GAO says assisted living facilities need better oversight by state Medicaid

The agency found 26 state Medicaid agencies could not report the number of critical incidents that occurred in assisted living facilities.

By Les Masterson • Feb. 6, 2018

Expanding ACA plans drove Centene to 8% revenue growth

In announcing its Q4 earnings, the payer raised its guidance for 2018 after a successful open enrollment period in the ACA exchanges. 

By Les Masterson • Feb. 6, 2018

Explore the Trendline➔

Labor

Hospitals are navigating persistent labor shortages with the need to cut costs — a source of contention that could leave patients caught in the middle.

By Healthcare Dive staff

How to make population health pop: What experts say

Barriers to successful pop health initiatives include quantifying and monetizing health information that may not lend itself to such analysis and getting organizations with different priorities to work together.

By Shannon Muchmore • Feb. 6, 2018

Highest healthcare spenders vary each year

The top 5% of healthcare spenders in 2015 accounted for 53% of spending, a new Health Care Cost Institute analysis found.

By Les Masterson • Feb. 5, 2018

Community health centers face funding deadline, layoffs and closure

Congress may include a two-year extension of funding for the centers as part of the continuing resolution to keep the government open. 

By Les Masterson • Feb. 5, 2018

Glenview strains relations with Tenet over 'underperformance'

Some believe Glenview Capital Management, Tenet's largest shareholder, is preparing to launch a boardroom battle with the hospital company.  

By Les Masterson • Feb. 5, 2018

Medicaid work requirements bring uncertainty to hospital bottom lines, Fitch warns

Kentucky has already received a Medicaid waiver that allows it to implement work requirements, and seven more states could follow shortly.

By Meg Bryant • Feb. 2, 2018

UPDATE: Indiana Medicaid work waiver approved

The Trump administration is giving states more flexibility in running Medicaid, but critics say some changes restrict access to care for the most needy.

By Les Masterson • Feb. 2, 2018

DOJ seeks more info on proposed CVS, Aetna merger

CVS did not say what information DOJ is seeking, but the request is not unexpected.

By Shannon Muchmore • Feb. 2, 2018

Medicare Advantage plans to see 1.84% rate bump

CMS is also proposing opioid prescribing limits starting in 2019 for Part D plans to help stem the opioid crisis.

By David Lim • Feb. 2, 2018

Changes from DC could mean a difficult year ahead for hospitals

​Issues facing hospitals this year include Medicaid DSH cuts, a possible return of mandatory bundling initiatives and CMS potentially moving hip replacement procedures to outpatient.  

By Les Masterson • Feb. 1, 2018

Physician practices not flocking to CPC+

Just 165 practices have signed up to participate in round two of the CMS public-private partnership.

By Meg Bryant • Jan. 31, 2018

A proposal to bolster ACA exchanges: Look to Medicare Advantage

The Urban Institute suggests five Medicare Advantage-inspired policies to stabilize the ACA market.

By Les Masterson • Jan. 31, 2018

Payers wade into real-world evidence, but tread lightly

Insurers and pharmacy benefit managers are wary about the quality of data underlying real-world evidence.

By David Lim • Jan. 31, 2018

How Amazon, JPM, Berkshire could disrupt healthcare (or not)

News of three corporate giants forming an independent healthcare company "proves every business is a healthcare business," said David Vivero, CEO of the digital health startup Amino.

By Shannon Muchmore, Daphne Howland & Jeff Byers • Jan. 31, 2018

State of the Union: 4 things Trump said on healthcare

Most of the healthcare ideas the president put forward have little chance of being enacted this year or lack funding to be effective.

By David Lim • Jan. 31, 2018

Court sets speedy 340B lawsuit schedule, siding with AHA

"We will continue to pursue our legislative and legal strategies to reverse these cuts, and expect to prevail in holding the agency accountable for overstepping its authority," Melinda Hatton, general counsel for the American Hospital Association, told Healthcare Dive.

By David Lim • Jan. 31, 2018

Medicare out-of-pocket costs seen rising to half of senior income

Older people in poor health, women and lower-income Americans are paying higher percentages of their per capita income on out-of-pocket Medicare costs.  

By Les Masterson • Jan. 30, 2018

Amazon, JPM, Berkshire form new company to tackle health costs

The corporate giants gave few details about the new venture, but said the initial focus will be technology solutions to provide their stateside employees with high-quality, low-cost healthcare.

By Shannon Muchmore • Jan. 30, 2018

Medicare Advantage membership grows almost 8%

The market is still dominated by a handful of payers and online provider directory errors remain a problem for MA.  

By Les Masterson • Jan. 30, 2018

Meaningful use most helpful for routine care: survey

A 2015 survey of 480 family physicians found that 18 of 31 MU criteria were considered useful for more than half of patient encounters, with 13 of those useful for more than two-thirds.  

By Les Masterson • Jan. 29, 2018

Most hospitals will see Part B revenue increase despite 340B cut

The findings from Avalere come as hospitals challenge the 340B drug payment cut in court.

By David Lim • Jan. 29, 2018

CMS cost measure makes some Medicare Advantage plans pricier

The authors of a new Health Affairs analysis suggest limiting benchmark cost data to Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in both Part A and Part B. 

By Meg Bryant • Jan. 26, 2018

New York, Minnesota sue Trump administration over Basic Health Plan cuts

Both state's attorneys general say the HHS is withholding legally-required funding owed to the states.

By Les Masterson • Jan. 26, 2018

HHS touts regulatory rollbacks under Trump's first year

A 37-page report highlights priorities for the Trump administration, most of which have sharply divided the industry.

By Shannon Muchmore • Jan. 26, 2018