Category: Healthcare Finance News

Insurers Cigna and Humana reportedly in talks to merge

Major insurers Humana and Cigna are exploring a possible merger that could exceed $60 billion in value, and would create a company worth about $140 billion based on each companies’ respective market value as of Wednesday morning.

Hospitals confront mounting reimbursement challenges and diminishing cash reserves

Escalating reimbursement delays and declining cash reserves are placing hospitals and health systems across the nation in a precarious financial predicament, according to data from Syntellis Performance Solutions’ analysis of 1,300 hospitals.
 

Free COVID-19 tests being distributed to schools nationwide

The federal government is distributing free COVID-19 tests to schools nationwide, as part of an effort to keep students safe and schools open.

Ransomware attack disrupts operations at Ardent Health Services

Ardent Health Services has been hit with a ransomware attack that has disrupted some of its clinical and financial operations, the Tennessee-based health system reported.
Ardent said it took its network offline proactively, and suspended all access to …

Advocate Health appoints new chief financial officer 

Advocate Health has announced that Brad Clark has been promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective Friday, December 1.

Pennsylvania hospital hit by data breach affecting 169K

Warren General Hospital in Pennsylvania is the latest hospital to be hit by a significant data breach, this one affecting roughly 169,000 patients.
The breach was first detected on September 24, when WGH identified suspicious activity on its network. A…

COVID-19 vaccine uptake is only at 14%, says CDC

Based on National Immunization Survey (NIS) data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said only about 14% of adults in the U.S. have received an updated COVID-19 vaccine as of November 4 – a much lower rate than desired.

Hospitals wants CMS to correct MA plan policies on coverage

The American Hospital Association is asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to crack down on Medicare Advantage insurers it says are blatantly flaunting CMS coverage rules.

BayCare expanding presence through medical group acquisition

BayCare Health System, based in Clearwater, Florida, will be acquiring Gessler Clinic, a physician-owned medical group, with the former to begin operating at the Gessler Clinic locations effective December 2.
BayCare is the region’s largest nonprofit h…

Feds settle with St. Joseph’s over alleged HIPAA violation

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has settled with New York-based Saint Joseph’s Medical Center for potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 Privacy Rule. The settle…