Friday Report

From Washington, DC
- Federal News Network tells us,
- “The Office of Personnel Management is taking a second bite at the apple to modernize its human resources platform.
- “OPM released a new request for proposals on Thursday through the General Services Administration schedules program for a secure, cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) human capital management (HCM) platform.
- “The objective of this acquisition is to deploy an integrated, enterprise-wide core HR platform—powered by a secure, FedRAMP-authorized SaaS solution—that consolidates key human capital functions, including personnel management, time and attendance, leave, benefits administration, learning and performance management and workforce analytics,” the RFP states. “The platform must enable seamless interoperability with critical external systems (e.g., USA Staffing, GSA Payroll, eOPF, eHRI, LMS, and benefits systems) and eliminate the data and process gaps currently affecting onboarding, pay accuracy, personnel action sequencing, leave eligibility and audit reporting.”
- “The solicitation says the platform will be used for OPM’s workforce of 2,000 to 3,000 people.”
- Fierce Healthcare informs us,
- “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revealed several updates to the ACO REACH program in 2026, though the model’s long-term future remains unclear.
- “The CMS said it is making changes to the model based on preliminary data on 2023 performance (PDF), which found that standard accountable care organizations saved $197.5 million in aggregate that year. New entrant ACOs, meanwhile, generated $36.8 million in aggregate savings, reducing gross spending at higher rates that standard organizations.
- “In addition, high-needs ACOs reduced spending by $2.3 million in the aggregate, according to the preliminary report. The CMS is set to release full data on ACO REACH later this year.
- “The proposed changes come in a confusing environment for ACOs, which have pushed the agency to outline plans for the ACO REACH program, currently set to expire in 2026.”
- The American Hospital Association News let us know,
- “AHA May 23 submitted recommendations to the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission in response to the agencies’ requests for information on unnecessary or burdensome anticompetitive regulations. “[T]he U.S. health care system imposes a bewildering array of regulations on hospitals and health systems, adding significant administrative costs, disincentivizing pro-competitive arrangements, and promoting vertical consolidation of large commercial insurers to the detriment of patients and providers across the country,” AHA Deputy General Counsel Julie Rapoport Schenker wrote in the letters to the agencies. The AHA’s recommendations included addressing regulations that foster anticompetitive conduct by insurers and limit the ability of hospitals and health systems to thrive in a competitive free market, among others.”
From the public health and medical research front,
- The University of Minnesota’s CIDRAP points out,
- “Excess deaths in the United States kept rising even after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 1.5 million in 2022 and 2023 that would have been prevented had US death rates matched those of peer countries, estimates a Boston University (BU)-led study today in JAMA Health Forum.
- “The data show a continuation of a decades-old trend toward increasing US excess deaths, mainly among working-age adults, largely driven by drug overdoses, gun violence, auto accidents, and preventable cardiometabolic causes, the researchers say.
- “The US has been in a protracted health crisis for decades, with health outcomes far worse than other high-income countries,” says lead and corresponding author Jacob Bor, ScD, said in a BU news release. “This longer-run tragedy continued to unfold in the shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today,
- “Seasonal influenza, COVID-19, and RSV activity is low.
- “COVID-19
- “COVID-19 activity has declined to low levels nationally. Wastewater levels are at low levels, emergency department visits are at very low levels, and laboratory percent positivity is stable.
- “Additional information about current COVID-19 activity can be found at: CDC COVID Data Tracker: Home.
- “Influenza
- “Seasonal influenza activity is low.
- “Additional information about current influenza activity can be found at: Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report | CDC
- “RSV
- “RSV activity has declined to low levels in most areas of the country.”
- The New York Times reports,
- “Cancer screening poses a quandary for women with dense breast tissue. They’re at elevated risk for breast cancer, but mammograms often miss tumors buried in dense breasts — and insurers often resist paying for additional scans that may help find the masses.
- “Now a large study comparing various types of scans has found that mammography enhanced with iodine-based dye can detect three times as many invasive cancers in dense breast tissue as ultrasound.
- “And so-called contrast-enhanced mammography can find tumors that are much smaller than those found by regular mammography. M.R.I.s are better at detecting more tumors than standard mammograms, the study found but are considerably more expensive.
- “The scans were given to women with dense breast tissue who had already undergone mammograms that hadn’t turned up any abnormalities.”
- “Contrast-enhanced mammography needs to become standard of care for women with dense breasts,” if they are at high risk of developing breast cancer, said Dr. Fiona J. Gilbert, a professor of radiology at the University of Cambridge’s School of Clinical Medicine. She is lead author of the study, which was published Wednesday in The Lancet.”
- NCQA offers via LinkedIn a White Paper, Webinar and a New HEDIS Measure for Asthma Awareness Month, which is May.
