The litigation is a case study into the perennial push and pull between provider groups and insurers over bills, a fight that often leaves patients caught in the middle.
A key argument in the suit is how a mandate could exacerbate worsening labor strains as health systems grapple with widespread burnout and turnover, especially in rural areas.
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.”
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.
Testing manufacturers such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, Qiagen and Lucira Health claim their tests are not impacted by the new strain, which has been designated a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization.
Several companies, including Pfizer and Moderna, are already at work adapting their coronavirus shots to the newly identified variant, which experts worry could more readily evade vaccine protection.
Banner Health’s finances are back in the black, though labor costs continue to challenge the Arizona-based system.
New market research finds that while digital strategies are widespread in healthcare, execution challenges persist.
Like its peers, the nonprofit giant reported expense growth outpacing revenue in the third quarter, though the disparity between the two wasn’t as sharp as other systems’.
The insurer also announced it extended another value-based care partnership for Medicare Advantage members with Hutchinson Clinic, a physician group in central Kansas.