Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Care Still Adds Jobs In May, But It Was A Significantly Weaker Gain Than Previous Month
Hiring decelerated in most major industry sectors in May, with four such sectors recording job losses. Professional services led the gains, adding 33,000 jobs in such areas as computer systems design, administrative support and engineering. Education and health added 27,000 jobs, a notably weaker gain than the 73,000 jobs it added in April. By contrast, construction companies pulled back sharply and grew by just 4,000 jobs after posting a gain of 30,000 in May. Retail, transportation, information and government all shed jobs. (6/7)
With the approval of the Justice Department and five key states, the $69 billion merger between Aetna and CVS was considered a done deal. But that was before a federal judge here questioned how the merger would affect the health insurance marketplace and said he would not be a 鈥渞ubber stamp鈥 on the deal. (Radelat, 6/7)
I received a form letter recently from my health clinic that told me my primary-care doctor was leaving. Her colleagues would welcome me into their care. I had been seeing her for more than a decade and didn鈥檛 want a new doctor. But when I called to ask where she was going, receptionists said they didn鈥檛 know 鈥 a response that made me wonder whether her contract prevented them from telling me. I also worried: after years of building a relationship with a doctor I trusted, would I have to start all over with a new provider? (Sohn, 6/8)
These days, Livongo is processing more than 100,000 such readings daily 鈥 a sign of the chronic disease-coaching company鈥檚 rapid growth ahead of an expected initial public offering sometime this year. It鈥檚 likely to be among the first of a new breed of health-tech startups to brave the public markets. Livongo, in particular, is poised to offer a test of whether it鈥檚 possible to overcome the nagging obstacles that for years have blocked the emergence of truly big, financially successful businesses in the sector. For the most part, these companies haven鈥檛 figured out how to scale their sales. Nor have they shown that they can improve patients鈥 outcomes and reduce medical costs over the long term. (Robbins, 6/10)
