“Do you believe in magic? Honestly, since I first walked into your office, I believe in everything.” This bit of sap may have been what David Rockwell (famous architect) said to Glen Tullman (CEO of digital health company Transcarent) when he asked him to design his new museum about magic in Chicago. But it is definitely a line from Jennifer Lopez’s latest movie, “Office Romance.” JLo plays a CEO of an airline who [please suspend disbelief for movie magic] falls in love with her General Counsel. This movie is a natural fit for today’s blog post because I was stuck in weather-related airline purgatory this week. My forever-on-the-tarmac flight turned out ok, because I was seated next to a wonderful colleague who happens to be Glen Tullman’s communications and government affairs lead, and I heard all about Glen’s new museum “The Hand and The Eye.” More office magic in the One Thoughtful Paragraph below.
Other news that is more or less magical:
- This coming Monday, June 15, comments are due on the 2026 CMS Interoperability Standards and Prior Authorization for Drugs Proposed Rule. If you forgot about it, just write a quick note that says you’re for it. CMS is going to make this happen anyway, and you don’t want them to stop waving their magic wand to create a standards-based, interoperable infrastructure that will improve access and administrative efficiency in the health care system.
- HHS sent warning letters or “magical” corrective action plans to more than 500 hospitals about alleged violations of the Hospital Price Transparency final rule. In a video posted on LinkedIn, HHS Secretary Kennedy and CMS Administrator Dr. Oz discussed the plan to strengthen price transparency enforcement.
- Two magical events to note: Peterson Health Technology Institute pulled off another magic trick by gathering an outstanding set of leaders in NYC last week. They seemed to have an honest discussion about whether AI will lower health care costs. The Alliance for Community Health Plans also hosted a great Medicare Advantage Summit in Chicago, where two medical officers of provider-owned health plans explained how the goal of getting to “zero prior authorizations” requires system improvements that better integrate clinical data.
“It makes me so angry when people cannot separate their business life from their personal life. Except in your case.” This is a line from the movie “Office Romance” about workaholics who can’t separate their business and personal lives. But it could have been what Dr. Oz (a true workaholic) said to Amy Gleason (another workaholic), when they discussed the Health Technology Ecosystem initiatives that she is leading for him at CMS. Anyone who has heard Amy speak knows that she’s a former nurse and health tech executive who has a daughter (Morgan) who is battling a debilitating autoimmune disorder. Amy tells the story about how Morgan, after a decade of frustrating and uncoordinated clinical visits, used AI (ChatGPT) to learn that she was suffering from a different ailment than the one that was diagnosed by doctors. Now Amy is taking this personal experience to push for better health data access and AI integration in the health care system. Yesterday, a new CMS Office of Technology and Products was created. Not surprisingly, Amy will be front and center leading the charge. The dedication of Amy and others in the health tech positions at HHS is truly impressive. It is like what JLo says in the movie Office Romance: “For most people, work is something that you have to endure. But for me…. this is the best part.”
