Senate passes legislation to avoid Medicare cuts in year-end sprint

The bill, which delays 2% cuts to Medicare rates through March and a separate round of 4% cuts to 2023, now heads to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated Dec. 10, 2021

Female doctors earn $2M less than men over course of career, study finds

Annual differences in income among male and female physicians accelerated during their first years of practice and did not recover, a study from the nonprofit Rand Corporation published Monday in Health Affairs found.

By Hailey Mensik • Dec. 7, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

Provider burnout

Hospitals are still struggling with provider burnout, after the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated underlying staffing issues and prompted workers to quit their jobs.

By Healthcare Dive staff

States with robust merger reviews are tougher on hospital tie-ups, study suggests

Just eight states challenged the majority of the deals that regulators scrutinized during a 10-year time period. Still, it did little to slow price increases, according to new research in Health Affairs.

By Samantha Liss • Dec. 7, 2021

Nurses burned out, dissatisfied with careers consider leaving the field, survey finds

New staffing approaches would make the profession more manageable, as would higher wages, nurses told staffing firm Cross Country Healthcare and Florida Atlantic University's College of Nursing.

By Hailey Mensik • Dec. 6, 2021

Appeals court limits nationwide halt on health worker vaccine mandates

A federal appeals court Wednesday stopped the nationwide pause on CMS' vaccine mandate, limiting the scope of that injunction to the 14 states that sued for relief.

By Hailey Mensik • Updated Dec. 16, 2021

Heart attacks struck Sek Kathiresan's family. He's devoted his life to stopping them.

After several family members had early heart attacks, Kathiresan vowed to understand why they happen. His research journey has changed medical practice and led to a new biotech startup, Verve Therapeutics.

By Ben Fidler • Dec. 2, 2021

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

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

Medical device security continues to be casualty of hospital-medtech divide

FDA says manufacturers and hospitals are both responsible for protecting devices from growing cybersecurity threats. However, healthcare organizations carry a much heavier load.

By Greg Slabodkin • Dec. 1, 2021

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

Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in 340B case with billions of dollars at stake

A lower court initially sided with the American Hospital Association, a decision that was later reversed by an appeals court, which AHA characterized as a "legal error."

By Samantha Liss • Nov. 30, 2021

Healthcare worker vaccine mandate blocked nationwide in second ruling

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Tuesday in a suit brought by 14 states challenging the requirement, following separate pauses in other states.

By Hailey Mensik • Updated Dec. 1, 2021

UnitedHealthcare to appeal after jury awards TeamHealth $60M in damages

The payer is arguing the Las Vegas jury didn't get to hear several key pieces of evidence in its ongoing legal fight with private equity-backed TeamHealth. 

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated Dec. 8, 2021

Banner Health posts turnaround as finances rebound

Banner Health's finances are back in the black, though labor costs continue to challenge the Arizona-based system.

By Samantha Liss • Nov. 29, 2021

UPMC more than quadruples net income to $1.2B amid returning care and investment gains

Though patients returning to medical care delayed earlier in the pandemic helped its provider division, UPMC's health plan margin shrank due to higher medical claims in the period.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Nov. 29, 2021

Medtronic blames revenue miss on COVID-19 resurgence, hospital staffing shortages

CEO Geoff Martha said the medtech was hit in its second quarter by pandemic-related challenges that weighed on procedure volumes, particularly in the U.S.

By Greg Slabodkin • Nov. 24, 2021

Humana, Allina Health expand value-based care partnership in Minnesota

The insurer also announced it extended another value-based care partnership for Medicare Advantage members with Hutchinson Clinic, a physician group in central Kansas.

By Susan Kelly • Nov. 24, 2021

Weak investment markets drive Cleveland Clinic's income down 30%

Like its peers, the nonprofit giant reported expense growth outpacing revenue growth in the third quarter, though the disparity between the two wasn't as sharp as other systems'.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Nov. 24, 2021

Kaiser Permanente's historic labor-management deal survives again

Over the years, workers describe a dwindling partnership. Some believe it is this deterioration that led the organization to where it is today — recently on the brink of a major work stoppage following disputes over a new contract.

By Samantha Liss • Nov. 23, 2021

Biden admin investing $1.5B to quell healthcare staffing shortages, promote workforce equity

The funding will go toward scholarship and loan repayment programs for healthcare students committing to work in hard-hit and high-risk communities, according to the White House.

By Hailey Mensik • Nov. 23, 2021

Advocate Aurora hit by margin pressure in Q3

The nonprofit system saw a major increase in spending on contracted medical services as well as a jump in supply costs.

By Samantha Liss • Nov. 23, 2021

Labor, supply chain pressures mount for US hospitals, Fitch says

Staffing shortages, higher transportation costs and trouble sourcing some materials threaten healthcare revenue and operating margins in the near term, the ratings agency said.

By Susan Kelly • Nov. 22, 2021

Ground ambulances, excluded from surprise billing ban, to get scrutiny from federal committee

Recommendations from the new federal advisory committee will help inform policy changes to improve how charges and fees for ground ambulance services are disclosed to consumers, CMS said.

By Hailey Mensik • Nov. 22, 2021

Ascension reports second-highest COVID-19 inpatient count

The St. Louis-based nonprofit reported operating income of $25 million for the quarter, a steep decline from the prior-year period.

By Samantha Liss • Nov. 22, 2021

Mayo Clinic reports jump in operating income during Q3

The Rochester, Minnesota-based nonprofit reported robust financial results as revenue grew 10%, outpacing expense growth during a quarter in which rising costs challenged many systems due to heightened labor demands.

By Samantha Liss • Nov. 19, 2021