• California: Abridge, an AI scribe company, recently announced new partnerships with Eli Lilly and Nvidia. With Nvidia, Abridge is working to create a foundation model geared toward clinical conversations. Meanwhile, Lilly CEO Shiv Rao said that the company has made a strategic investment in Abridge "to support evidence-based care and research access at all the moments of care." Currently, over 300 health systems across the country use Abridge's AI scribe platform, including Kaiser Permanente, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Yale New Haven Health. The company is now working to expand its platform to other areas of healthcare and partner more closely with payers and life sciences companies. By partnering with payers and life sciences companies, Abridge hopes to improve the claims resolution process and increase access to clinical trials. (Olsen, Healthcare Dive, 6/12)
• District of Columbia: In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Monsanto, the maker of the weedkiller Roundup, can't be sued for failing to warn that the product could cause cancer. In the 1970s, Monsanto developed the pesticide Roundup, which became a popular weedkiller. However, there has been a growing number of claims that glyphosate, a key ingredient in Roundup, potentially causes cancer. Currently, roughly 200,000 claims have been made against Roundup, with over 125,000 since 2015. The Supreme Court recently heard arguments related to thousands of Roundup lawsuits, specifically about warning labels for potential health risks associated with pesticides. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of Monsanto, finding that a federal law regulating the sale and labeling of pesticide products bars lawsuits in state courts — which means thousands of cancer-related Roundup lawsuits will be unable to move forward. In response to the ruling, Tino Andresen, a spokesperson for Bayer, which now owns Monsanto, said that the decision "is good for ​science, farmers, and industries that depend on regulatory clarity for innovation" and "should help significantly contain the Roundup litigation after nearly a decade of legal battles." However, environmental activists and other advocates criticized the ruling. "Once again, the Supreme Court has sided with big business over people and the environment. Today's ruling is a disaster for public health," said Tarah Heinzen, legal director at Food and Water Watch. (Chung, Reuters, 6/25; Quinn/Cunningham, CBS News, 6/25; Groppe, USA Today, 6/25)
• Missouri: Centene, the largest Medicaid and Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurer in the United States, is offering its over 60,000 employees buyouts as the organization struggles with declining health plan memberships. Due to rising health insurance costs and new regulatory changes, Centene has seen significant declines in its health plan membership. As of March, Centene's Medicaid membership was down 4% year-over-year while its ACA membership was down 54%. In a letter to employees, Centene CEO Sarah London said the membership losses were pushing the company to shrink its operations. "Centene is positioning the company to lead the future of healthcare — working to deliver a simpler and better experience for our members and partners while meeting the realities of today’s healthcare environment," a company spokesperson said. Currently, it's not clear how many employees received the buyout offer or how many Centene is hoping will ultimately accept. Although most employees are expected to be eligible for the voluntary separation program, the company is not planning a complete overhaul, the spokesperson said. (Parduhn, Healthcare Dive, 6/16) 

In this episode, host Abby Burns invites Advisory Board climate change expert Miles Cottier to break down how and why healthcare business leaders need to prioritize environmental sustainability. They explore the financial case for moving to renewable energy sources, how regulatory pressures may (or may not) shape the future of environmental action, and what leaders can do today to support their green initiatives.