabetes and have a limited impact on Big Pharma. Other possible 2027 candidates include Pfizer's (PFE.N) cancer drugs Ibrance and Xtandi, GSK's (GSK.L) asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ... according to five analysts as well as researchers and company executives. (Erman, 8/23)

Although federal law requires insurers to provide the same access to mental and physical health care, these companies have been caught, time and again, shortchanging customers with mental illness — restricting coverage and delaying or denying treatment. These patients — whose disorders can be chronic and costly — are bad for business, industry insiders told ProPublica. (Waldman, Miller, Blau and Eldeib, 8/25)

Many for-profit nursing homes may not be following federal rules requiring infection control workers, according to a government audit. ... Some for-profit nursing homes have failed to designate a person responsible for their infection prevention and control programs, while others tapped people for the role who had not completed specialized training, according to a report the Health and Human Services Department Office of Inspector General published this week. (Devereaux, 8/23)

Around 8 million Medicare-eligible adults have two or more chronic conditions and functional impairments that make it hard for them to leave their homes to seek care, according to healthcare research and advisory firm ATI Advisory. However, providing regular, home-based primary care to manage these complex patients can be difficult and unprofitable for providers through traditional fee-for-service Medicare. That is why some home-based primary care practices are trying to negotiate value-based contracts with Medicare Advantage carriers. (Eastabrook, 8/23)

The new CEO of hospital-at-home technology company Medically Home, Graham Barnes, is focused on reducing the cost of home-based care and extending it to more health systems. Boston-based Medically Home provides the technology platform and some staffing that helps about 20 health systems to extend hospital-level care to patients where they live. (Eastabrook, 8/22)