Kraft Heinz sues Aetna, says insurer breached ERISA fiduciary duties
Aetna wrongly retained millions in undisclosed fees and paid provider claims “that should have never been paid,” according to the lawsuit filed in a Texas federal court.
HCA faces class action lawsuit after data breach
The largest health system in the country reported a data security incident last week after information was taken from an external storage location and posted online, affecting an estimated 11 million patients.
EHR vendor NextGen to pay $31 million to settle False Claims Act allegations
The settlement comes after the Supreme Court in June ruled that FCA defendants are liable for claims that they suspect or knowingly believe are false.
CMS floats 1.25% physician fee cut, 2.8% outpatient bump in new proposed rules
Regulators also proposed stricter price transparency requirements on hospitals and expanded behavioral health payments in Medicare.
M&A transactions heat up to pre-pandemic levels, Kaufman Hall finds
Transactions in Q2 were the most in a single quarter since the COVID-19 pandemic began — a sign the M&A market is “regaining momentum.”
UnitedHealth beats Q2 expectations, despite medical cost growth fears
Rising outpatient utilization among seniors that spooked investors earlier in the quarter left the payer’s bottom line largely unscathed.
CFPB urged to abolish deferred interest amid medical debt concerns
Panelists who spoke during the agency’s Tuesday hearing on medical billing and collections identified deferred interest credit cards as a prime culprit saddling patients with medical debt.
Healthcare execs should plan ahead for safe use of generative AI, McKinsey says
Generative artificial intelligence could lessen providers’ documentation workloads and more easily connect beneficiaries with their health plans, according to the consultancy.
Humana, Elevance, Centene downgraded days before second-quarter earnings kickoff
J.P. Morgan and Wolfe Research analysts cited uncertainty and pricing concerns in Medicare Advantage in addition to cost pressures in the commercial market when downgrading major U.S. payers.
Share of physicians working in private practice continues to dip
Over the past decade, the share of physicians working in private practice has declined as hospital systems, private equity firms and payers have acquired practices, according to a report from the American Medical Association.