CDC endorses new COVID boosters as focus turns to rollout
Agency advisers voted 13-1 to recommend the updated shots for everyone over the age of 6 months, green lighting the vaccines’ rollout one day after the FDA’s approval.
Oracle expects new Cerner contracts as cloud migration slows growth
Cerner is facing “near-term headwinds” as the health software vendor transitions customers to cloud subscriptions, management said on a recent earnings call.
L.A. Care to pay $1.3M to settle potential HIPAA breach violations
The settlement comes after state regulators levied a $55 million fine against the health plan last year for alleged operational deficiencies, including failure to address a backlog of over 9,000 prior authorization requests.
Walgreens inks deal with startup Pearl Health on value-based care for doctors
The partnership, which Walgreens plans to launch in ACO REACH in 2024 and Medicare Advantage in 2025, is the retail giant’s first significant move in the healthcare space since CEO Roz Brewer departed earlier this month.
Low-income seniors more likely to report fraudulent marketing from private Medicare plans, survey finds
The survey from the Commonwealth Fund comes after regulators finalizing a rule this spring that aims to cut back on deceptive or misleading advertising for MA plans after beneficiary complaints more than doubled between 2020 and 2021.
Best Buy, Geisinger to develop in-home chronic condition management program
Details are scant on what a final package could specifically include. But the goal is to scale results Best Buy and Geisinger have achieved at that system to other operators, according to a Best Buy Health executive.
Indiana hospital settles suit over 2021 data breach, will pay $250K
The state alleged the hospital knew about security issues before the attack and failed to directly notify patients for more than 200 days.
Kaiser Permanente to pay $49M after investigators found syringes, medical records in trash
The settlement concludes an eight-year investigation, during which investigators reviewed dumpster contents and found “hundreds of items” of hazardous waste and paper records containing patient health information.
Walmart reportedly exploring ChenMed acquisition
If the deal reported by Bloomberg solidifies, Walmart would be the latest retailer to snap up a value-based primary care chain for seniors, following in the footsteps of rivals CVS, Amazon and Walgreens.
Employers expect health benefit costs to climb 5.4% in 2024, survey finds
High inflation, labor shortages and industry consolidation contributed to the projected increase, according to a new survey of employers from consultancy Mercer.