Insurers saw profits rise in Q1 as cost increases weighed on hospitals
The results spurred payers to paint an improved financial outlook for the full year compared to earlier estimates for 2022.
Mass General Brigham gets partial nod for $2B expansion
Massachusetts’ leading hospital system, under state scrutiny to rein in spending, has cleared a key hurdle in its expansion plans.
Cigna Q1 profit increases on lower COVID-19 costs as patients were less ill
Cigna executives said medical expenses in the quarter were better than they estimated due to lower COVID-19 testing and treatment costs.
FDA places stricter limits on J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine after review of rare side effect
The agency is limiting use to adults who either can’t or won’t take another authorized vaccine after collecting more data on a rare and unusual clotting syndrome that has weighed on the shot’s uptake.
Allscripts CEO Paul Black steps down after a decade
Black will be replaced with current president Rick Poulton effective immediately. In a note, one analyst said investors will likely react positively to the news, given Poulton’s record of deal execution.
Hospital break-off drives Sutter to net loss, as system faces year full of labor negotiations
Despite an improvement in operations, an Oakland-based hospital departing the system in January drove Sutter to a loss of $184 million in the first quarter.
Hospitals, PBMs say drugmaker restrictions on 340B discounts stifling finances
Four court decisions on the legality of the restrictions — two in favor of drugmakers and two against — are currently pending appeals.
Hospital, payer, IT groups urge Congress to overturn ban on unique patient identifier
Industry groups are ratcheting up the pressure on Congress to nix a decades-old ban on using federal funding to create a UPI as subcommittees continue hearings for 2023 appropriations bills.
Centene to sell 2 pharmacy businesses as it advances portfolio review
Thursday’s news builds on the payer’s plan to sell off non-core assets as it looks to sharpen its focus on its main business.
ER providers push for federal protection against rising health worker violence
Nurses have been bitten, punched and strangled with stethoscopes, “all while just trying to provide basic care to patients,” Todd Haines, a member of the Emergency Nurses Association, said Wednesday on Capitol Hill.