UPCOMING ABL-HEALTH
ROUND TABLES

Now that we're beginning to launch our In-Person "Reunion" Round Tables (for the fully-vaccinated), please read your invitation closely, so you'll know when your Table will be held exclusively on ZOOM, or if you'll be able to "reunite" In Person - with a ZOOM/Hybrid option. Also, to receive an invitation to a ZOOM Table you would like to attend, please email [email protected] for details.


• 6/08 - ABL-Health SV & OAK Combined ZOOM Table - Discussion Topic: "Overcoming Challenges" - Featured Guest Speaker: Cheryl Reinking, CNO, El Camino Health on "The Making of a 5-Star Hospital" & "Lessons from El Camino's COVID-19 Pandemic Incident Command Center"


• 6/09 - ABL-Health SF ZOOM Table - Discussion Topic: "Getting Back to Not-Quite-Normal" - Featured Guest Speaker: Chris Dyer, CEO of PeopleG2 and bestselling author of Remote Work


• 6/18 - ABL-Health LA REUNION ROUND Table - Discussion Topic: "Post-COVID Lessons in Negotiation" - Featured Member Presenter: Melissa Hanna, JD, CEO of Mahmee


• 7/07 - ABL-Health OC REUNION ROUND Table - Discussion Topic: "Medi-Cal's CalAIM Initiative & Its Impact on You" - Featured Member Presenter: Greg Buchert, MD, GSB Health Management Solutions


• Explore Membership in ABL's Executive Round Tables >>>

• Alvaka Networks Explains How to ID the Ransomware You've Been Hit With
• Axene Health Partners Offers an Actuarial Perspective on Medicare Direct Contracting
• Bayer's Investment Arm Leads Financing of Digital Health Company, Ada Health
• Biospectal Announces Independent Validation Studies & Spotlighted by Global Health Coalition
• Choice in Aging to Co-Host Session on Designing County's Master Plan for Aging
• Cigna & Oscar Health Serve Arizona; New Grant Program Addresses Social Determinants of Health
• Competitive Health Encourages Employers to Add Health Advocacy Services to Benefits Offerings
• Covered California's Enrollment Surges Following American Rescue Plan
• El Camino Health Among Top 15% of U.S. Hospitals for Outstanding Patient Experience
• HumanGood Completes Redevelopment Project in San Luis Obispo
• Kaiser Permanente CEO Acclaimed for Positive Impact on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• King & Spalding Declared a Top Law Firm in the U.S.
• LigoLab Case Study Demonstrates How to Effectively Execute a Plan & Scale Lab Ops
• Mahmee Chosen for 2021 "Launch With GS" Entrepreneur Cohort
• Nelson Hardiman Provides Insight on Covid Vaccines & Workplace Mandates
• On Lok Provides On-Demand Access to Master Plan for Aging Event
• PreceptorLink Spotlighted in Industry Blog
• PreludeDx Wins "Best Breast Cancer Precision Treatment Solution" Award
• Providence Digital Innovation Group Examines the Move to True Digi-Healthcare
• Royal Ambulance Unveils Mural Honoring Frontline Workers
• Savi Group Shares How to Streamline Revenue Cycle Management & Maximize Reimbursements
• SimpleTherapy Offers Relief from Work-From-Home Pain & Stress
• VivaLNK Survey: Nearly Half of All Clinical Research to Adopt Decentralized Clinical Trials
• Wipfli's Upcoming Webinars to Cover E/M Changes, Senior Living Organizations, + Mergers & Acquisitions

• Awarenow is Now Profi; Names Adam Miller Exec Chairman
• Eckert & Ziegler Acquires Majority Stake in Pentixapharm; Secures Deal with Sirtex
• BCG's Harrison Barnes on: the Big Problem of Worry

