Category: Modern Healthcare

After bitter closure, rural Texas hospital defies the norm and reopens

The 25-bed hospital in Crockett, Texas, abruptly closed its doors in 2017, joining the ranks of nearly 100 rural hospitals that have shut down in the past decade. But the community kept the faith and several doctors reopened the facility this year.

Greater flexibility, new alliances define insurance industry in 2018

In 2018, the Trump administration offered insurers and states extra tools to sidestep the Affordable Care Act. As costs and new competition rose, insurers sought courtships that further blurred the lines between payers and providers.

Bookended by Obamacare, 2018 was the year of policy change

In 2018, as a lawsuit to overturn Obamacare simmered in the courts, the Trump administration charted its course on a healthcare overhaul. Hospitals and drug manufacturers were the main targets.

Healthcare organizations turned to unexpected partners in 2018

The year saw a series of unconventional partnerships and unexpected entrants that will shape the healthcare industry well beyond 2018.

Absence of government action on public health issues pushed industry to act in 2018

Providers and payers took the lead on public health in 2018, solidifying their stance and mobilizing on the biggest public health issues.

In 2018, interoperability remained just beyond the horizon

Interoperability remained top of mind in 2018, with players big and small, entrenched and untraditional, joining the cacophonous call for a health system in which patient data can move between providers and, sometimes, even move via the patients…

2018 Healthcare Year in Review

Repeal was replaced for much of 2018, but then December came along. A dozen states advanced plans to impose new enrollment mandates on Medicaid beneficiaries. Deaths mounted from opioids and gun violence, and consumer-facing companies continued…

Dealmaking stayed hot in 2018, with a focus on physician practices

Physician practices took the spotlight in 2018, as health systems, payers and private equity firms rush to gobble them up.

CMS amps up value-based payments in 2018 as other quality issues fall by the wayside

Risk was the buzzword for healthcare quality and safety in 2018. The CMS strongly pushed value-based payment and downside risk on providers, but the agency was largely silent on patient-safety issues.

Republicans agree Obamacare suit should head to appeal

The Republican state attorneys general challenging the Affordable Care Act urged a federal judge in Texas to let Democrats immediately appeal his ruling striking down the law.