Morning Read: Employers doubt reform will cut costs

Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of healthcare:

Employers don’t believe reform will cut costs: Cutting runaway spending was employers’ No. 1 goal for health reform, yet 90 percent believe that reform won’t accomplish that objective, according to a recent survey. If employers are correct, much of those cost increases will no doubt be shifted to employees. And that’s a huge opportunity for “disruptive” health plans that can accurately gauge what newly empowered (and price-gouged) employees demand, Health Populi writes.

Attack of the “phantom recall:” A House committee will investigate whether Johnson & Johnson used a “phantom recall” to remove Motrin packages from the market without regulators’ knowledge, including if the company hired contractors to buy the product off of store shelves.

No to Greece: Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has refused to comply with demands from the cash-strapped Greek government to cut its prices. The decision by Novo and other drugmakers reflects a hardening of position by pharmaceutical companies already hit by large unpaid debts in Greece. But it could backfire if there is a risk to patients’ health as a result of the boycott.

May’s stock-market winners and losers: Like the broader market, May was an unkind month for healthcare stocks. Among health stocks tracked by Forbes, California’s Intermune was the biggest loser as shares plummeted 79 percent after the FDA rejected its lung drug. Among the top performers were device firms like ATS Medical (to be acquired by Medtronic) and American Medical Systems, which makes devices used in treating urological disorders like erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.

Death of the elevator pitch: The one-minute elevator pitch has long been hyped as the way for entrepreneurs to sell themselves to VCs, but it doesn’t have to be so formal, writes Mark Peter Davis. “While I do think you should be able to speak succinctly and intelligently about your business, I don’t think you need to have a canned elevator pitch on hand. Ultimately, I contend that elevator pitches are relevant for pitch events and not much else.”

Dealflow: Newton, Pennsylvania’s Oncova Therapeutics secures $10 million; Massachusetts-based SynapDX pulls in $9 million for its autism-diagnosis technology; California-based Altura Medical completes a $20 million round for its device that treats abdominal aortic aneurysms; Covidien has reached an agreement to buy ev3 for $2.6 billion.