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What We're Reading: GSK Buying Tesaro; GOP Gives Up Planned Parenthood Cuts; Medicare and Nursing Homes
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is buying cancer biotech firm Tesaro for for $5.1 billion; Republicans in Congree are giving up efforts to cut Planned Parenthood funding; Medicare is using financial incentives to reward or punish nursing homes based on how often their residents ended up back in hospitals within 30 days of discharge.
GlaxoSmithKline Purchasing Cancer Biotech Tesaro for $5.1 Billion
GlaxoSmithKline is buying cancer biotech firm Tesaro for for $5.1 billion, STAT reported. Tesaro’s ovarian cancer drug Zejula belongs to a class of cancer drugs called poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. Zejula sales are expected to be in range of $233 million to $238 million this year. GlaxoSmithKline said the purchase “will strengthen our pharmaceuticals business by accelerating the build of our oncology pipeline and commercial footprint.” Biotech mergers and acquisitions have been generally lackluster this year, so the deal may spark renewed optimism for new deals in 2019.
Republicans Giving Up Efforts to Cut Federal Planned Parenthood Funds
With Democrats preparing to take control of the House, Congressional Republicans are giving up on years of promises to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood, Politico reported. That became evident last week when Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, briefly tried and failed to push through one last bid to push through Planned Parenthood cuts, a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and other conservative priorities. But rattled by the possibility of a shutdown next week triggered by President Donald Trump’s border wall demands, most Republicans, dismissed his bid, infuriating anti-abortion groups, who plan to turn to state legislatures and the courts.
Medicare Using Funding to Push Nursing Homes to Improve Hospital Readmissions
The United States is using financial incentives to reward or punish nursing homes based on how often their residents ended up back in hospitals within 30 days of leaving, Kaiser Health News reported. The new Medicare program is altering a year’s worth of payments to 14,959 skilled nursing facilities. It lowered payments to nearly 11,000 nursing homes and gave bonuses to nearly 4000 others. These bonuses and penalties are also intended to discourage nursing homes from discharging patients too quickly. Hospitalizations of nursing home residents, while decreasing in recent years, remain a problem, with nearly 11% of patients in 2016 being sent to hospitals for conditions that might have been averted with better medical oversight.
Hospital Participation in Medicare ACOs: No Change in Admission Practices and Spending
August 19th 2025Hospital accountable care organization (ACO) participation did not impact emergency department admission rates, length of stay, or costs, suggesting limited effectiveness in reducing spending for unplanned admissions and challenging hospital-led ACO cost-saving strategies.
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Laundromats as a New Frontier in Community Health, Medicaid Outreach
May 29th 2025Lindsey Leininger, PhD, and Allister Chang, MPA, highlight the potential of laundromats as accessible, community-based settings to support Medicaid outreach, foster trust, and connect families with essential health and social services.
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Care Quality Metrics in Medicare During COVID-19 Pandemic
August 12th 2025Medicare Advantage outperformed traditional Medicare on clinical quality measures before and during the COVID-19 pandemic; mid-pandemic, however, traditional Medicare narrowed the gap on some in-person screenings.
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