Susan Morse

Author's posts

Becerra tells CMS to reassess 2022 Medicare Part B premiums

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has directed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reassess its recommendations for a significant increase in 2022 Medicare Part B premiums, due to a drugmaker’s 50% price reduction.

R1 RCM to expand revenue cycle reach in acquisition of Cloudmed 

Technology company R1 RCM is acquiring Cloudmed in a further expansion of its reach into the revenue cycle management space.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.
It builds on R1’s previous acquisitions of VisitPay ($300M in 2021…

Supreme Court Justices grill on question of emergency order for vaccine mandates  

Supreme Court Justices grilled Scott Keller, who gave arguments this morning against the federal vaccine-or-testing mandate for large employers.
Keller, representing the National Federation of Independent Business, argued that the Occupational Safety a…

Castlight Health and Vera Whole Health announce merger 

Employers will participate in full risk sharing to scale value-based care in the commercial market.

Healthcare third largest sector hit by Great Resignation

The Great Resignation hit the healthcare sector hard in November, and the numbers are colliding now with a steep rise in the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations.

AbbVie imposes 340B pricing restrictions at community pharmacies

Drug company AbbVie has told safety-net hospitals it will stop offering 340B drug pricing program discounts on drugs dispensed at community-based pharmacies starting Feb. 1, if the hospitals do not agree to turn over patient claims data for those pharm…

AMA urges Supreme Court to uphold vaccination mandates

The American Medical Association has added its voice in support of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations in an amicus brief to the Supreme Court filed on December 30.

Burnout and staffing shortages collided with COVID-19 in 2021 to create the perfect storm

Through the bad — workforce shortages, lost revenue — and the good — the rise of telehealth and hospital at home models — COVID-19 changed, and will continue to change, the way hospitals and providers strategize their business models and care for p…

Supreme Court to hear arguments over vaccine mandates on January 7

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over federal vaccine mandates in a special session on Friday, January 7, 2022.
This is an unusual move by the justices to hear two cases to determine whether the mandates stand, as legal challenges move throug…

How Oracle’s acquisition of Cerner is positive for providers

Oracle’s acquisition of Cerner for $28.3 billion is positive for providers, as the deal’s primary objective is a decrease in the amount of time spent on electronic health records.