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Microsoft launches 1st industry-specific offering in healthcare

Though the service is tailored to providers, Tom McGuinness, the company's corporate VP of healthcare, said expanding to payers, pharma and life sciences is part of the tech giant's near-term plan.

Labs welcome CMS rate for coronavirus antibody testing

Analysts at William Blair said the roughly $42 rate for common serological tests is higher than expected, which may bode well for antigen testing reimbursement.

Despite $33M in approvals, FCC has sent just 1 provider CARES telehealth funds

"We expect the number of invoices to increase steadily as more funding continues to be approved," an FCC spokesperson told Healthcare Dive.

Nonprofit health systems see investments slide as COVID-19 ravages economy

Major systems like CommonSpirit Health and Kaiser Permanente posted losses of more than $1 billion in first quarter reports.

PAs gain authority during COVID-19 pandemic, but still face layoffs, furloughs

Over the past few months, 21 states have taken action — eight through executive orders — to waive practice requirements for physician assistants. But the financial strain on health systems has also led to job cuts.

COVID-19 pushes Mayo Clinic's operating income into free fall

Operating income plunged 88% while margin flatlined to 0.9% by the end of the first quarter due to the onset of the pandemic and the near closure of the health system's outpatient business.

Hospitals, device industry set ground rules for sales reps' return

The guidance expands on advice for resuming elective surgery that a group of medical societies and the American Hospital Association released in April in preparation for reopening healthcare facilities for non-emergency care.

Knee replacements nearly halted as hospitals braced for COVID-19, data show

Even service lines involving what are often life-threatening illnesses saw large drops, with cardiac care falling 57% and cancer care decreasing 37%, according to an analysis from software company Strata Decision Technology.

CommonSpirit posts $1.4B loss, says full COVID-19 impact unknown

The biggest proportion of losses were tied to investments, as the nonprofit health system's portfolio dropped in value by nearly $1.1 billion.

Cigna jumps 52 spots on Fortune 500 off Express Scripts buy

Fortune released its annual rankings based on the 2019 revenue of top-earning U.S. companies on Monday. Forty healthcare companies are in the top 500, about the same as the past few years.

States brace for 'nearly certain' Medicaid budget shortfalls amid COVID-19

The Kaiser Family Foundation survey comes as the House passed a $3 trillion legislative relief package Friday, which would further bump the federal match rate for Medicaid.

FDA OKs 1st home COVID-19 test kit for use with multiple labs

Everlywell's emergency use authorization is for self collection and analysis at outside labs. It follows earlier EUAs to LabCorp and Rutgers Clinical Genomics Laboratory for at-home specimens for analysis at their own labs.

UnitedHealth, Microsoft launch COVID-19 screening app for employers

UnitedHealth will control employees' medical data and manage opt-in and consent requirements for users, the healthcare behemoth said Friday. The app will not provide tracking or contact tracing information.

Doctor on Demand 1st telehealth vendor to move into Medicare Part B as pandemic expands virtual care

It's a previously untapped market for telehealth made attainable by the Trump administration's March expansion of coverage in traditional fee-for-service Medicare, an action spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 shreds Sutter Health's finances in matter of weeks

The Northern California nonprofit health system lost more than $1 billion in the first quarter due to the pandemic. Future finances could become even grimmer.

ACOs ask Trump admin for more help to cope with coronavirus

Nine organizations, including NAACOs and AMA, want CMS to shelter them from financial losses in exchange for lower shared savings as well as push back some key deadlines.

For-profit, higher-margin hospitals at advantage when it comes to CARES funding

A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis looked at the implications of tying the latest round of $50 billion in federal bailout money to providers' net patient service revenue.

Philips, startups look to deploy new ultrasound tech amid coronavirus

The need for point-of-care imaging for lung and cardiac complications among COVID-19 patients has led to a flurry of expedited FDA reviews.

Front-line COVID-19 responders in middle of pack on pay

Medscape's annual survey also found men continue to earn more than women, a trend that's held now for a decade. Among primary care physicians, men earn roughly 25% more than women.

Fitch Q2 outlook for nonprofit hospitals: 'worst on record'

Moody's Investors Service also warned this week the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic will linger into next year and noted government assistance won't make up for all the financial losses.

UPDATED: May 15, 2020 at 9:53 a.m.

27M Americans may have lost job-based health insurance due to COVID-19 downturn

The new Kaiser Family Foundation estimate also found the coverage gap of those who don't qualify for ACA subsidies or Medicaid could balloon to 1.9 million Americans by 2021 as unemployment insurance runs out.

UnitedHealthcare adds new state to ACA exchange footprint

The move comes after the payer's executives last month said they were mulling jumping back in, after largely exiting a few years ago amid steep profit losses.

House Dems carve out $100B for providers in latest attempt at COVID-19 relief package

The $3 trillion bill, which passed the House on Friday, is the Democrats' opening gambit for the next wave of congressional action, but Republicans and President Donald Trump say they're not in a hurry to approve new funding.

UPDATED: May 18, 2020 at 10:36 a.m.

As Trump pushes states to reopen, Fauci warns against lifting COVID-19 restrictions too soon

The U.S. doesn't have the necessary testing and surveillance infrastructure in place for a fall resurgence of the novel coronavirus, a second wave that's "entirely conceivable and possible," the pandemic response leader said.

Hospitals balk as CMS doubles down on price transparency

In the draft of the Medicare payment rule posted Monday, the agency also proposed raising the rate for inpatient hospital services by about 1.6% in 2021, which would amount to nearly $2.1 billion.