Kaiser closes Geisinger acquisition, launching Risant Health

The deal closed roughly a year after it was first announced. Geisinger is the first health system to join Risant, but it’s far from the last — the hospital operator wants to acquire at least four additional nonprofits.

Blue Shield of California and Providence at stalemate over contract negotiations

It's the latest negotiation to spill out of the boardroom and into the public eye as tensions between providers and payers ramp up.

Intermountain-owned Saltzer shutters operations, sells clinics

The financially strapped physician group finalized a midnight deal to sell some services to Trinity Health-owned Saint Alphonsus Health System and Intermountain Medical Imaging of Idaho.

Surescripts exploring a sale: report

A private equity buyer could make sense for the health IT vendor, as a strategic sale to a payer could raise antitrust concerns, one expert said.

Biden administration finalizes modest cut to 2025 Medicare Advantage rates

Despite heavy lobbying, insurers failed to see MA rates improve in the final rule, which codified a 0.16% decrease to benchmark funding.

UHS could face hit from $535M judgment against subsidiary

Damages could shrink on appeal and Universal Health Services has malpractice insurance to cover some costs, but the for-profit’s exposure from the case could still amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.

One year, 19M disenrollments: A look at Medicaid redeterminations so far

Threats of fines, procedural errors and more: Here are the major headlines from the past year of states unwinding Medicaid.

UCLA Health acquires California hospital from HCA

The purchase of the 260-bed facility will help address inpatient capacity needs, UCLA said.

Change cyberattack likely ‘minor setback’ for nonprofit hospitals: Fitch

The ratings agency doesn’t anticipate a credit impact to nonprofits as long as providers can return to normal operations soon and maintain a large enough cash cushion during the outage.

Adventist, Tenet close California hospital sale

The deal will net Tenet Healthcare about $450 million in after-tax proceeds.

Updated April 1, 2024

Biden administration finalizes rule cracking down on short-term plans

Democrat lawmakers and patient advocacy groups cheered the final rule for protecting patients from the skimpy plans, while free-market advocates slammed it as limiting coverage options for consumers.

CISA issues notice for long-awaited critical infrastructure reporting requirements

The proposed rule will require covered entities — including major healthcare companies — to promptly disclose major cyber incidents and ransomware payments.

UnitedHealth CFO John Rex to replace Dirk McMahon as president

McMahon announced earlier this year that he would retire from the healthcare behemoth in April. Rex will step up as president, though there’s no word yet on who will assume McMahon’s chief operating officer role.

Novant’s proposed purchase of CHS hospitals ‘irreversibly’ harms competition, FTC says

Antitrust regulators filed this week to block the deal, a move akin to trying to stop a “ball that’s already rolling downhill," one expert said.

Inside CVS Health’s push to transform customer experience

The transformation, led by Deloitte Digital, focused on increasing customer feedback to identify pervasive issues and closing the loop on customer inquiries.

New federal health IT strategy increases focus on public health, AI

The draft plan builds on its predecessor, which the health IT agency said drove “significant progress” in the use and exchange of electronic health information.

Walgreens posts $6B loss on waning VillageMD value; ups clinic closures

The retail pharmacy chain has closed 140 VillageMD locations to date to cut costs, blowing past its previous goal of 60 closures.

Steward to sell physician group to UnitedHealth’s Optum Care

The proposed deal could face regulatory scrutiny, Massachusetts officials say.

UCI Health completes $975M purchase of 4 Tenet hospitals

Tenet's latest hospital sale comes as the operator looks to pare down its debt.

Updated March 28, 2024

CMS streamlines Medicaid, CHIP renewal and enrollment in final rule

It’s the “most robust and meaningful” regulation streamlining Medicaid eligibility since the Affordable Care Act was implemented a decade ago, one lawyer said.

Ascension to divest three hospitals in northern Michigan

The nonprofit giant is working to improve its financials and focus on expanded ambulatory and telehealth offerings.

Medicare’s GLP-1 spending is skyrocketing, even without weight loss coverage: KFF

Gross Medicare spending on the pricey drugs rose from $57 million in 2018 to $5.7 billion in 2022, according to a new analysis from the health policy group.

Supreme Court weighs abortion opponents’ standing in mifepristone case

Reversal of the FDA’s expanded access could limit use of medication abortion even in states that have legal protections for the procedure in place.

Healthcare companies expand perks to recruit talent: report

The increase stands in contrast to other industries, which have cut back on extra offerings. 

Tax breaks exceed community care spending at large majority of nonprofit hospitals: report

Nonprofits’ cumulative “fair share” deficit is enough to pay off the medical debt of everyone in California, Texas, New York and Pennsylvania combined, according to the Lown Institute.