Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/759108
23 CFO / FINANCE CHS Adopts Short-Term Poison Pill to Protect Stockholders' Rights By Alyssa Rege F ranklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems adopted a "poison pill" in early October, roughly two weeks after a notable Chinese billionaire increased his holding in the for-profit hospital operator. In September, the hospital operator announced its intent to explore a number of possible deals with private equity sponsors and other financial alternatives after disclosing the company's growing financial troubles. CHS CEO Wayne Smith said the stockholders' rights agree- ment is in place until April 1, 2017, to prevent someone from buying a potentially controlling block of the company before it can fully review other options. Billionaire Tianqiao Chen recently increased his holdings in the company, maintaining a 13.8 percent stake in CHS. Mr. Smith notes that the agreement is not intended to and won't prevent a transaction involving the regular buying and selling of company stock in the marketplace. n Massachusetts Hospital Association Admits Price Variation 'Problematic' By Brooke Murphy A fter a several month-long investigation, the Massa- chusetts Health and Hospital Association issued a report that acknowledges the problem of "unwar- ranted price variation among providers" in the common- wealth, The Boston Globe reports. Investigations conducted by researchers at The Boston Globe, the attorney general's office and other state agen- cies found large academic teaching hospitals in Boston use size and reputation to command higher prices than com- munity hospitals. For the first time, MHA publicly acknowl- edged in its report published Oct. 4 the trend is a systemic problem "that should be addressed." However, MHA President and CEO Lynn Nicholas said finding consensus among its member organizations was not easy. "We had people who felt price variation is a huge issue and people who thought that it is being overplayed," Ms. Nich- olas told The Boston Globe. Hospital chief executives who studied the issue for MHA represented a range of perspectives. Those who partici- pated in the study included David Torchiana, MD, CEO of Boston-based Partners HealthCare, and Howard Grant, MD, CEO of Burlington-based Lahey Health. n 10 High-Spend Drugs Affecting Hospitals Most By Mackenzie Bean B etween 2013 and 2015, inpatient hospital drug costs jumped an average of 38.7 percent per admission, making it difficult for many hospitals to manage their budgets, according to an analysis from the independent research organization NORC at the University of Chicago. Researchers analyzed the unit prices of drugs classified as "high-spend" medications — based on volume, price or both — and found large price increases in this category. Here are 10 "high-spend" drugs with the most significant price increases. The figures represent total spending by group purchasing organizations for more than 1,400 hospi- tals, according to the American Hospital Association. Drug: 2013 spending — 2014 spending — 2015 spending • Calcitonin-salmon: $4,932,748 — $12,529, 284 — $73,082,412 • Ephedrine sufate: $7,533,234 — $10,528,689 — $34,552,474 • Glycopyrrolate: $4,932,748 — $66,606,577 — $73,082,412 • Hydralazine: $6,951,150 — $7,725,372 — $17,568,936 • Isoproterenol: $5,602,447 —$23,066,826 — $86,541,461 • Neostigmine methysulfate: $56,818 — $4,311,153 — $78,814,217 • Nitroprusside: $9,802,140 —$48,278,606 — $94,966,434 • Phytonadione: $12,731,141 — $20,809,335 — $35,609,824 • Pyrimethamine: $595,748 — $801,690 — $812,109 • Sodium benzoate: $4,857,185 — $3,559,993 — $12,651,343 n threat of steep payment cuts — permanently eliminated, the new law gives many physicians the opportunity to be rewarded for the improvements they make to their practices and for delivering high-quality, high-value care to Medicare patients." Medical Group Management Association President and CEO Hallee Fish- er-Wright, MD, echoed AMA's statement, but with some disappointment about the lack of flexibility beyond the first year. "MGMA is pleased with the significant burden reduction for physician practices in the first year of the MIPS program and new alternative payment model options out- lined in the final rule," Dr. Fisher-Wright said in an emailed statement. "It's disappointing that flexibility provided for quality reporting in 2017 large- ly disappears in 2018 and beyond. CMS missed an opportunity to close the two-year gap between the measurement and payment periods, which would facilitate improved patient care by providing actionable feedback to physicians and more timely incentives. e sheer magnitude of a 2,400- page regulation and its impact on physician practices can't be ignored." 10. What's next? e final rule will be open for comment for the next 60 days. CMS plans to implement the law in an iterative process, and will continue to host listening and learning sessions. n