ABL-TECH MEMBERS' HEALTHCARE NEWS

Profi is the new name for awarenow, reflecting the firm's broader mission to help all professional service providers - solopreneurs and teams - increase their revenue through optimized service delivery, deeper and better client experiences, and activation and automated admin processes. And, the company announced that Adam Miller is now its Executive Chairman, with Alina Trigubenko remaining as Founder and CEO. Whereas awarenow was primarily for coaches and therapists, Profi is laser-focused on streamlining professional service operations from all sectors, including training, accounting, financial services, legal, marketing, HR, wellness, coaching, healthcare and more. (Alina Trigubenko & Adam Miller, ABL-Tech WLA)

Eckert & Ziegler AG (EZ) has acquired a direct majority stake in drug developer Pentixapharm, which is developing a radiopharmaceutical combination product against lymphoma and a number of related tumors. The product will be able to be used both for the diagnosis and the therapy of cancer, and has received the green light for advanced clinical trials from the European Medicines Agency. Meanwhile, EZ and Sirtex Medical recently executed a long-term supply agreement for the use of EZAG's Yttrium-90 in Sirtex SIR-Spheres Y-90 resin microspheres for liver cancer. (Frank Yeager, ABL-Tech SGV)

In Hypnotists, Worry and Living Your Life Today, Harrison Barnes, of BCG Attorney Search, describes some of his experiences with hypnotism, and shares an insight a hypnotist offered him: almost all of the people who use [a hypnotist] are doing so because of worries that they have; her role was really to help them stop worrying. Harrison found the same basic theme when he looked into The Sedona Method after a colleague raved about it. (Harrison Barnes, JD, ABL-Tech WLA)

HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY NEWS & TRENDS

California is still on track to reopen its economy on June 15, marking an almost full return to normalcy since the onset of the pandemic last year. State officials recently provided some guidance for what this reopening will look like, including an end to capacity restrictions for businesses like retailers, gyms, movie theaters, bars, restaurants, and places of worship, as well as an end to social distancing. Those who are fully vaccinated in California will not need to wear a mask in most settings, save for crowded outdoor and indoor events. Some restrictions will also stay in place for large gatherings, such as concerts, sporting events, meetings and conventions. Vaccine and negative COVID-19 test verifications will be required for indoor events with 5,000+ attendees and will be recommended for outdoor events with 10,000+ people. (Orange County Business Journal, 5/24/21)

President Biden plans to allocate 75% of unused COVID-19 vaccines through the U.N.-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing program, the White House announced. The U.S. has said it plans to share 80 million vaccine doses globally by the end of June. The administration says 25% will be kept in reserve for emergencies and for the U.S. to share directly with allies and partners. (https://www.kxly.com/i/biden-announces-international-covid-19-vaccine-sharing-plan/)

What do lotteries, fishing licenses, and college scholarships have in common? They're all part of dozens of innovative freebies being given away for people to get a Covid-19 vaccine, as some states - including Ohio, West Virginia, Minnesota, Arkansas, New York, Delaware, and California - have recently offered big prizes for people to get vaccinated. Now, companies are joining the same effort. Kroger Health's recently announced giveaway will include five $1 million payouts and 50 chances to win free groceries for a year. And at CVS Health, customers who receive a Covid-19 vaccination may choose to enter the #OneStepCloser sweepstakes where prizes include free cruises, tropical vacations, a VIP trip to Super Bowl LVI, and gift cards for date nights. The incentives appear to be working: https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/28/us/covid-vaccine-lottery-incentives-companies/index.html

In Covid-19 Update: Employer's Dilemma - to Mandate or Not Mandate Covid Vaccines in the Workplace?, Nelson Hardiman discusses if vaccinations can or should be mandatory in the workplace, alternatives to vaccine mandates, reasonable accommodation for employees, and more.
Meanwhile, the law firm of Siri & Glimstad is stirring up a substantial amount of attention around challenging vaccine mandates, by serving as co-counsel in a vaccine mandate case against the Durham County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina. The firm's argued that mandating shots that only have emergency use authorization is illegal and unenforceable, and have also pointed to the Nuremberg Code when making accusations about violating ethics around human experimentation.

