Author's posts
Increased utilization negatively affecting UnitedHealth’s medical loss ratio
UnitedHealth Group closed out the final quarter of 2023 with $5.5 billion in profit, an increase from the $4.8 billion it posted in Q4 of 2022, the company revealed in its latest earnings report.
New Hampshire hospitals nearing 100% capacity as respiratory diseases spread
Respiratory illnesses such as the flu, RSV and COVID-19 are on the rise once again, and as hospitals and health systems grapple with how to handle the surge, one state is seeing its provider workforce buckle: Hospitals in the state are nearing 100% cap…
Elevance Health increasing access to smartphones in bid to tackle digital divide
At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Elevance Health said it would launch a program offering smartphones with unlimited data, talk and texting service at no cost to eligible individuals enrolled in some of its affiliated Medicaid health plans.
CES…
Baptist Health abandoning Medicare Advantage plans from UnitedHealthcare, Centene
Since January 1, Baptist Health, based in Louisville, Kentucky, has been out-of-network with UnitedHealthcare and Centene’s Wellcare Medicare Advantage plans, citing denied and delayed prior authorization requests and payments from the insurers.
It was…
Gender wage gap in healthcare is complicated
The gap in wages between genders has been a pervasive issue in healthcare and many other industries, but the wage gap between men and women is becoming more complicated in the sector, with the gap decreasing in some health-centric occupations but not i…
HHS pushing for equitable access to COVID-19 therapies
This week U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra met virtually with pharmacy leaders, pharmacy benefit managers and insurers to discuss HHS’ commitment to increase equitable access to COVID-19 therapeutics.
CMS OKs New York Medicaid demonstration
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has given the green light to New York’s amended Medicaid Section 1115 demonstration, kickstarting a push to invest in behavioral health and health equity.
The demonstration “bundles a series of actions to …
Senators call inhaler prices ‘outrageous,’ pressure drugmakers
Four U.S. senators led by Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have sent letters to the four largest inhaler manufacturers – AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Teva Pharmaceuticals – informing them of an investigation into inhaler prices, w…
Marshfield Clinic Health System, Essentia Health call off merger talks
Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) and Essentia Health have called off their merger talks and will not be moving forward with their proposed integration, the organizations said.
The two entities have “engaged in meaningful discussion” over the last…
CVS appoints Tim Cowhey as permanent CFO
CVS Health Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance Tom Cowhey has been serving as the company’s interim chief financial officer since October, and has now been appointed as permanent CFO, CVS recently announced.
CEO of Oak Street Health and interim …
