Author's posts
Nonprofit hospitals hit hard by inflation, need “transformational change,” finds Fitch
The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on nonprofit hospitals, and without action to address upward pressure on their expenses, the hardships are likely to continue, according to a market update from Fitch Ratings.
Gun violence generates more than $1 billion annually in hospital bills
Adding to the hardship on victims and their families, gun violence injuries in the U.S. cost more than $1 billion each year in initial direct medical costs alone, a federal committee has found.
HHS putting $49 million toward increased healthcare coverage for children
The administration made a push to expand healthcare coverage for young people this week when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, awarded $49 million to organizations trying to reduce…
Elevance Health, formerly Anthem, sees $1.7B in profit in Q2
Elevance Health, formerly known as Anthem, logged a $1.7 billion profit during the second quarter of this year, and while that’s down almost 8% compared to Q2 2021, revenues for the quarter were up, which the company attributes to increased enrollment….
Clover Health expanding Medicare Advantage footprint to new counties, states
Clover Health has become the latest insurer to expand its Medicare Advantage footprint, and will push into 13 new counties across three states in 2023: Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Subject to approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicai…
Clinicians issue recommendations for responding to a mass shootings
Clinicians from states affected by mass shootings convened at a consensus conference last fall to discuss an appropriate response to such events, and have just released a number of recommendations they hope will facilitate a better response to mass sho…
HHS orders additional 2.5 million doses of monkeypox vaccine
The federal government has ordered another 2.5 million doses of Bavarian Nordic’s JYNNEOS vaccine to respond to the current monkeypox outbreak. This follows a July 1 order for 2.5 million doses that will begin arriving in the Strategic National Stockpi…
UnitedHealthcare eliminating out-of-pocket costs for insulin, other drugs
On the heels of a strong financial quarter in Q2, UnitedHealthcare has said it will eliminate out-of-pocket costs for insulin and other medications for eligible members, offering a zero cost share for five drugs in its fully insured group plans.
Pendin…
CMS releases Medicare OPPS and ASC proposed rule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is proposing actions meant to advance health equity and improve access to care in rural communities by establishing policies for Rural Emergency Hospitals (REH) and providing for payment for certain behavi…
Megadeals push healthcare merger activity to $19.2 billion in Q2
Healthcare mergers and acquisitions had a banner quarter in the second quarter of this year, with a record high of $19.2 billion in total transacted revenue, driven by a couple of “megadeals” that led to double the transacted revenue posted in Q1.
