Finances: Page 36
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HHS to distribute $2B in COVID-19 relief funds to providers this week to ease staffing, financial challenges
The agency is sending payments to more than 7,600 healthcare providers nationwide this week to help them as staffing shortages and heightened labor expenses pose new financial challenges.
By Hailey Mensik • Jan. 26, 2022 -
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Mass General dinged for spending growth by state regulator
A key driver behind spending at the health system is prices, not increased utilization, according to the Health Policy Commission, which is charged with policing healthcare cost growth in the state.
By Samantha Liss • Jan. 26, 2022 -
Anthem doubles profit to $1.1B, issues conservative 2022 guidance
Membership targets for the coming year, for one, "look a shade light," one analyst noted, though Anthem said it expects COVID-19 to cause less of a headwind in 2022 than in prior years.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Jan. 26, 2022 -
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Hospitals request more federal help battling rising labor expenses, staffing shortages amid omicron
The hospital lobby also is renewing its push in requesting the Federal Trade Commission investigate travel-nurse staffing firms for anticompetitive behavior as facilities have seen elevated pay rates throughout the pandemic.
By Hailey Mensik • Jan. 25, 2022 -
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Deep DiveThe shifting digital health investment landscape in 2022
Signs point toward another historic year in VC investment, experts say, which will benefit the medical system as it evolves to include more digital services.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Jan. 25, 2022 -
OIG audit targets hospital compliance with surprise billing rule
The effort aims to gauge whether providers receiving federal relief funds to help survive the pandemic complied with restrictions on unexpected bills for inpatients with COVID-19.
By Susan Kelly • Jan. 25, 2022 -
UnitedHealth reiterates MA growth expectations for 2022 as profits eclipse $4B
"Big picture, really positive," CEO Andrew Witty said about the fruitful MA market, despite dismal projections from some of UnitedHealth's peers about slowing enrollment.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Jan. 19, 2022 -
Medical cost growth trailed that of other industries in 2021
Prices for goods and services skyrocketed at the fastest pace in four decades, rising 7% between December 2020 and December 2021, according to new data. By comparison, prices for healthcare services rose roughly 2.5%.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Jan. 13, 2022 -
UHS
UHS details omicron's hit, shares dip
The health system has enough beds and ventilators but sometimes not enough staff, echoing concerns from other providers across the nation crushed by the latest wave of coronavirus patients with the fast-spreading omicron variant.
By Samantha Liss • Jan. 12, 2022 -
Teladoc ups revenue, visit expectations for 2021
Despite consistent revenue growth with an expected topline of $2.03 billion for the year, the 20-year-old vendor has not yet turned a profit and is currently facing a skeptical market.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Jan. 11, 2022 -
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Hospitals turned to M&A to shore up core operations last year
The financial pressures, supply chain disruptions and labor challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic drove hospitals to seek out merger partners that could help expand their presence in key markets.
By Susan Kelly • Jan. 11, 2022 -
Digital health funding reaches record $29.1B in 2021
"The digital health market wasn't an across-the-board bubble, but it wasn't placid water either," Rock Health researchers said in a new report on investment in the space.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Jan. 11, 2022 -
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Hospitals' labor expenses rose again just before omicron arrival, report finds
Expenses outpaced revenue growth as hospitals continued grappling with nationwide staffing shortages in November, according to Kaufman Hall.
By Hailey Mensik • Jan. 5, 2022 -
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Insurers returned $2B to consumers for 2020 under ACA
The rebates, tied to lower medical loss ratios, were triggered as utilization rates dropped at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Susan Kelly • Dec. 21, 2021 -
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Federal COVID-19 aid fueled huge jump in national health spending last year
The pandemic accounted for major changes in who paid for healthcare as job losses spurred changes in coverage types, while people deferred care and spent less out of their own pockets.
By Shannon Muchmore • Dec. 16, 2021 -
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HHS to funnel $9B in relief funds to providers
The federal government will reimburse smaller providers more favorably in this funding round, regulators said, acknowledging these facilities tend to operate on shakier financial footing compared to larger peers.
By Samantha Liss • Dec. 15, 2021 -
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Huge variance in state costs for complex hospitalizations from COVID-19, analysis finds
New Jersey has the highest in-network costs for complex hospitalizations from COVID-19 of any U.S. state, nonprofit Fair Health said. Maryland, which uses an all-payer model, had the lowest.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Dec. 15, 2021 -
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Flurry of doctor group buyouts helps fuel 'extraordinary' surge in health M&A
Companies across the healthcare spectrum are pursuing deals to strengthen operations after two years of pandemic-driven challenges, a new PwC report found.
By Susan Kelly • Dec. 14, 2021 -
Employers report highest annual increase in per-employee health costs in over a decade
The findings raise questions of whether employers are experiencing a temporary correction to the cost trend or if they're staring down the barrel of a new period of higher cost growth.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Dec. 13, 2021 -
New CVS primary care locations to include physicians for first time
CVS wants to broaden its care delivery strategy, including "physician-led primary care centers with integrated virtual and home assets," CVS EVP and president of pharmacy services Alan Lotvin said.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Dec. 10, 2021 -
Physician income dips when hospitals buy practices: Health Affairs
Average doctor pay slipped in hospital employment arrangements even as health systems typically benefit financially from acquiring physician practices.
By Susan Kelly • Dec. 8, 2021 -
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Bright Health nabs $750M capital infusion with help from new investor (and competitor) Cigna
Cigna is investing $550 million in an apparent rival, attracted by its clinical network and opportunities to drive value there as more insurers look to snap up doctor's groups.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Dec. 8, 2021 -
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Hospital lobby argues its case against 340B payment cut before SCOTUS
Tuesday's arguments seemed to center around single words and phrases to determine whether HHS had the authority to change payment rules in 2018 for 340B hospitals, which serve a large share of low-income patients.
By Samantha Liss • Dec. 1, 2021 -
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Hospital lobbying fails to stop looming Medicare cuts in year-end proposal
Lawmakers on Thursday reached a bipartisan year-end spending bill that doesn't include provisions to push back or stop the upcoming Medicare cuts.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated Dec. 3, 2021 -
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Hospitals brace for omicron as margins weaken further, Kaufman Hall reports
New uncertainties raised by the variant are likely to challenge hospitals as they grapple with shrinking operating margins as a result of escalating labor costs.
By Susan Kelly • Dec. 1, 2021
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