The Latest
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Tracking Steward's decline
Steward’s financing, hospital sales take center stage during bankruptcy hearing
During its first bankruptcy hearing, Steward's attorney lamented delays to its physician group deal and warned the timeline for hospital sales was “not feasible.”
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AstraZeneca withdraws COVID-19 vaccine, citing declining demand
The move ends a turbulent saga for AstraZeneca, which successfully developed a coronavirus shot but struggled to sell it amid competition and the emergence of rare but serious side effects.
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Private equity investing in healthcare continues to slow
Heightened antitrust scrutiny from state governments and regulators in Washington is having a chilling effect on deals, according to PitchBook analysts.
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Yale New Haven sues to get out of Prospect hospital acquisition
Yale says Prospect allowed the conditions at three Connecticut hospitals — which it agreed to acquire in 2022 — to deteriorate. Prospect argues the lawsuit is an “11th hour attempt” to back out of the deal.
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Tracking Steward's decline
Steward’s bankruptcy documents reveal sprawling debt, planned hospital fire sale
Since filing for bankruptcy Monday, Steward Health Care revealed it's carrying more than $1 billion in debt and said its entire hospital portfolio is for sale.
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MA health assessments contribute to inflated coding intensity: study
Some limits on how the assessments are used might be justified to ensure Medicare Advantage plans aren’t overpaid, researchers wrote.
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Tracking Steward's decline
Steward Health Care files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The filing marks the largest provider bankruptcy in decades, according to experts.
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Change Healthcare cyberattack
Change Healthcare cyberattack: 5 technical takeaways from UnitedHealth CEO’s testimony
Change Healthcare was running on legacy technology, which magnified the ransomware attack’s impact and hampered recovery efforts, Andrew Witty said.
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Medicare go-broke date extended to 2036, but warning bells continue ringing
The Medicare trustees’ new projection for insolvency is five years later than previous forecasts, but budget hawks warned action is still needed to shore up the insurance program’s finances.
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Medicaid redeterminations
Medicaid redeterminations losses exceeding predicted levels in some states
As of November, eight states had blown past their projected disenrollment of adults, while 12 states exceeded their projected disenrollment of children, according to new research from the Urban Institute.
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More than a third of nurses extremely likely to change jobs in 2024: survey
The results suggest job dissatisfaction is still high among nurses, and turnover is likely to remain elevated.
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Deep Dive
Antitrust agencies are relying on consumers to report anticompetitive behavior. That trust might be misplaced.
Regulators want consumers to flag business practices harming market health in the healthcare sector, which could result in a tsunami of new tips — for good and ill, according to experts.
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Walgreens inks GLP-1 clinical trial deal with major German drugmaker
Under the deal, Walgreens will find candidates who are overweight or have obesity or diabetes and connect them with a Phase III clinical trial for Boehringer’s GLP-1 drug survodutide.
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Tracker // Overturning of Roe v. Wade
Tracking state abortion bans in the US
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed legislation Wednesday repealing the state's near-total abortion ban from 1864. After the repeal goes into effect, abortions will be prohibited after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Updated May 3, 2024 -
Change Healthcare cyberattack
Congress grills UnitedHealth CEO over Change cyberattack
Legislators slammed Andrew Witty over the company’s lack of cybersecurity practices and the impact of the breach, which may have compromised the data of a third of Americans.
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Cigna writes down VillageMD investment amid shrinking value
Walgreens’ decision to slash VillageMD’s clinical footprint has reverberated to the financial accounts of the primary care chain’s minority owner — Cigna.
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Amwell expects revenue impact from Defense contract in Q4
The telehealth vendor has struggled with a declining stock price and mounting losses.
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CVS slashes 2024 outlook — again — as Medicare seniors drive spending
Runaway inpatient spending in particular caused CVS’ insurance costs to snowball after returning “to patterns we have not seen since the start of the pandemic,” its CFO said.
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Debt covenant violations tick up among nonprofit providers: report
Since 2022, S&P Global Ratings has tracked an increase in violations of debt agreements as macroeconomic pressures and low operating margins challenge providers.
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CVS acquires Medicare Advantage broker Hella Health
The acquisition comes amid rising regulatory scrutiny of insurance brokers and notable turbulence in MA.
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Change Healthcare cyberattack
Change Healthcare, compromised by stolen credentials, did not have MFA turned on
Failing to turn on multifactor authentication, a common cybersecurity safeguard, “underscores pure negligence on the part of UnitedHealth,” one expert said.
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Tenet raises full-year revenue guidance on $2.2B in Q1 profit
CEO Saum Sutaria says the health system is a “new company” following nine hospital sales in the first quarter.
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Walmart Health shuts down
The unexpected closure of Walmart’s 51 health centers and virtual care business highlights the difficulty of providing healthcare at this moment in time.
Updated May 2, 2024 -
Hospitals’ COVID reporting burden to lighten as pandemic-era policies expire
On Wednesday, hospitals will no longer be required to report COVID-19 admissions, capacity or occupancy data to the federal government.
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Ascension taps new CFO
Saurabh Tripathi, former CFO of Highmark Health, assumed the role on Monday.