According to the CDC's data tracker that tracks the total number of people in each state who have received at least one COVID-19 shot: As of 6 a.m. May 30, the majority of Americans - 50.5% - had received at least on shot, that's 167,733,972 Americans who got the jab, according to the CDC. California came in at #13 with 56.66% vaccinated with at least one dose - 22,389,100. (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/public-health/states-ranked-by-percentage-of-population-who-ve-received-at-least-one-covid-19-shot-april-22.html)

Suddenly, talk of the Wuhan lab-leak theory seems to be everywhere. President Biden recently called on U.S. intelligence officials to "redouble their efforts" to determine the origin of Covid-19 and figure out whether the virus that causes it accidentally leaked from a Chinese laboratory. Major publications and social media have recently been filled with discussion of the subject. In response, the New York Times has offered an explainer: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/briefing/lab-leak-theory-covid-origins.html

Key findings from an eHealth survey of 4,700+ consumers and more than two dozen major insurers across the U.S. include: 52% of insurers do not anticipate raising rates due to COVID (39% do anticipate raising rates, but no more than 5%); 54% say COVID vaccines should not be required by law; 60% support expanding Medicare; and 74% want government action on drug costs. (https://news.ehealthinsurance.com/news/ehealth-launches-inaugural-signature-research-report-health-insurance-trends)

In the name of efficiency, profits, public health and a better customer experience, healthcare providers around the country are looking at changing every aspect of the waiting-room experience, from the furniture to the fish tank. Now healthcare providers are using technology and redesigning their facilities to change the experience and bring much of it out of the waiting room. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-covid-19-is-helping-to-change-the-doctors-waiting-room-11621785601?mod=hp_featst_pos3)

Federal prosecutors have charged 14 people - including a medical doctor and owners of laboratories, pharmacies and a home health agency - in multiple Covid-related fraud schemes that allegedly bilked consumers and insurers out of $143 million, the Department of Justice announced. In addition, the Center for Program Integrity at CMS announced it took administrative action against 50+ medical providers for their involvement in healthcare fraud schemes relating to Covid-19. (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/26/doj-charges-14-people-in-alleged-health-care-fraud-related-to-covid-19.html)

Alphabet Inc.'s Google and national hospital chain HCA Healthcare Inc. have struck a deal to develop healthcare algorithms using patient records. HCA would consolidate and store with Google data from digital health records and internet-connected medical devices under the multiyear agreement. Google and HCA engineers will work to develop algorithms to help improve operating efficiency, monitor patients, and guide doctors' decisions. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-strikes-deal-with-hospital-chain-to-develop-healthcare-algorithms-11622030401)
In response, New York University medical ethics expert Arthur Kaplan, PhD, said this new collaboration has ignited the need for updates to U.S. privacy laws. "Now we've got electronic medical records, huge volumes of data, and this is like asking a navigation system from a World War I airplane to navigate us up to the space shuttle," he said. (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/viewpoint-google-hca-deal-sparks-need-for-update-in-privacy-laws.html)

The Mayo Clinic and Kaiser Permanente are investing about $100 million into the technology company Medically Home Group to advance a new healthcare delivery model that delivers "advanced care" typically available inside a hospital into patient homes. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2021/05/13/mayo-and-kaiser-invest-100-million-in-hospital-care-at-home-venture/amp/)

Walmart Health has entered an agreement to acquire on-demand, multispecialty telehealth provider MeMD. As such, Walmart will begin providing virtual care services for urgent, behavioral and primary care to complement its in-person Walmart Health Centers - allowing it to stay up to pace with Amazon, which recently announced its plans to expand telehealth to nearly 1 million employees by this summer. (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/telehealth/walmart-health-to-acquire-telehealth-provider-6-details.html)

Ro, a digital elective care and telemedicine provider last valued at $5 billion, has acquired Modern Fertility, a reproductive health company. TechCrunch reported that the deal was "north" of $225 million. With the acquisition, Ro said that it is adding fertility testing and reproductive health to its women's health suite of services, a product that has grown 300% last year in revenue. (https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/19/ro-acquires-modern-fertility-in-a-reportedly-225-million-deal/)

