Nevada awards Medicaid contracts to 4 insurers
It’s a big contract win for Molina, which will join three other incumbents in the state: UnitedHealthcare, Centene and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Unvaccinated COVID-19 hospitalizations costing US healthcare system billions, KFF says
Roughly 113,000 of the 185,000 inpatient stays with a COVID-19 diagnosis, or about 61%, could have been prevented by vaccination in June and July, researchers estimated.
Medicaid, ACA policies for COVID-19 kept rate of uninsured steady, researchers find
The uninsured rate remained at 11% from March 2019 to April 2021, thanks to a freeze in Medicaid disenrollment and increased ACA subsidies, according to a report from the Urban Institute.
Health systems need to provide policymakers with audited financial statements: report
An examination of 50 health systems points to the uneven distribution of federal coronavirus relief funds as a consequence of not having nuanced financial information readily available, Harvard and the Urban Institute researchers said.
Google disbands health unit as chief departs for Cerner
The dissolution of the health-specific division is the latest of a number of rolled back initiatives from tech giants in the space.
FDA grants full approval to Pfizer, BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine
The long-awaited decision could strengthen the case for vaccine mandates as public health officials seek to boost rates of immunization amid a wave of COVID-19 cases.
Mayo Clinic’s financials see sharp Q2 rebound
While the report was generally upbeat, the system warned “COVID-19 could still negatively affect the operating margins.” And results don’t include the late summer surge due to the delta variant that has hammered some regions.
Biden said to rule out Woodcock as permanent FDA chief
A news report indicated the agency’s longtime drug reviewer is no longer in consideration for the role, leaving the FDA’s top job in flux as key decisions near on coronavirus booster shots and vaccinations for children.
Google Health’s David Feinberg named Cerner CEO
The appointment ends a search the Kansas City, Missouri-based EHR vendor began in early May. Feinberg, 59, will succeed Brent Shafer, who was chairman and CEO for three years.
Many insurers are no longer waiving cost sharing for COVID-19 treatment
This may pose a new strain for providers as Americans are left to cover their out-of-pocket costs, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.