4 key trends for payers and providers in 2021

The COVID-19 crisis has led some providers to inquire about partnering or acquiring insurance assets as the pandemic exposed the risk of relying on fee-for-service models.

By Samantha Liss • Jan. 22, 2021

Biden faces many healthcare challenges as he takes the helm at an unprecedented time

The former senator and vice president has been sworn in as the 46th president of the United States while the country grapples with one of the biggest health crises in its history.

Jan. 20, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

Surprise Billing

Federal legislation banning surprise bills has hit a barrage of roadblocks, complicating efforts to protect consumers from unexpected out-of-network charges.

By Healthcare Dive staff

Study links hospital ICU capacity to COVID-19 mortality rates

COVID-19 patients were nearly twice as likely to die if they were in an ICU brimming with other patients than one that had fewer such cases, according to the findings in JAMA Network Open.

By Ron Shinkman • Jan. 19, 2021

Mayo, Epic and Cerner teaming to create digital COVID-19 vaccine passport

The hope of the Vaccination Credential Initiative is to form a standard for credentials to be made in an interoperable and accessible format.

By Ron Shinkman • Jan. 15, 2021

US pushes for wider use of 'underutilized' COVID-19 antibody drugs as pandemic worsens

A $2.6 billion deal with Regeneron this week is part of a renewed effort by government officials to bolster uptake of the treatments, which haven't gained traction.

By Ben Fidler • Jan. 15, 2021

Hospital buy-ups of physician practices under fresh FTC scrutiny

The agency sent orders to UnitedHealthcare, Anthem, Aetna and Cigna, among others, seeking patient claims data in what several economists cheered as a major move to probe healthcare mergers.

By Samantha Liss • Jan. 15, 2021

3 ways to tame the vaccine administration chaos

In this fast-paced, changing-by-the-minute environment, it’s important for those in charge of administering the vaccine to take a moment and think about ways to improve and add efficiency to the process.

Jan. 15, 2021

Pandemic propels health systems to mull insurer acquisitions, partnerships: JPM21

Advocate Aurora CEO Jim Skogsbergh said "partnering for health plan capability is going to be critical to our success, and we are taking steps to do that."

By Samantha Liss • Jan. 13, 2021

Ascension divests handful of Wisconsin hospitals, clinics to nonprofit Aspirus Health

Completion of the transaction will almost double Wausau, Wisconsin-based Aspirus' footprint. Currently, the regional player has four hospitals in Michigan and six in Wisconsin, along with more than 50 clinics.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Jan. 13, 2021

Care navigation during COVID-19 and beyond

The industry needs to quickly come up with a way to prevent and mitigate enduring health issues for COVID-19 survivors as well as catch up on deferred care for other conditions, Harvard Medical School's Sanjay Basu argues.

By Sanjay Basu • Jan. 12, 2021

Supply chains struggle to procure nitrile gloves after manufacturer shutdown

MSC Industrial reported an impairment charge for a prepaid glove order that has still not been delivered, in another example of how the pandemic has challenged procurement teams. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Jan. 12, 2021

CommonSpirit inks letter of intent to sell Essentia 14 mostly rural hospitals

The giant nonprofit system is in talks with the Minnesota-based system to unload a 286-bed hospital in North Dakota and 13 other critical access facilities.

By Ron Shinkman • Jan. 11, 2021

CMS audits small slice of hospitals for price transparency, probes complaints

Compliance is "frustratingly incomplete," said Niall Brennan, CEO of the Health Care Cost Institute. A paltry $300 daily fine may not be enough to force facilities to reveal the information. 

By Samantha Liss • Jan. 11, 2021

AHA to HHS: Feds need to take charge in COVID-19 vaccine rollout

The plea coming less than two weeks before the Biden administration takes over suggests the urgency. "As this rollout rapidly evolves, it is absolutely critical that effective situational, real-time leadership is provided nationally."

By Ron Shinkman • Jan. 8, 2021

CommonSpirit's CHI Franciscan finalizes tie-up with Virginia Mason

The two Washington state health systems will operate as Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, now a subsidiary under one of the nation's largest nonprofit health systems, CommonSpirit Health.

By Samantha Liss • Jan. 8, 2021

Promedica appeals after judge blocks canceled insurance contracts with rival McLaren

The Ohio system's move comes after a federal judge noted the Supreme Court said if a company is "'attempting to exclude the rivals on some basis other than efficiency,' it is fair to characterize its behavior as predatory."

By Samantha Liss • Jan. 6, 2021

FDA says changing coronavirus vaccine dosing could put 'public health at risk'

In an unusual statement, FDA chief Stephen Hahn and top official Peter Marks opposed altering vaccination regimens without further evidence, calling proposals to do so "premature."

By Ben Fidler • Jan. 5, 2021

CMS should tweak wage index adjustment to help rural hospitals, OIG says

The report, issued following a federal audit, found rural hospitals had the highest concentration of low-wage providers. Of all hospitals in the bottom quartile of area wage indexes, 53% were operating in rural areas.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Jan. 4, 2021

Hospitals lose another attempt to stave off price transparency

A judge wrote that the American Hospital Association's arguments, including that some rates are unknowable, "miss the mark." Facilities are now required to disclose negotiated rates with insurers.

By Samantha Liss • Dec. 29, 2020

Hospital finances bleak as 2020 nears close, Kaufman Hall says

Even as big systems like HCA and Mayo Clinic return some federal funds, across the sector inpatient admissions were the only metric to rise, passing 2019 levels for the first time since the pandemic began.

By Hailey Mensik • Dec. 23, 2020

AHA seeks emergency relief to block enforcement of price transparency rule

Imminent enforcement "will force overburdened hospitals to divert resources that hospitals desperately need to respond to the surge of COVID-19 cases and successfully roll out the vaccines," the hospital lobby argued.

By Samantha Liss • Dec. 23, 2020

How one hospital is defending against ransomware

By the time the Ryuk ransomware alert was issued, Rush Memorial Hospital had at least two risk mitigation measures: improved backup as a service and a systems engineer with an evasion plan.

By Samantha Schwartz • Dec. 23, 2020

After decades as a hospital operator, Tenet shifts its focus to surgery centers

The for-profit chain's ambulatory surgery centers far outnumber its hospital portfolio, and its ambulatory earnings will account for nearly half of the company's overall earnings next year.

By Samantha Liss • Dec. 22, 2020

Medtronic, GE, Philips embrace AI amid regulatory limbo around algorithms

The tech has the potential for better diagnosing and treating a wide variety of diseases, but FDA has yet to finalize a framework for machine learning-based software as a medical device.

By Greg Slabodkin • Dec. 22, 2020

Safety net hospitals hit particularly hard by COVID-19, will have to cut future spending

During the peak of the first surge of cases in the spring, patient discharges fell up to 36% at five facilities studied, while revenues dropped as much as 48%, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute.

By Ron Shinkman • Dec. 21, 2020