Author's posts
Financial challenges spurring healthcare merger and acquisition activity
Hospitals and health systems have been under extreme financial pressure since 2022, when median operating margins remained in negative territory for the full year. And while the picture has improved somewhat this year, these challenges spurred about a …
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan reaches $200 million behavioral health settlement
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, run by Kaiser Permanente, and the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) have reached a $200 million settlement agreement to make significant changes to the plan’s delivery of behavioral healthcare services….
Uncompensated care hammering finances of essential hospitals
Essential hospitals – more than 300 of the nation’s largest safety net providers and about 5% of all U.S. acute-care hospitals – provided more than a quarter of all charity care nationally in 2021, but charity and other uncompensated care left these ho…
UnitedHealth Group posts $5.8 billion in profit in Q3
With subsidiary Optum leading the way, UnitedHealth Group posted $5.8 billion in profit for the third quarter, a slight increase over last year’s Q3 figure, and raked in $92.4 billion in revenue, a 14% increase over the year prior, according to the lat…
Patient care threatened by ever-increasing cyberattacks
Patient care is under threat from cyberattacks, particularly supply chain and business email compromise (BEC) attacks, as more and more healthcare organizations are grappling with the cost and headache associated with them, finds a new survey on health…
BCBS Michigan, Vermont affiliation receives green light
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont have received formal approval from the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation to affiliate, which will enable both organizations to begin sharing resources and expertise to br…
Humana CEO to step down, hand reins to replacement in 2024
Health insurer Humana has named healthcare industry veteran Jim Rechtin as its president and chief operating officer effective January 8, 2024, as part of a long-planned CEO transition. He will report to CEO Bruce Broussard until the latter half of 202…
Evernorth acquires Bright.md in bid to enhance MDLIVE
Evernorth Health Services, the pharmacy, care and benefits division of The Cigna Group, has revealed that it intends to enhance MDLIVE’s virtual care by acquiring the technology and clinical capabilities of Bright.md, which focuses on asynchronous care…
Employer coverage of GLP-1 weight loss drugs expected to double
While 81% of human resource decision-makers feel their employees would be interested in GLP-1 weight loss medications, only 25% cover GLP-1s currently – but that figure is expected to double next year, according to a new survey from Accolade.
GLP-1 med…
Telehealth filling critical need for pediatric mental health, study finds
Pediatric telehealth for mental health needs filled a critical deficit in the immediate period following the emergence of COVID-19, and continues to account for a substantial portion of pediatric mental health service utilization and spending, accordin…
