Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mayo Clinic To Build $5 Billion Health Care Campus In Minnesota
A $5 billion plan to redesign Mayo Clinic’s Rochester campus will attempt to upend the traditional health care model where patients ping-pong between buildings and appointments and replace it with health care neighborhoods that bring services to patients based on their clinical needs. (Richert, 11/28)
Mayo Clinic will spend $5 billion to reinvent its flagship medical campus in Rochester, Minn., infusing digital technologies into several new buildings designed to present a 21st-century vision of clinical care, the organization said Tuesday. (Ross, 11/28)
More health care industry news —
Kaiser has bought a big chunk of San Jose land, paving the way for a possible expansion by the health care titan in a deal that also jolts prior plans for an office project on the choice site. ... Kaiser Foundation Health Plan paid $43.5 million for the vacant site, according to documents filed on Nov. 21 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office. Hudson Pacific Properties, acting through an affiliate, sold the land. (Avalos, 11/28)
Community Health Systems wants to get back to acquiring hospitals, President and Chief Financial Officer Kevin Hammons said Tuesday. In the past year, Community Health Systems has sought buyers for multiple facilities, including hospitals in Florida, West Virginia and North Carolina. But it's not all cuts, Hammons said Tuesday during a presentation at the Bank of America Securities Leveraged Finance Conference. The health system has also pursued acquisition opportunities, although none have come to fruition. (Hudson, 11/28)
Attorney General Letitia James is warning New Yorkers affected by a medical company's data breach to take action to prevent identity theft. In May 2023, the medical transcription company Perry Johnson & Associates became aware of a breach affecting their systems. Some of the breached data included social security numbers, insurance information and clinical information from medical transcription files. (11/28)
Health systems and academic medical centers have navigated complex partnerships for decades, and many of the partners argue the reward is worth the risk. Despite the potential financial challenges of those agreements, as illustrated by the latest development between Fairview Health Services and the University of Minnesota, the affiliations are expected to continue. (Kacik, 11/28)
It's passed medical licensing exams. It's advanced how researchers develop new medicines and cut down on doctors' hefty paperwork. And it's nudged health care closer to a world where AI can offer diagnoses. One year after OpenAI's ChatGPT exploded onto the scene, the generative AI model is already upending health care — an industry not exactly known for its speedy adoption of tech — while accelerating questions about AI's promises and limitations. (Reed, 11/29)
Also —
Hennepin Healthcare employees say they aren't happy. Tuesday morning, several union members representing nurses, EMTs, paramedics and other hospital employees gathered to shared their vote of "no confidence" in Hennepin Healthcare's CEO. "At this point the decision is do you stay at Hennepin or do you leave?" Minnesota Nurses Association co-chair with HCMC Janell Johnson Theile said. (Leone, 11/28)
Healthcare unions have scored major contract wins amid a wave of labor action across the U.S. and used their muscle to push beyond priorities such as pay and staffing and secure guarantees that their employers will take action to promote health equity. ... While those contracts include pay boosts and similar provisions, they went further by creating power-sharing arrangements, accountability structures, and policies and programs related to racial justice and community health. (Hartnett, 11/28)