Cancer Treatment Centers of America is partnering with CVS Health to pilot an at-home chemotherapy program in Atlanta, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia, Georgia, and Michigan.
- District of Columbia: Three drugmakers—AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and Sanofi—have filed separate lawsuits in district courts in Delaware, Indiana, and New Jersey challenging an advisory opinion issued by HHS' Office of General Counsel (OGC) that said drug manufacturers are required to provide discounts via contract pharmacies to community health centers, safety net hospitals, and other entities that participate in the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program. According to Inside Health Policy, HHS has noted that the advisory opinion lays out OGC's interpretation of the statute for the 340B Drug Pricing Program, and it does not represent a final action by HHS nor have the force of law. However, in their lawsuits, the drugmakers claim that the advisory opinion contradicts statute. AstraZeneca, Lilly, and Sanofi in their lawsuits are seeking to have courts block HHS from implementing the opinion (Stein, Inside Health Policy, 1/13 [subscription required]; King, FierceHealthcare, 1/13).
- Georgia: Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) is partnering with CVS Health to pilot an at-home chemotherapy program in Atlanta. Under the program, patients who are clinically eligible and fully insured can receive at-home chemotherapy through CVS's infusion care unit, called Coram. The program aims to minimize patients' risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus in inpatient or outpatient health care facilities during the epidemic. CVS and CTCA said they hope to expand the program over the next few months (Bean, Becker's Hospital Review, 1/12).
- Michigan: Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan on Tuesday announced that he has appointed Iris Taylor, the former CEO of DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital, to serve as nursing director for the Detroit Health Department. As the department's lead public health nurse, Taylor will provide strategic oversight of all clinical operations, including staff management, public outreach, and procedures related to clinical programs. Prior to her appointment, Taylor served two terms as president and CEO of DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital and University Health Center. After she retired from that position in 2015, she served as president of the Detroit School Board from 2017 to 2020 (Gooch, Becker's Hospital Review, 1/15).
