Court rejects 340B payment cuts in big win for hospitals

The district court judge asked the federal government and hospitals to come to an "appropriate remedy."

By Les Masterson • Dec. 31, 2018

3M picks up MModal's tech business for $1B

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2019.

By Meg Bryant • Dec. 21, 2018

340B hospital drug spending higher than at non-340B facilities, report says

The analysis funded by the pharmaceutical industry is the latest in a heated battle between 340B hospitals and drugmakers over the benefits to the program and the impact on drug spending.  

By Les Masterson • Dec. 21, 2018

Humana signs up first health systems for new value-based contracting program

The inaugural participants are Cleveland Clinic Florida, Jackson Health System in Florida, TriHealth in Ohio and WellStar Health System in Georgia.

By Les Masterson • Dec. 20, 2018

Centene predicts 17% revenue growth for 2019

The payer, which specializes in Medicaid managed care, has grown membership by 17% this year and plans to continue expansion.

By Les Masterson • Dec. 17, 2018

FastMed, NextCare announce merger

The combined urgent care company would have 251 clinics across 10 states, but the deal is still subject to regulatory approval.

By Meg Bryant • Dec. 17, 2018

Don't count on stock market to keep hospitals afloat, report warns

Hospitals average about 47% of their net margin in investment income revenue, according to a recent Juniper Advisory analysis.

By Meg Bryant • Dec. 14, 2018

Fitch says payer sector stable, buoyed by MA rate increase, robust economy

There are debt issues related to M&A and concerns about the ACA exchanges over the next year, according to the ratings agency.

By Les Masterson • Dec. 14, 2018

ACO trade group says Medicare program saved $859M in 2016

The program, which includes 561 accountable care organizations and 10.5 million patients, saved more than $660 million between 2013 and 2016 after bonuses paid to providers for meeting spending and quality targets.

By Les Masterson • Dec. 13, 2018

Investors still fired up about HIT despite valuation worries

Care management, home health and retail clinics are also on healthcare investors' minds, according to a KPMG-Leavitt Partners survey.

By Meg Bryant • Dec. 12, 2018

Partners HealthCare reports 489% jump in FY18 operating income

A drop in insurance revenue contributed to a 0.5% dip in operating revenue for the Boston-based nonprofit health system.

By Meg Bryant • Dec. 11, 2018

Trinity Health's Illinois hospital purchase helps drive revenues

The health system also announced CEO Richard Gilfillan will step down in June. He'll be replaced by current COO Michael Slubowski.

By Les Masterson • Dec. 11, 2018

Middle-income Americans paying more for health insurance

Americans in the South are hardest hit — spending a bigger share of their income on healthcare than other parts of the country.

By Les Masterson • Dec. 10, 2018

Virtual visits led to uptick in overall visits at Massachusetts ACO, study shows

Participants tended to be younger, white and commercially insured, raising concerns that virtual visit programs could increase disparities in access to care.

By Meg Bryant • Dec. 7, 2018

National health spending slowed for 2nd straight year, at $3.5T

The spending growth rate, which fell to 3.9% in 2017 from 4.6% in 2016, was primarily held back by slowdowns in use of goods and services, with fewer people insured and getting care.

By Tony Abraham • Dec. 7, 2018

Lack of provider competition raising healthcare prices, Center for American Progress argues

The left-leaning think tank offered suggestions for creating a system that produces more competition with fairer prices, including more regulatory enforcement and site neutral payments.

By Les Masterson • Dec. 6, 2018

Montefiore Health System revenue, operating income rise

The New York-based health system ended the first nine months of 2018 with a 66% jump in net income to $118.8 million.

By Meg Bryant • Dec. 3, 2018

Advocate Aurora raising minimum wage to $15/hour

A growing number of health systems have announced minimum wage increases as they face employee shortages and higher labor costs.

By Les Masterson • Dec. 3, 2018

Higher admissions, better case mix drive Cleveland Clinic Q3 revenues

The health system enjoyed a hefty operating income hike of 76% in the quarter compared to a year ago.

By Les Masterson • Dec. 3, 2018

Fitch sees stable 2019 for US healthcare despite financial pressures

Expect 2018's two-to-one ratio of downgrades to upgrades to continue next year, the ratings agency said.

By Meg Bryant • Nov. 30, 2018

M&A trends in 2019: Will the biotech bubble burst?

New technologies have driven higher valuations in pharma, biotech and health IT, yet some big bankers are uncertain how long that trend will hold.

By Jacob Bell • Nov. 30, 2018

CVS-Aetna megamerger finalized

The total value of the acquisition, including assumption of Aetna's debt, clocks in at $78 billion. The union creates the second biggest private company by revenue after Walmart.

By Rebecca Pifer • Nov. 28, 2018

OIG: Medicare reimbursements skewed by 'significant vulnerabilities' in hospital wage data

Five of the watchdog's most recent reviews of hospital wage data between 2004 and 2017 revealed an estimated $140.5 million in improper payments to hospitals.

By Tony Abraham • Nov. 28, 2018

Cybersecurity, telehealth, tech disruptors top health system concerns for 2019

Nearly 90% of health systems expect to increase spending on cybersecurity in the coming year, many by more than 5%, according to the Center for Connected Medicine.

By Meg Bryant • Nov. 26, 2018

UPMC sees growth in health plan enrollment, inpatient visits

The Pittsburgh-based integrated health system also reported outpatient revenue jumped 33% for the first nine months of the year.

By Les Masterson • Nov. 26, 2018