In May, ransomware threat actors hit national hospital operator Ascension, leaving healthcare professionals to deal with consequences like system downtime, delayed lab results, and handwritten orders for medications, according to a May 23 report from NPR.

In a company statement on June 12, Ascension said that the unauthorized access began with an “honest mistake” after an employee downloaded “a malicious file that they thought was legitimate.”

But take comfort, unnamed Healthcare Brew reader, in the fact that this type of mistake is common in all sorts of industries.

Cybersecurity company Sophos’s The State of Ransomware 2024 study, conducted in January and February, found that 23% of respondents who reported cyberattacks cited a “malicious email” (aka a message with a link or attachment that downloads malware) as the starting point. The survey polled respondents from across industries, including healthcare, financial services, and higher education.

Keep reading here.—BH

Here’s what you need to know about skincare: Ingredients are important—the ones that are in products and the ones that aren’t.

This is one of the philosophies behind Drunk Elephant’s skincare line. They avoid what they call the “suspicious six,” aka the ingredients they believe are at the root of many common skin issues: essential oils, drying alcohols, silicones, chemical sunscreens, fragrances/dyes, and SLS.

If your summer skin is looking for a break, check out Drunk Elephant’s new Littles 7.0 Kit. It’s a set of six travel-friendly products designed to give your skin a gentle reset.

Drunk Elephant’s (very first!) Friends and Family Sale is just around the corner. From July 8–12, use code DRUNKFF to get 20% off—yep, that’s sitewide.*

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in June it would recalculate 2024 Medicare Advantage (MA) star ratings for all plans after two court rulings called into question the agency’s method for determining this year’s ratings.

The decision is estimated to cost the federal agency roughly $1 billion in additional bonus payments for insurers, according to healthcare analytics firm Cotiviti. The move comes after several large insurers laid off employees in late 2023 after their star ratings decreased.

The court rulings “potentially have far-reaching implications for the Medicare Advantage landscape, affecting not only health plans’ star ratings and revenue but also providers and beneficiaries,” Hayley Rogers and Matthew Smith, consulting actuaries at risk management and benefits firm Milliman, wrote in a June 12 white paper.

What are star ratings? CMS uses a model that ranks MA insurance plans from one to five stars (five being the best) based on quality. The intent is to help beneficiaries compare MA plans.

Keep reading here.—MA

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, or GLP-1s, are commonly prescribed to treat type-2 diabetes, but have more recently been approved for weight loss. If US adults are being prescribed GLP-1 drugs for weight loss through their health plan, they’re likely getting coverage through insurance that’s employer-sponsored, recent studies suggest.

More employers covering GLP-1s. Most health plans offered through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace cover GLP-1s for diabetes, but not for weight loss, a recent KFF analysis found. While 82% of ACA plans include Ozempic for diabetes in their formularies, for example, just 1% cover either Saxenda or Wegovy, two GLP-1 drugs that have been approved only to treat obesity.

The share of people receiving private health insurance through the ACA is fairly small, KFF noted, as most people on private insurance get it through their employer. “Employer plans may be more likely to cover drugs for weight loss than ACA Marketplace plans given the desire to attract workers,” KFF researchers wrote.

Keep reading in HR Brew.—CV

Modernize to maximize. In 2023, the CAQH Index reported an 11% increase in medical transaction volume alongside a 14% increase in time spent conducting a transaction. The result? Join Zelis’ webinar, which covers strategies for helping teams modernize the claims payment process and create a better experience for staff, patients, and providers.