Stay in the know with Becker's Hospital Review's weekly roundup of the nation's biggest healthcare news. Here's what you need to know this week.
1. CMS unveils new risk-based primary care model
CMS announced a new primary care initiative Monday designed to improve primary care by helping practices transition to value-based care models. The five-year model, Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+), builds on the Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative launched in late 2012.
2. UnitedHealth to exit 2 state ACA exchanges
UnitedHealth Group decided to pull out of the Affordable Care Act exchanges in Arkansas and Georgia in 2017. The insurer's decision to pull out of the Arkansas and Georgia markets means residents currently enrolled in one of those marketplace plans will have to choose a new health insurance provider next year, according to Bloomberg.
3. US payments on prescription drugs rose 12.2% in 2015
Total spending on prescription drugs in the U.S. increased by 12.2 percent in 2015 reaching nearly $425 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The spending growth on prescription drugs is consistent with that of recent years, fueled mostly by the introduction of expensive new drugs for cancer and infections, as well as rising prices for older therapies, according to research from IMS Health.
4. Feds want to revoke Theranos' lab license, ban founder Elizabeth Holmes
CMS plans to pull Palo Alto, Calif.-based blood-testing startup Theranos' federal license and prohibit the company's owners, including founder Elizabeth Holmes, from owning or operating any other lab for at least two years, according to The Wall Street Journal.
5. 60 senators ask CMS to postpone overall hospital quality star ratings
On Monday, 60 senators signed a letter urging CMS to delay the rollout of the overall hospital star ratings program scheduled to be released April 21. In the letter, senators expressed concern that the methodology in the hospital evaluations may result in an inaccurate ratings. They claim that not enough details behind the rating methodology have been released.
6. Zubik v. Burwell compromise must end controversy, administration says
The lawyers representing the government in Zubik v. Burwell told the U.S. Supreme Court that any compromise to resolve the case is only acceptable if it will end the legal controversy and ensure women can access contraceptive coverage in another way, according to The Washington Post.
7. Husband and wife allegedly bilked $45M from Medicare, kept indentured servant
Richard and Maribel Tinimbang, a Chicago couple, allegedly used their healthcare business to defraud Medicare of $45 million. In addition, the couple is accused of attempting to force a Filipino immigrant to work for them illegally.
8. Henry Ford Hospital uses bottled water, hand sanitizer due to water discoloration
Off-colored water came out of the taps at Detroit-based HenryFordHospital Wednesday, forcing patients and staff to use bottled water for drinking and hand sanitizer in lieu of hand-washing, according to a statement from the hospital.
9. Physician imposter treats patients in Michigan, helps steal $6.2M from Medicare
Cecil Alexander Kent Jr. of Eastlake, Ohio, pleaded guilty Monday to his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare of approximately $6.2 million while he posed as a licensed physician, according to the Department of Justice.
10. Child accidentally shot in Miss. hospital ER
A two-year-old girl suffered a superficial gunshot wound in the emergency room of MeritHealthCentralHospital in Jackson, Miss., after a gun in her mother's purse accidentally went off, according to The Clarion-Ledger.
11. Physician who claimed to have 11,000 patients could spend rest of life behind bars
A federal jury in Dallas found Jacques Roy, MD, guilty Wednesday in what is believed to be the nation's largest home healthcare fraud involving a single physician. Federal prosecutors said Dr. Roy and his cohorts used promises of cash, groceries and food stamps to recruit patients, including some of Dallas' homeless, as part of the $375 million fraud scheme.
12. Washington governor fires hospital CEO following patients' escape
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) fired the CEO of Western State Hospital, a Lakewood, Wash.-based psychiatric facility, after two patients deemed "dangerous" escaped last week, according to The Associated Press.