Novartis CAR-T therapy snags UK coverage, cutting list price 23% from US

One of the fastest funding deals in the country's history leaves Novartis well ahead of rival Gilead in the battle to secure U.K. commercial returns.

By Andrew Dunn • Sept. 5, 2018

Amazon-Berkshire-JPM healthcare venture picks COO

Jack Stoddard, previously of Comcast and UnitedHealth, is CEO Atul Gawande's first publicized hire as the company works to fill the highly hyped effort's executive suite.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 5, 2018

Aetna to cover Abbott's non-opioid pain implant Proclaim

The decision opens up a potential market of 22 million people for the neurostimulation device.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Sept. 5, 2018

Medicare ACOs saved $1.1B in 2017, CMS data show

It comes after CMS officials predicted an overhaul of the Medicare Shared Savings Program would push ACOs to take on more financial risk in their first years of participation.

By Les Masterson • Sept. 4, 2018

CMMI director says agency won't force all providers to assume risk

Adam Boehler said, however, that CMS wants to "create that avenue" for any practices interested in taking on more risk.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 31, 2018

CMS looks to develop consumer comparative pricing portal

The agency has been pressing hospitals to be more transparent about the costs of procedures and services.

By Meg Bryant • Aug. 30, 2018

Tennessee health system lawsuit alleges rigged Medicaid contracting by state

The filing is the latest breadcrumb in a trail of litigation reaching back to 2007.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 30, 2018

Uninsured rate stays stable in 2018

Use of high-deductible health plans continued an upward trend, with nearly half of people with private insurance saying they have such coverage, new federal statistics show.

By Les Masterson • Aug. 30, 2018

Blockchain in healthcare: Huge promise, but largely unproven

"What blockchain has been able to do is create markets where a market didn't previously exist," says Noah Zimmerman, director of Mount Sinai's Center for Biomedical Blockchain Research.

By Meg Bryant • Aug. 30, 2018

Report offers framework for assessing EHR usability, safety

The voluntary roadmap includes criteria examples for developers and providers to use in testing EHR products at each lifecycle stage.

By Meg Bryant • Aug. 29, 2018

Payers saw more upgrades in H1 2018, A.M. Best says

The credit rating agency attributed the wide swath of upgrades to improved performance in the ACA exchanges and heightened profitability for many insurers.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 29, 2018

Hundreds of groups raise concerns about E/M payment proposal

They support efforts to cut provider administrative burden in the 2019 Physician Payment Rule but question its consolidation of office billing codes.

By Les Masterson • Aug. 29, 2018

Health insurance tax return would increase out-of-pocket costs, report finds

Congress approved a one-year moratorium on the tax for 2019, but it is expected to return the following year.

By Les Masterson • Aug. 29, 2018

Humana announces new center for digital health, analytics

One focus of Humana Studio H in Boston will be developing new health experiences for seniors.

By Meg Bryant • Aug. 28, 2018

Nixing discharges to long-term care hospitals could save Medicare $4.6B, study finds

Long-term care hospitals are reimbursed at substantially higher rates than other post-acute care arrangements.

By Meg Bryant • Aug. 28, 2018

Critics say GOP pre-existing conditions bill flawed

The legislative effort comes as a Republican-backed court case may wipe out the ACA's protections for people with pre-existing conditions. 

By Les Masterson • Aug. 28, 2018

Next-Gen ACOs saved $62M in first reporting year, CMS says

Half of the drop in spending and utilization stemmed from just four of the 18 NGACOs active in 2016, according to a report from the agency.

By Meg Bryant • Aug. 28, 2018

Clover Health expanding MA offerings to 6 more markets

The San Francisco-based payer also announced it is working with Taiwan-based Cathay Life Insurance to use artificial intelligence products that can predict elements like what patients will need hospitalization and when.

By Les Masterson • Aug. 27, 2018

Medicaid expansion decreased uninsured hospitalizations for major cardiovascular events

A study of more than 3 million non-Medicare hospitalizations from databases across 30 states didn't, however, find any changes for in-hospital mortality rates in expansion or non-expansion states.

By Les Masterson • Aug. 27, 2018

New CMS model aims to improve child behavioral health services, tackle opioid abuse

The program requires states to integrate behavioral health with primary care and preventive medicine and to use the help of community groups.

By Les Masterson • Aug. 27, 2018

GAO highlights 3 ways HHS can improve ACA exchange membership

The new report reviewed Trump administration efforts that likely led to fewer signups during open enrollment.

By Les Masterson • Aug. 24, 2018

Kaiser posts nearly $40B in revenue for H1, but net income drops 21%

Kaiser invested $26 million on capital projects, including opening new facilities and upgrading existing ones, and launched a $200 million project aimed at reducing homelessness.

By Meg Bryant • Aug. 24, 2018

Cigna, Express Scripts shareholders greenlight deal

About 90% of Cigna votes were cast in favor of the acquisition, according to preliminary results. The $67 billion deal is still subject to a number of regulatory approvals. 

By Tony Abraham • Updated Aug. 27, 2018

Slavitt group, 17 health systems come together in effort to improve Medicaid

About 5% of the nation's hospitals are participating in the new project, which includes big names like Advocate Aurora, Dignity Health and Geisinger.

By Les Masterson • Aug. 23, 2018

Mobile phones, smartphone apps could help boost patient matching, RAND report finds

There's "no magic bullet" for incentivizing patients to improve record matching, according to lead author Robert Rudin.

By Meg Bryant • Aug. 22, 2018