Week Ahead: J.P. Morgan investor conference kicks off 2019

Jan. 7-10: Forget the ball dropping in Times Square, this is the real start to healthcare’s new year—the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. “The hundreds of companies presenting run the gamut, from startups to those with more than $300 billion in market cap, and encompass the entire global healthcare landscape, including pharmaceutical firms, healthcare service providers, profit and not-for-profits, and medical device companies,” the bank noted on its conference website. Finance reporter Tara Bannow will be there getting the scoop. Watch for her daily Reporter’s Notebook and a wrap-up next week.

Jan. 8-9: The push toward consumerism will be on display in spades at the 10th Digital Health Summit in Las Vegas. An offshoot of the Consumer Electronics Show, the summit will feature panels on unleashing the power of AI as well as genomics. Another will delve into how implantable devices could be used to curb the opioid crisis. We’ll be keeping our eyes out for innovations that show promise in continuing to disrupt the industry.

Jan. 8: Few things raise people’s ire like a policy debate over abortion. CMS staff will have their hands full combing through tens of thousands of comments on a proposed rule that would require audits of premium subsidy eligibility. The agency proposed the rule in November suggesting that it would help bring Affordable Care Act subsidy eligibility in line with other federal assistance programs. The CMS wants to use a data-matching program “to ensure people are enrolled in the most appropriate type of coverage for them.” The proposal would also require insurers to send a “separate bill and collect separate payments for the portion of the consumer’s premium attributable to certain abortion services for which public funding is prohibited.” Not surprisingly, the line about abortion spurred numerous public comments on all sides of the issue.