- “The HEDIS MY 2026 measure set will include a new measure focused on asthma, Follow-Up After Acute Care Visits for Asthma (AAF-E). Patients with uncontrolled asthma are more likely to seek care for acute exacerbations, rather than focusing on preventive care. The new measure focuses on the patient-clinician relationship as encouraging treatment adherence and efficacy. Guiding patients toward non-acute care—and clinicians with whom they have a trusted relationship—may help improve asthma outcomes.”
- The Wall Street Journal delves into “new tests [that] promise to reveal the secrets in your blood. A wave of diagnostic tests—some here, some coming—can identify cancer and Alzheimer’s at earlier stages and predict flare-ups of other conditions.”
- Per HCPLive,
- “Semaglutide demonstrated notable protective effects on osteoporosis and gout in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a new cohort study.
- “The impact of newer anti-obesity medications on skeletal health remains incompletely understood, particularly in populations with varying metabolic profiles,” lead investigator Jo-Ching Chen, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, and colleagues wrote.
- “Chen and colleagues conducted a 5-year cohort study examining skeletal health outcomes in people with obesity and T2D receiving semaglutide vs conventional glucose-lowering medications (sitagliptin, empagliflozin, glipizide), and obese individuals without T2D receiving semaglutide vs traditional anti-obesity medications (Contrave, phentermine, Qsymia).”
- Per Fierce Pharma,
- “After meeting the mark alongside Keytruda in PD-L1-positive breast cancer earlier this year, Gilead Sciences’ antibody-drug conjugate Trodelvy has impressed in a solo showing in a similar indication.
- “In the late-stage Ascent-03 trial, Trodelvy bested standard-of-care chemotherapy at extending the time before disease worsening or death in certain patients with previously untreated metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
- “The study specifically assessed the TROP2-targeted ADC in patients who aren’t candidates for PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors, either because their tumors don’t express the PD-L1 protein or because the patients are ineligible.
- “The “highly statistically significant and clinically meaningful” improvement on the progression-free survival metric allowed the study to meet its primary endpoint, Gilead said. The company will discuss the Ascent-03 results with regulators and plans to present detailed results from the trial at an upcoming medical meeting.”
From the U.S. healthcare business front,
- Healthcare Dive reports
- “The nation’s leading nonprofit healthcare providers struggled financially during the quarter ended March 31.
- “Most of the major systems, including Kaiser Permanente, Mass General Brigham, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Ascension and Providence, recorded operating margins that were flat or lower than this time last year, despite growing patient volumes.
- “The results come as analysts have been sounding the alarm with escalating urgency about how headwinds, including market volatility and policy changes in Washington, could harm provider finances.”
- Beckers Health IT explains “two ways Amazon is changing healthcare, per CEO Andy Jassy.”
- Per Health Leaders,
- “A recent Experian Health survey shows steady improvement in access to care but suggests a disconnect between patients and providers on digital tools.
- “Providers continue to face challenges with capacity constraints and staffing shortages.
- “Patients call for better pricing estimates and self-scheduling tools.”
- Healthcare Innovation lets us know,
- Aligning itself with new strategies coming out of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, the Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network (HCPLAN) announced it will launch four new initiatives focused on healthcare choice and competition, patient empowerment, preventative care, and technology-enabled healthcare, while discontinuing its alternative payment model measurement effort, which had been funded by CMMI.
- The HCPLAN is a group of public and private healthcare leaders that was formed to provide thought leadership, strategic direction, and ongoing support to accelerate the adoption of alternative payment models (APMs) and accountable care.
- Since its launch in 2015, the HCPLAN APM Measurement Effort has monitored the shift of U.S. healthcare from fee-for-service to APMs. The 2024 APM Measurement Effort results demonstrated the continued growth in APM adoption and initiatives to enhance patient access, affordability, and quality of care. As part of its efforts to advance the availability and reduce the cost of key data needed to improve care, the HCPLAN will explore alternative pathways for the continuation of this effort.
- MedTech Dive explores “Why Medtronic plans to spin out its diabetes business. While some analysts questioned why Medtronic would leave a fast-growing market, others backed the company’s plan to focus on segments with higher margins.”
- Per Fierce Healthcare,
- “Pharmacy benefit manager WellDyne is partnering with Waltz Health to bring greater transparency to its specialty pharmacy clients.
- “WellDyne is teaming up with Waltz as well as Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs as part of its broader member routing strategy, which surfaces real-time alerts and smart prompts that can help its members find the most affordable medication option for them.
- “The PBM’s tech stack also uses automated algorithms to adjudicate claims in the background and let members know when they may be able to achieve savings. The technology optimizes claims across different touch points including retail, home delivery, discount cards and other avenues.
- “Rich Wipperfurth, chief commercial officer for WellDyne, said traditional models are also built on simplicity but in a way that steers the member toward preferred distribution channels, pharmacies and other sources.
- “WellDyne wants to inject more choice back into the equation, Wipperfurth said.”