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N.Y. nurses to picket as negotiations with hospitals drag on
Six weeks after the term of the New York State Nurses Association contract with a group of city hospitals ended, the two sides have yet to reach a deal, mostly because of their disagreement about defined nurse-to-patient ratios.
With an eye to growth, Welltower sees health systems as vital partners
Real estate investment trust Welltower saw its profit jump 53% year-over-year in 2018, and the company’s leaders say much of its growth is being driven by partnerships with big-name health systems like Providence St. Joseph Health, Johns Hopkins and…
Medicare Advantage plans’ quality measures face new changes
The National Committee for Quality Assurance is looking to change some quality measures it maintains for CMS for Medicare Advantage plans, and the healthcare accreditor wants public feedback on those revisions.
CMS, ONC officials hit HIMSS to tout interoperability rules
Leaders from the CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology spread out across HIMSS19 to talk up what they say will finally put patients in the driver’s seat.
FDA sends McKesson a warning over alleged tampered opioids
Drug distributing giant McKesson Corp. was slapped with an FDA warning letter for allegedly shipping pharmacies opioid products with pills missing or non-opioid replacements.
Younger patients more dissatisfied with traditional healthcare
Millennial and Generation Z consumers are more unhappy than older people with many characteristics of traditional healthcare, such as treatment effectiveness and lack of convenience and responsiveness, a new survey found.
Azar: HHS examining insurer policy requiring patients to start over on step therapy
Alex Azar blasted the insurer practice of starting over a patient on step therapy if they switch insurance plans, as HHS aims to apply step therapy to Medicare Part B and D.
ONC’s Rucker says proposed regs will give patients power over their healthcare
Dr. Don Rucker, the national coordinator for health IT says new proposed rules to increase interoperability will give patients back the power over their healthcare.
Employer-sponsored healthcare spending reaches record high
People are essentially paying more for the same amount of care. Average utilization across all sectors only grew 0.5% from 2016 to 2017, but spending rose 4.2% led by a 3.6% hike in prices, according to a new report.
CVS Caremark reverses course on planned pay cuts to 340B providers
CVS Caremark wanted to cut its reimbursements to 340B providers and pharmacies. Now it’s backpedaling.
