Deep Dive
Industry insights from our journalists
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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.
John Canham-Clyne • April 24, 2024 -
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Steward bankruptcy likely as massive debt remains, with few options left
Steward Health Care’s forbearance period ends in less than 15 days. Analysts say this time, creditors are unlikely to extend the embattled company another lifeline.
Susanna Vogel • April 16, 2024 -
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Change cyberattack serves as wake-up call for healthcare cybersecurity
The outage shows why health systems need to plan for inevitable cyberattacks, evaluating risks and putting operational backups in place, experts say.
Emily Olsen • April 4, 2024 -
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‘As fast as possible but no faster than is safe’: Hospitals, tech companies confront AI governance
Regulators seeking to erect guardrails around AI are facing a Sisyphean task, experts said at HIMSS. How do you oversee something that is constantly changing?
Rebecca Pifer • March 18, 2024 -
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Why Cigna is capping cost increases for pricey GLP-1 weight loss drugs
The move — the first of its kind — comes as pharmacy benefit managers continue to try to prove their value to clients, and shows how major players are shoring up to meet sky-high GLP-1 demand.
Rebecca Pifer • March 8, 2024 -
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Insurers brace for continued Medicare Advantage medical costs
The big question coming out of the health insurance earnings season is how much elevated utilization among seniors is carrying over into 2024.
Rebecca Pifer • Feb. 20, 2024 -
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Trends shaping the business of health insurance in 2024
The uninsured rate will rise. Medicare Advantage enrollment will swell, with less instability. Major pharmacy benefit managers will launch more transparent products. Here’s what industry watchers are expecting in 2024.
Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 16, 2024 -
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Key hospital and provider trends in 2024
As slim operating margins continue to challenge hospitals, experts predict providers will trim unnecessary expenses and focus on strategic labor investments.
Susanna Vogel • Jan. 10, 2024 -
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Healthcare technology trends to watch in 2024
Experts discuss their predictions for healthcare industry trends, including investment and consolidation in digital health, adoption of artificial intelligence and improving cybersecurity in healthcare in 2024.
Emily Olsen • Jan. 8, 2024 -
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A Cigna-Humana merger could face a long regulatory delay. But it might get approved.
As rumors swirl that the two major health insurers are inching toward a merger, experts say antitrust agencies have grounds to block a deal — but may not be successful.
Rebecca Pifer • Dec. 4, 2023 -
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Where are all the nurses? Hospitals, advocates disagree on crisis
Hospitals and nursing unions clash on what’s driving sluggish application rates for open registered nurse positions — a lack of qualified candidates or a lack of interest.
Susanna Vogel • Nov. 21, 2023 -
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Preparing for the future: Hospital climate resilience plans challenged by cost, uncertainty
As extreme weather events caused by climate change ramp up in frequency, hospitals are struggling with financial and data challenges in disaster planning.
Emily Olsen • Nov. 7, 2023 -
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Blue Shield of California is promising a simpler, cheaper pharmacy benefits model. Can it deliver?
Big questions hang over the California health insurer's bold experiment — having five vendors carry out PBM functions previously performed by one — that could threaten BSCA's expected savings.
Rebecca Pifer • Updated Oct. 26, 2023 -
Rebecca Pifer/Healthcare Dive
GLP-1s for weight loss leave employers in a bind over coverage
Employers face a difficult decision over whether to cover pricey weight loss drugs that pits the health and wellbeing of their employees against the health of their bottom line.
Rebecca Pifer • Oct. 13, 2023 -
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Software overload could boost digital health M&A
Buyers of digital health products are overwhelmed with point solutions, which could accelerate merger and acquisition activity in a slowed funding environment, experts say.
Emily Olsen • Aug. 29, 2023 -
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Will the Biden administration’s short-term plan rule increase the uninsured rate?
Free-market advocates argue proposed restrictions on short-term plans will leave consumers without coverage. Health policy researchers aren’t so sure.
Rebecca Pifer • Aug. 14, 2023 -
Carol Highsmith. (2005). "The Apex Building" [Photo]. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
New antitrust merger guidelines could have significant chilling effect on healthcare deals
Regulators have historically struggled to make a case against complex and non-traditional tie-ups. That could change with the new guidelines.
Rebecca Pifer • July 21, 2023 -
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States’ varying approaches complicate effort to determine impact of Medicaid redeterminations
Millions of people have been disenrolled from Medicaid, but it’s too early to get a full picture of redeterminations’ effect on vulnerable Americans, experts say.
Emily Olsen • July 13, 2023 -
Rebecca Pifer/Healthcare Dive
‘Hurtling into the future’: The potential and thorny ethics of generative AI in healthcare
Generative AI has roared onto the tech scene through the large language model backing ChatGPT. Companies are already deploying the algorithms in hospitals. Should healthcare be taking a pause?
Rebecca Pifer • April 21, 2023 -
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Delays in reporting led FDA to late cancer warning on breast implants, advocates say
Cases need to be better tracked, and the cancer risks should be discussed with patients prior to surgery, patient advocates and physicians said.
Elise Reuter • March 22, 2023 -
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Why regulators didn’t challenge Amazon-One Medical deal, despite data concerns
The ecommerce giant's $3.9 billion buy of primary care company One Medical closed without a challenge from the FTC, even as consumer protection groups and regulators aired worries about the tie-up.
Rebecca Pifer • March 1, 2023 -
Illustration: Yann Bastard for Industry Dive
Hacking healthcare: With 385M patient records exposed, cybersecurity experts sound alarm on breach surge
Healthcare companies must harden their defenses, but it may require regulators and lawmakers to raise the bar on security standards, experts say.
Jasmine Ye Han • Feb. 28, 2023 -
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Could Medicaid redeterminations cause short-term health plan signups to spike?
Short-term plan operators will likely ramp up their marketing in April to nab new consumers from the Medicaid churn, but health policy experts largely aren't concerned.
Rebecca Pifer • Feb. 21, 2023 -
Carol Highsmith. (2005). "The Apex Building" [Photo]. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
FTC’s enforcement action against GoodRx unveiled a new regulatory threat. Should digital health apps be concerned?
The order suggests the regulator is willing to use every tool in its tookit to tamp down on sensitive data sharing as medical care turns increasingly online.
Rebecca Pifer • Feb. 13, 2023 -
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How technology will shape healthcare in 2023
This year could represent an inflection point for real-world utilization of artificial intelligence, and standards could rise for health data privacy and cybersecurity, industry experts told Healthcare Dive.
Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 17, 2023
