The Latest
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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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Sponsored by CorroHealth
Empowering healthcare providers against rising payer denials
The rise in denial rates is more than a mere statistic; it's a symptom of a broader systemic challenge that calls for strategic foresight and robust expertise.
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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 51 minutes ago -
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.
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FTC broadens health breach notification rule to include apps
Regulators have been pursuing more enforcement actions against health applications sharing consumers’ data. Friday’s final rule should give those actions more heft.
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Ransomware attacks on healthcare impact nearly five times more sensitive data: report
Twenty percent of a typical healthcare organization’s sensitive data holdings are affected in a ransomware encryption event, compared with an average of just 6% in other industries.
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Opinion
Medical research is changing, data privacy laws have not
Congressional inaction regarding health privacy laws robs Americans of ownership over their health data, argues Senator Bill Cassidy, ranking member of the Senate HELP committee.
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FDA finalizes lab developed test rule despite industry opposition
Risks associated with the tests have increased, requiring greater oversight to protect patients, the agency contends.
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Kaiser exposed up to 13.4M plan member records to third parties
The largest data breach reported so far this year comes as regulators reconsider healthcare’s use of tracking technologies.
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Rising inpatient volumes boosted HCA’s first quarter earnings
The Nashville, Tennessee-based operator is the latest for-profit system to report stronger-than-expected inpatient volumes and tempered expenses.
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Centene looks beyond Medicaid redeterminations
The nation's largest Medicaid insurer expects to return to normal operations this year, though redeterminations continue to dog Centene through a mismatch between rates and acuity.
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UPMC to cut 1,000 roles
About 1% of UPMC's total workforce will be impacted by the reductions, according to a spokesperson.
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Teladoc reports mixed results following long-time CEO’s departure
The virtual care giant’s earnings were dragged by flagging growth in its BetterHelp segment, which suffered an 11% drop in paying users year over year.
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Molina to challenge Medicaid contract losses in Florida, Virginia
Despite business growth in the first quarter, Molina reiterated its prior 2024 guidance out of caution that it won’t be able to reprocure the contested contracts.
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CHS kicks off 2024 with a net loss as expenses remain high
The health system made progress on controlling expenses by cutting contract labor costs and insourcing physicians, but costs still dragged on earnings.
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UHS posts strong profits as acute and behavioral care revenue rises
The for-profit health system’s revenue rose by more than 10% in the first quarter.
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Intermountain Health exits Kansas
The nonprofit is transferring ownership of two Caritas Clinics and shutting one down.
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FTC votes to ban noncompetes, with far-reaching effects on doctors
The agency estimates the final rule would lower healthcare costs by $194 billion over the next decade, while freeing up physicians to more easily move between employers.
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Oracle plans to move headquarters to healthcare hub Nashville
Nashville is “the center of the industry we’re most concerned about, which is the healthcare industry,” Oracle Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison said.
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Deep Dive
California, Oregon eye universal health coverage
The states' proposals, which resemble Medicare for All, need approval from the federal government and face pushback from major health systems and insurers.
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Humana withdraws 2025 earnings outlook on unsatisfactory MA rates
Because of the final rates for next year, Humana will have to enact “larger benefit reductions to achieve stable margins,” its CFO told investors.
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Tracker
Tracking healthcare worker strikes
In May, healthcare workers in California and Pennsylvania will strike over staffing and benefit concerns.
Updated April 24, 2024 -
Change Healthcare cyberattack
UnitedHealth confirms ransom, compromised health data from Change attack
More than 20 screenshots of potentially stolen patient data were posted on the dark web for about a week, the insurer said.
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Nurse staffing rule slammed by both industry and advocacy groups
The rule places stricter staffing requirements on nursing homes than those initially proposed and offers exemptions for certain providers.