Finances: Page 12


  • A Walgreens drugstore with green awnings.
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    Daphne Howland/Healthcare Dive
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    Walgreens to close 1,200 stores

    The closures reverse Walgreens’ expansion ambitions from a few years ago, when the company attempted to merge with rival Rite Aid.

    By Daphne Howland • Oct. 15, 2024
  • UnitedHealth Group office
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    Courtesy of UnitedHealth Group
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    UnitedHealth lowers adjusted profit outlook as cyberattack costs rise

    The insurer has recorded $2.5 billion in total impacts from the attack through the nine months ended Sept. 30, according to UnitedHealth’s third-quarter earnings. 

    By Oct. 15, 2024
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    iStock / alvarez

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    Sponsored by Huron

    Cost, care and digital transformation: What’s next for healthcare systems?

    Healthcare executives shed light on the trends, challenges, and growth areas shaping the industry.

    Oct. 14, 2024
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    Digital health deal count declines in Q3, but check sizes stabilize: Rock Health

    Startups notched 110 deals in the third quarter, compared with 133 in the second quarter. But average deal size held steady, suggesting investors are making “fewer, more focused bets,” according to the consultancy firm.

    By Oct. 8, 2024
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Humana’s Medicare Advantage dilemma worsens amid precipitous drop in 2025 star ratings

    Only 25% of Humana members will be in plans with four stars or above next year, down from 94% this year, the insurer disclosed last week. The downgrade could wipe out Humana’s profits in 2026.

    By Oct. 3, 2024
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    UHS forced to pay more damages related to child sexual abuse allegations at behavioral care facilities

    The health system has been hit with a combined $895 million in damages this year related to alleged child abuse at some of its behavioral health subsidiaries.

    By Susanna Vogel • Oct. 2, 2024
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    CVS to lay off 2,900 employees amid reports of strategic review

    CVS is cutting 1% of its workforce as the healthcare behemoth pursues a massive cost-cutting plan — and considers a potential breakup of its businesses, according to reports.

    By Oct. 1, 2024
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    MADDRAT/iStockPhoto.com

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    Sponsored by ZOLL Data Systems

    How to stop the surge in self-pay write-offs by finding hidden coverage you can bill today

    Providers who put AI-enhanced, real-time technology to work can improve their clean claims rate and pull payer dollars in more quickly.

    Sept. 30, 2024
  • A picture of the outside of Ascension St. Joseph hospital
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    Screenshot: Google Maps

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    Ascension posts $1.1B net loss for 2024 after May cyberattack

    The cyberattack had far reaching effects, forcing the health system to shut down pharmacies, divert ambulances, switch to manual record keeping and close critical systems.

    By Susanna Vogel • Sept. 19, 2024
  • A stethoscope rests on a pile of American dollar bills.
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    Health benefit costs to rise 5.8% per employee in 2025: survey

    About half of employers said they would make cost-cutting changes to their plans next year, like increasing deductibles or other cost-sharing provisions, according to a report from consultancy Mercer.

    By Sept. 17, 2024
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    Medicare Advantage bonuses poised to drop this year for first time since 2015, KFF says

    Still, plans are expected to rake in $11.8 billion in bonuses, with half of that tranche going to just two insurers: UnitedHealthcare and Humana.

    By Sept. 13, 2024
  • Bankruptcy court
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    Tracking Steward's decline

    Steward loses money on Massachusetts hospital sales; CEO snubs Senate

    Wednesday was a rocky day for bankrupt Steward Health Care as the system finalized unprofitable deals and CEO Ralph de la Torre landed in the spotlight once again for rebuffing a Senate subpoena.

    By Susanna Vogel • Updated Sept. 5, 2024
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    John Moore via Getty Images
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    Drug distributors agree to $300M settlement for role in opioid epidemic

    The settlement adds to the billions of dollars that McKesson, Cencora and Cardinal have already agreed to pay in restitution for flooding the U.S. with highly addictive painkillers.

    By Sept. 4, 2024
  • A calculator and stethoscope rest on a medical bill.
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    Getty Images
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    Uninsured, less educated patients less likely to question medical bills: study

    One in five survey respondents reported that their household had received a bill they disagreed with or couldn’t afford in the past year, but only 62% reached out to a billing office, according to a new study published in JAMA.

    By Sept. 3, 2024
  • Walgreens sign seen on January 2023
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    Walgreens sued by shareholder amid plummeting stock price

    The company’s top directors — including CEO Tim Wentworth and CFO Manmohan Mahajan — allegedly breached their fiduciary duty by inflating Walgreens’ performance projections.

    By Aug. 30, 2024
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    Hospitals boost operating margins in July: report

    Increased demand for services helped offset high expenses for hospitals, according to analytic solutions firm Strata.

    By Susanna Vogel • Aug. 29, 2024
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    Drew Angerer via Getty Images
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    PBM executives threatened with fines and jail time for alleged perjury in House hearing

    Testimony from the heads of Express Scripts, Optum Rx and Caremark in July defending pharmacy benefit managers’ business practices could be coming back to bite them.

    By Aug. 29, 2024
  • Texas two-step bankrupticy, LTL Management
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    J&J plans unilateral reform to 340B drug discount program

    A looming change to how Johnson & Johnson pays out discounts to 340B-eligible drugs has hospitals — and the government — crying foul.

    By Updated Aug. 27, 2024
  • Carney Hospital
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    Steward to close two Ohio hospitals, Pennsylvania facility at risk

    The closures are a “tragic result of greed-driven hospital executives, backed by private equity, who prioritize their yachts and private jets over patient care,” said an Ohio nurse union leader.

    By Aug. 23, 2024
  • A stethoscope rests on a pile of American dollar bills.
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    Getty Images
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    Large employers forecast 7.8% hike in health costs next year, thanks to rising pharmacy spend

    The growing burden of pharmaceuticals is expected to be the primary driver of higher healthcare spending in 2025, mostly due to expensive GLP-1 drugs in demand for weight loss, according to the Business Group on Health.

    By Updated Aug. 21, 2024
  • Earle Cabell Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Dallas, Texas.
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    The image by Renegomezphotography is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    Judge strikes down FTC noncompete ban nationwide

    Obviating the ban has big implications for U.S. healthcare, an industry that frequently relies on noncompetes to lock medical workers into employment agreements with hospitals, insurers and other employers.

    By Ryan Golden , Aug. 21, 2024
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    Humana pays $90M to settle whistleblower allegations of Medicare Part D fraud

    The insurer, which did not admit wrongdoing, agreed to the deal on the eve of a jury trial.

    By Aug. 20, 2024
  • A picture of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court sign in Manhattan
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    Chris Hondros/Getty Image via Getty Images
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    Healthcare bankruptcies slow after reaching five-year high in 2023: report

    The decline doesn’t mean the sector’s financial challenges have gone away. Case volumes could increase later this year, according to healthcare restructuring advisory firm Gibbins Advisors.

    By Aug. 19, 2024
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    Deep Dive

    Medicaid overtakes Medicare Advantage as health insurers’ bogeyman in Q2

    Despite challenges in Medicaid and MA, major insurers still posted large earnings in the second quarter — many helped by health services divisions.

    By Aug. 15, 2024
  • An illustration of a large dollar coin with medical supplies flying in the foreground is positioned on an analysis tracking chart background.
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    Illustration: Xavier Lalanne-Tauzia for Industry Dive

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    Kaiser’s operating margin rises to 3.1% in second quarter

    The nonprofit healthcare giant's results represent a strong quarter and a solid end to the first half of the year, one analyst said.

    By Susanna Vogel • Aug. 13, 2024