Deep Dive
Industry insights from our journalists
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Biden's most ambitious health policy: a public option plan
"It could fundamentally change how healthcare is priced in the U.S.," said Cynthia Cox, vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Samantha Liss • Jan. 20, 2021 -
Hospitals scramble to get ready for coronavirus vaccines
From ultra-cold storage capabilities to extra security staff, facilities are bracing now for their pivotal role in vaccine distribution.
Shannon Muchmore • Nov. 19, 2020 -
5 issues hospitals want Biden to tackle in his first 100 days
Taming the COVID-19 pandemic, which threatens to overwhelm the sector's resources, is the No. 1 ask. Rolling back limits to Medicaid and sustaining COVID-19-spurred telehealth reimbursement are also on the list.
Samantha Liss and Rebecca Pifer • Nov. 10, 2020 -
Supply chain pains: How Geisinger, Sutter and Intermountain are prepping for flu season
"I'll be frank with you, we are concerned," John Wright of Intermountain Healthcare said. "We have concerns just in our manufacturers' abilities to keep up with demand on a global basis. Because it's a global issue."
Hailey Mensik • Oct. 26, 2020 -
Retail's role, focus on equity, value-based pay amid COVID-19: takeaways from HLTH 2020
Back-to-work products, coronavirus vaccine distribution and telehealth ROI were also hot topics at the conference's third year.
Rebecca Pifer • Oct. 19, 2020 -
Pediatric hospitals face 'double whammy,' not spared from COVID-19 effects
The facilities had to shut down many services amid the pandemic and saw few coronavirus patients. Now they face squeezed Medicaid budgets.
Samantha Liss • Oct. 12, 2020 -
Election 2020: Trump and Biden's starkly diverging views on healthcare
Spoiler: the two nominees diverge on almost everything.
Rebecca Pifer • Oct. 01, 2020 -
6 months in: What will the new normal look like for hospitals?
Whether there is a nationwide second wave or smaller surges in regions at different times, hospitals will need to remain vigilant and in an effective state of emergency until there is a cure or vaccine for COVID-19.
Shannon Muchmore • July 27, 2020 -
6 months in: Following the flow of CARES hospital funding
Congress has allocated $175 billion to help providers respond to the COVID-19 crisis, but HHS has been hit with multiple complaints about distribution as that money goes out the door.
Samantha Liss • July 27, 2020 -
'Weeks where decades happen': Telehealth 6 months into COVID-19
The nascent industry exploded out of necessity earlier this year, but its future staying power will depend on what insurers are willing to cover and whether some of the regulations relaxed because of the pandemic will stay rolled back.
Rebecca Pifer • July 27, 2020 -
After 6 months of darkness, primary care practices see little light ahead
"You have to dig yourself out of a financial hole — it's not a hole, it's a crater — created by the pandemic," said Gary LeRoy, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Rebecca Pifer • July 27, 2020 -
Nonprofit health systems — despite huge cash reserves — get billions in CARES funding
Healthcare Dive's findings revive concerns that greater examination of hospital finances is needed before divvying up COVID-19 rescue funding allocated by Congress.
Samantha Liss • June 23, 2020 -
COVID-19 creates thicket of legal concerns for providers
"There's a push and pull here ... between offering patients protection and between providing immunities" to let providers operate without fear of prosecution, one expert said.
Shannon Muchmore • June 05, 2020 -
How tariffs ravaged the COVID-19 medical supply chain
Months into the pandemic, the U.S. faces an ongoing shortage of PPE and some of it is still subject to tariffs.
Deborah Abrams Kaplan • May 27, 2020 -
Here's how much for-profit hospitals have received in COVID-19 bailout funding so far
The nation's largest for-profit hospital chains have received about $2.2 billion, money they don't have to pay back. Healthcare Dive is tracking how much major health systems have collected in federal relief.
Samantha Liss • May 26, 2020 -
"Florida National Guard" by The National Guard is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Despite the pandemic, insurers seem cautiously optimistic about 2020. Here's why.
The nation's largest private payers stuck by their earnings outlooks for the full year, raising questions about why executives are confident about their prospects despite being in the middle of a public health crisis.
Samantha Liss • May 07, 2020 -
Telehealth is having a moment. What does its future look like after COVID-19?
Employers should expect workers to embrace telehealth post pandemic, sources said, even if concerns about billing and security persist.
Ryan Golden • May 07, 2020 -
"Florida National Guard" by The National Guard is licensed under CC BY 2.0
COVID-19's public health crisis could also be a financial disaster for hospitals
Most systems already operate on relatively thin margins, with little room to handle a downswing, much less the pandemic that has now caused more deaths in the U.S. than any other nation.
Shannon Muchmore • April 08, 2020 -
How hospital capacity varies dramatically across the country
COVID-19 cases are surging across the country, just as it marches further into flu season. In light of the renewed concern, Healthcare Dive is resharing a Deep Dive examining baseline U.S. hospital capacity in March.
Samantha Liss and Nami Sumida • March 30, 2020 -
Dire warnings sound over hospital capacity as novel coronavirus spreads
The U.S. has a fraction of the number of hospital beds per resident as other developed countries. Many facilities are looking to quickly scale up amid the growing number of COVID-19 patients.
Samantha Liss • March 13, 2020 -
Frustrated employers buck status quo, leave insurers for riskier arrangements
"In a nutshell, has it been an easy two to three years? No. But it has to be the way we go because healthcare costs are just going absolutely stupid," the owner of a North Carolina auto group said of the transition.
Samantha Liss • Feb. 20, 2020 -
Key 2020 trends for payers and providers
No matter who wins the White House come November, healthcare experts say the push to reimburse providers for value and the aim for greater transparency surrounding prices will keep moving ahead.
Samantha Liss • Jan. 17, 2020 -
Will more employers get off the healthcare bench in 2020?
"At the end of the day, employers have to put their hands on the steering wheel as purchasers of healthcare," Suzanne Delbanco, executive director of Catalyst for Payment Reform, said.
Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 14, 2020 -
Will sky-high drug prices spur the US to use an obscure power over patents?
New cell therapies as well as gene-based treatments like Zolgensma benefited from NIH funding of early-stage research. Advocates say the time is now for the government to invoke its "march-in" rights.
Jonathan Gardner • Dec. 04, 2019 -
Some of the nation's largest health systems want to care for patients in their homes. Here's why.
Ascension, CommonSpirit and Highmark Health are some of those signing joint venture deals with Nashville-based Contessa over the past few months, in a move away from the "heads in beds" model.
Samantha Liss • Nov. 21, 2019