Advocate-Aurora, Beaumont ink letter of intent to explore merger

A union would create a system with combined revenue of about $17.5 billion. The plans come soon after Beaumont, Michigan's largest health system, canceled a planned merger with Ohio-based Summa Health.

By Shannon Muchmore • June 17, 2020

Sutter, citing COVID-19 losses, seeks to delay antitrust settlement approval

The system, which reported a net loss of more than $1 billion in the first quarter of this year, warned it could be forced to shut down or divest some of its hospitals because of the pandemic.

By Shannon Muchmore • June 17, 2020

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

Tenet cites dramatic rebound of patient volume post COVID-19 slump

New hotspots are emerging in states in the West and South largely spared from the first coronavirus wave, posing a challenge for hospital operators with major footprints in those states, such as the Dallas-based chain.

By Hailey Mensik • Updated June 17, 2020

MedPAC urges MA, ACO tweaks to speed up value-based payment reform

Medicare Advantage and ACOs could be vehicles for much needed value-based payment reform, but not without better aligned incentives and improved quality assessment, the advisory commission said.

By Shannon Muchmore • June 16, 2020

Surgeons, device makers grow more confident in elective care comeback

As some medtechs indicate forecasts entering Q2 may have been too conservative, a Bain & Co. survey of physicians and administrators suggests rising capacity for elective procedures, albeit without sales reps at full force.

By Maria Rachal • June 15, 2020

As states face mounting cases, how 1 NYC system managed COVID-19 surge

To respond to the worst of the novel coronavirus outbreak in its community, New York City Health + Hospitals created three new field hospitals and ordered its 11 existing facilities to "become a single large intensive care unit."

By Shannon Muchmore • June 15, 2020

1 in 4 workers at high risk for serious COVID-19 illness as states reopen despite surges

New data from the Kaiser Family Foundation could throw a wrench in employers' plans to reopen offices and resume a normal course of operations, even as more than half of states report rising COVID-19 infections.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • June 15, 2020

Detroit nurses sue Tenet for alleged retaliatory firings over COVID-19 safety concerns

But a Detroit Medical Center spokesperson told Healthcare Dive the hospital took "appropriate action" following an investigation into complaints that employees took inappropriate photos of deceased patients. 

By Hailey Mensik • June 12, 2020

It's time for a national hospital supply chain czar

If the current lack of supply chain coordination isn't resolved before the expected second surge in COVID-19 cases strikes, the result will be a far worse crisis, writes Jody Hatcher, a healthcare supply chain expert.

By Jody Hatcher • June 12, 2020

Pennsylvania mandates more COVID-19 protections for hospital workers

The new rules focus on effective contact tracing that is labor intensive, Gerald Maloney, chief medical officer for Geisinger Health, which operates six hospitals in the state, told Healthcare Dive.

By Hailey Mensik • June 11, 2020

HCA seeks nurse backup ahead of potential strike

The hospital chain has a job posting for qualified nurses in the event of a strike, an action a union spokesperson called "a threat to nurses."

By Hailey Mensik • June 10, 2020

Professional services revenue plunged nearly 50% in April as pandemic worsened

The nonprofit FAIR Health study found the dramatic decrease was due to a 68% drop in use as patients and doctors deferred non-essential care.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • June 10, 2020

Trump administration suggests restarting electives, with reliance on telemedicine, safety measures

Major surgeries should still be limited as much as clinically possible, and facilities should be prepared to screen all visitors and staff for symptoms as well as provide masks for those who don't have one.

By Shannon Muchmore • June 9, 2020

Geisinger, Siemens ink 10-year digital health partnership

It's one of the medtech's largest partnerships of its kind in North America, as it plans to provide diagnostic imaging and artificial intelligence-enabled applications to the health system over the next decade.

By Greg Slabodkin • June 9, 2020

HHS resolves complaint over COVID-19 no-visitor policy for patients with disabilities

In May, the agency began receiving complaints that Connecticut's guidance violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, alleging that without support people, patients with disabilities were denied equal access to treatment.

By Hailey Mensik • June 9, 2020

COVID-19 spikes in some states reignite hospital capacity worries

Arizona system Banner Health said it may need to activate its surge plan as hospitalizations are "rapidly increasing," the ICU is "very busy" and ventilator usage has seen a sharp incline.

By Shannon Muchmore • June 9, 2020

Calls mount for CMS to extend telehealth waivers

The American College of Physicians and Premier want to see pay parity and cost-sharing adjustments stay in place beyond the public health emergency declared for the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Ron Shinkman • June 5, 2020

Healthcare sector added 312K jobs in May, but hospitals left out

The sector lost 43,000 jobs in March, then another 1.4 million in April, with most concentrated in ambulatory care, dentists' offices and doctors' offices. But Friday's figures seem to show a surprising reversal.

By Hailey Mensik • Updated June 8, 2020

COVID-19 creates thicket of legal concerns for providers

"There's a push and pull here ... between offering patients protection and between providing immunities" to let providers operate without fear of prosecution, one expert said.

By Shannon Muchmore • June 5, 2020

Intermountain to provide acute-level care in patient homes

The service is in partnership with value-based care spinoff Castell and builds on previous efforts to move more treatment into the home. It was accelerated by preparation for potential surges of COVID-19 patients, the system said.

By Shannon Muchmore • June 5, 2020

ER volumes dropped 42% in April due to pandemic

Some of the highest emergency visit declines occurred in COVID-19 hotspot regions, including New York and New Jersey, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

By Hailey Mensik • June 4, 2020

Providers call CARES funds a lifeline — but some say headaches not worth risks

Legal experts Healthcare Dive spoke with had provider clients opting to return the funds, citing unwillingness to accept the terms and fears over potential risks that come with accepting the money.

By Samantha Liss • June 4, 2020

COVID-19 helps reignite merger talks between Lifespan, Care New England

The two have reached the next stage in the merger process. Previous discussions of a formal collaboration between the Rhode Island health systems have always fizzled out.

By Samantha Liss • Updated Sept. 10, 2020

Governors plead for Trump admin to streamline testing supply distribution

"The surprise element is, here we're competing against other states and sometimes our own federal government," Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, told a House subcommittee Tuesday.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • June 3, 2020

CMS relaxing more value-based model requirements in wake of pandemic

The changes are aimed at minimizing reporting burden and increasing flexibilities for providers as they continue to face great financial and logistical challenges from the novel coronavirus.

By Shannon Muchmore • June 3, 2020