Wysa, an AI-powered mental health app, recently closed a Series A funding round of $5.5 million led by Boston's W Health Ventures, the Google Assistant Investment Program, pi Ventures, and Kae Capital. Wysa is largely aimed at people who just want to vent. Most users are there to improve their sleep, anxiety or relationships. (https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/21/mental-health-app-wysa-raises-5-5m-for-emotionally-intelligent-ai/)

A new Boston-based company is helping doctors keep track of the most up-to-date medical devices on the market: AcuityMD, founded in 2019, is an enterprise software company that wants to unlock the often siloed world of medical device data. And to do so, it just landed a $7 million seed round, led by Benchmark. (https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/25/acuitymd-raises-7m-to-better-track-the-evolving-world-of-medical-hardware/)

President Biden has proposed a $6 trillion budget for fiscal year 2022, which includes funding for healthcare, and Becker's Hospital Review has compiled "Seven healthcare takeaways." They include:
>> No funding or details are described for several healthcare proposals President Biden has outlined in his healthcare platform, including a public option health insurance plan, lower prescription drug costs and lower Medicare eligibility. The budget calls on Congress to "take action" on the proposals, but doesn't provide a financial plan to do so.
>> It includes a $6.5 billion investment to launch the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, which would increase federal funding for R&D in healthcare, with an initial focus on diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's.
>> It includes $8.7 billion in funding for the CDC to "restore capacity at the world's preeminent public health agency and rebuild international capacity to detect, prepare for, and respond to emerging global threats."
>> The spending plan will include increased taxes on corporations and high-income households. (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/biden-s-6t-budget-7-takeaways-for-healthcare-leaders.html)

CMS has started issuing its first round of warning letters to hospitals not in compliance with the hospital price disclosure rule, which took effect Jan 1., aiming to make hospital pricing information readily available to patients to compare costs and make more informed healthcare decisions. Hospitals will have 90 days to address the findings in the noncompliance letter from CMS. (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/hospitals-get-1st-cms-warning-for-noncompliance-with-price-transparency-rule.html)

The OIG recently posted Advisory Opinions relating to three near-identical arrangements between Medigap plans and Preferred Hospital Organizations (PHOs). The arrangements involve (i) a discount on a policyholder's Medicare Part A deductible, (ii) a policyholder premium credit, and (iii) a monthly administrative fee to the PHOs. The arrangements are designed to incentivize the Medigap plans' respective policyholders to seek inpatient care from a hospital within the applicable PHO network. Although OIG determined that the arrangements would generate prohibited remuneration under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the Beneficiary Inducements Civil Monetary Penalties law, OIG concluded that the arrangements pose a sufficiently low risk of fraud and abuse and that OIG would not impose administrative sanctions under those laws in connection with the proposed arrangements. (https://kslawemail.com/128/7926/pages/article-2.asp?sid=2ff9932b-e358-4cf4-9841-c20693388f2e)

In the next decade, Crispr-Cas9 and other new gene-editing techniques may protect the health of millions of people with a range of conditions, including chronic pain and diabetes. Rather than take drugs for years or even decades, for example, at-risk people might be able to protect themselves with a one-and-done Crispr therapy. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/crisprs-next-frontier-treating-common-conditions-1162022683)

A recent opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal shares information from the recent International Vatican Conference, an annual gathering of medical, scientific, and religious experts, at which panelists described progress on many fronts in the battle against cancer. Progress includes:
>> In five years there may be a simple blood test costing less than $500 that can detect 70% of all cancers in the earliest stages.
>> New vaccines against HPV, which causes cervical and throat cancer, are in late-stage trials. Scientists are also testing vaccines for melanoma, leukemia, lung, and renal cancers.
>> Many trials of Crispr therapies in the U.S. now are in phase 2 for leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and more. In China, Crispr is showing promise against lung cancer. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-the-war-on-cancer-science-is-winning-11621881949)

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