The Latest

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  Tracking Steward's decline

  Steward lays out timeline for asset sales

  Steward aims to sell its physician group and most of its hospitals by July, according to court filings. If it can’t find qualified buyers, hospitals may close.

  Hospitals

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  Senate Finance Committee tackles Medicare physician pay reform

  On Friday, the committee released a white paper proposing Medicare adjust doctor reimbursement to account for inflation, a key goal for physician lobbies.

  Payer

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  Epic continued to outstrip EHR competitors in 2023: report

  Epic was the only vendor to see a net increase in acute care market share last year, while Oracle Health saw its largest net hospital loss on record, according to Klas Research.

  Hospitals

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  Tracker

  The state-by-state impact of Ascension’s cyberattack

  Healthcare Dive is tracking pharmacy operations, emergency room statuses and potential care delays across Ascension’s hospitals.

  Hospitals

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  Cleveland Clinic names new CIO

  Sarah Hatchett, who has been serving as interim chief information officer, officially assumed the role on Thursday.

  Hospitals

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  Kaiser nixes planned $500M Seattle med tower build, looks to sell property

  The nonprofit giant has recently opted to focus capital spending in its largest market: California.

  Hospitals

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  Ascension hit with lawsuits days after ransomware attack

  Most data breach lawsuits settle out of court rather than through litigation, an expert told Healthcare Dive. 

  Hospitals

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  Kansas jilts CVS in new Medicaid contract awards

  Kansas kicked CVS to the curb in favor of an Elevance plan, while awarding contracts to incumbents UnitedHealth and Centene. The contracts are worth roughly $4 billion annually.

  Payer

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  Providence CEO to retire at end of year

  The nonprofit health system is in the process of selecting Rod Hochman’s successor.

  Hospitals

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  Jefferson Health, Lehigh Valley Health Network sign merger agreement

  The deal is expected to close this summer.

  Updated May 16, 2024

  Hospitals

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  Judge dismisses FTC’s antitrust suit against Welsh Carson

  Regulators sued the private equity firm for consolidating Texas anesthesia markets. Now, a judge is holding Welsh Carson blameless while allowing the suit against its portfolio company, U.S. Anesthesia Partners, to continue.

  Government

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  ONC to provide grants for AI, behavioral health projects

  The agency seeks projects that evaluate and improve healthcare data used by AI and accelerate the use of health IT products among mental healthcare providers.

  Health IT

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  Humana CEO Bruce Broussard to depart July 1

  At that time, current Chief Operating Officer Jim Rechtin will take the reins of the health insurer, which is struggling with challenges in Medicare Advantage.

  Payer

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  Kaiser rides completed Geisinger acquisition to $7.4B income in Q1

  However, the nonprofit provider and health plan warned subsequent quarters may be less profitable as expenses are projected to climb.

  Hospitals

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  Inpatient admissions lift for-profit providers’ revenue during Q1

  Despite an “unusual” rise in inpatient volumes, executives at most of the leading for-profit health systems said they remain focused on outpatient investments.

  Hospitals

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  US hikes tariffs on medical products from China

  The rate hikes focus on areas where the Biden administration has sought to boost domestic production, such as medical supplies that were essential to the COVID-19 pandemic response.

  Government

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  Hospitals charged employers and insurers 254% more than Medicare in 2022: study

  Hospitals with larger market shares were among the worst offenders, the Rand Corporation found.

  Hospitals

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  Deep Dive

  Medicare Advantage unrest, Change Healthcare fallout and more big takeaways from insurers’ Q1

  All major payers saw elevated utilization but only an unprepared few struggled with the trend, the Change Healthcare cyberattack caused minimal financial fallout and a new D-SNP rule opens the door to a Medicare growth opportunity.

  Payer

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  Black Basta ransomware is toying with critical infrastructure providers, authorities say

  The threat group has impacted more than 500 targets worldwide, including those in healthcare.

  Health IT

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  Ascension confirms ransomware attack as systems remain down

  The major nonprofit does not yet have a timeline for restoring its computer systems, which were taken offline following the attack last week.

  Updated May 13, 2024

  Hospitals

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  CHS sues MultiPlan for allegedly colluding to lower provider reimbursement

  It’s the third lawsuit filed against MultiPlan by a health system in under a year.

  Hospitals

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  AI could help assess patient acuity in emergency departments: study

  When given pairs of patient histories, a large language model could identify which patient needed to be seen more urgently with 89% accuracy.

  Hospitals

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  Steward’s landlord Medical Properties Trust posts $736M loss as hospitals flounder

  The real estate investment trust reported nearly $700 million in impairments related to Steward alone in the first quarter. However, executives said rental agreements are not what drove the troubled health system to bankruptcy.

  Finances

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  CMS proposes mandatory kidney care model with financial risk for hospitals

  The model, if finalized, will test whether putting hospitals on the hook for kidney transplant access and quality might improve the nation’s shoddy system of organ procurement and transplantation.

  Payer

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  The Vitamin Shoppe launches telehealth service

  Whole Health Rx connects users with licensed healthcare providers in real time and will initially focus on weight management solutions. 

  Telehealth

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