#AHIPMMD: Optum touts social determinants, Medicaid popularity up

Understanding a member and even their hierarchy in the family are tools to better predict healthcare use and spend, Optum's Jim Dolstad told AHIP conference attendees in D.C. this week.

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 19, 2018

Walgreens teams up with Michigan health system to deliver health, pharmacy services

McLaren Health System will offer retail health clinic, urgent care and primary care services within the pharmacy chain's stores throughout the state.

By Meg Bryant • Oct. 19, 2018

Hospitals making limited progress toward cost containment, survey shows

Fewer than one in five executives cited cost reductions greater than 5% in any priority area this year, according to Kaufman Hall.

By Meg Bryant • Oct. 18, 2018

Hospital M&A down slightly in Q3

Texas has seen the most activity this year with five deals, including two in the third quarter, according to Kaufman Hall.

By Meg Bryant • Oct. 17, 2018

Sutter requests competitor pricing data as part of antitrust lawsuit

Hospitals have balked at the request, saying the information is proprietary.

By Les Masterson • Oct. 17, 2018

UnitedHealth grows Q3 revenue, eyes 2019 expansion

The country's largest commercial payer picked up 2.8 million members, including more than 500,000 in Medicare Advantage, over the past year.

By Les Masterson • Oct. 16, 2018

Aetna settles HIV disclosure investigation for close to $650K

The multistate settlement stems from 2017 mailings that revealed some policyholders' HIV/AIDS or A-fib status.

By Meg Bryant • Oct. 15, 2018

Immigration rule change could force millions off Medicaid, report warns

The Trump administration is proposing a change to "public charge" policies that could also lead to higher costs for providers via uncompensated care and more ER visits, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

By Les Masterson • Oct. 15, 2018

Grassley urges FTC to investigate hospital-payer contracts

The Senate Judiciary chairman is concerned that anticompetitive contracts could limit access to affordable care.

By Meg Bryant • Oct. 12, 2018

DOJ clears CVS-Aetna union

Approval of the $69 billion deal comes with a condition to sell Aetna's Medicare Part D business. 

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 10, 2018

Mayo, Geisinger among 1,300 providers signing up for BPCI-A

CMS announced the participants for its latest bundled payment model, including 832 acute care hospitals and 715 physician group practices.

By Les Masterson • Oct. 10, 2018

Health spending growth gap continues between public and private payers

The sector seems to be in a "post-recession, post-expanded coverage period of steady, moderate growth," according to a report from Altarum.

By Les Masterson • Oct. 8, 2018

Payers find financial success in the ACA exchanges

Insurers have found footing after years of uncertainty, but risks remain.

By Les Masterson • Oct. 8, 2018

Reuters: Change Healthcare retains investment banks for future IPO

It would be the first digital health company to go public since iRhythm Technology two years ago.

By Meg Bryant • Oct. 5, 2018

CMS tweaks local coverage policy to speed access to medical devices

AdvaMed CEO Scott Whitaker said the agency's actions are commendable, but more should be done.

By David Lim • Oct. 5, 2018

CVS, Aetna defend merger potential to Connecticut regulators

The $69 billion deal is considered to have a good chance for approval. Aetna agreed last week to sell its standalone Medicare Part D business to help clear antitrust hurdles.

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 5, 2018

Q3 digital health funding soars to $3.3B across 93 deals

The quarter saw six megadeals over $100 million, bringing the year's total so far to 10, Rock Health reports.

By Meg Bryant • Oct. 4, 2018

Health insurance premium growth exceeds wage increases, inflation

Employer-based single coverage deductibles rose 212% on average over the past decade, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

By Les Masterson • Oct. 4, 2018

Employer-based health insurance premiums, deductibles rise

A new State Health Access Data Assistance Center report found variations by state for premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.

By Les Masterson • Oct. 3, 2018

Intermountain's Liljenquist on price transparency, insulin and having 3 brothers with diabetes

The man behind the push for a new drug venture talks about how he hopes the move will force transparency across the healthcare continuum.

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 3, 2018

US pays 6 times more than Germany for cardiac implants, study finds

A dramatic divergence in the prices of stents and pacemakers was the most striking finding from an analysis of what hospitals in five countries pay.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Oct. 3, 2018

GAO: rural hospital closures increasing, South hardest hit

States with Medicaid expansion were less likely to have rural hospital closures than states that did not broaden the program, according to the analysis.

By Meg Bryant • Oct. 2, 2018

Athenahealth sees multiple bidders with extended deadline

Several parties submitted bids before last Thursday's deadline, Healthcare Dive has learned. Whether healthcare payments system provider nThrive was among them, as reported by the New York Post, is unclear.

By Meg Bryant • Oct. 2, 2018

CHI finishes FY18 with income boost despite admissions slip

Operating income increased 53% year over year for the Englewood, Colorado-based nonprofit health system, while acute admissions, outpatient visits and outpatient surgeries all dropped.

By Tony Abraham • Oct. 2, 2018

Partners-Care New England merger granted expedited review

The Rhode Island Department of Health is speeding up the review because Care New England has "distressed" hospitals in the state.

By Les Masterson • Oct. 2, 2018