Walmart decelerates health center expansion plans
Walmart previously said it planned to have more than 75 health centers operational this year. Now, the retailer plans to reach that goal in 2025.
Telehealth groups urge DEA to release controlled substance prescribing proposal
Advocacy groups, providers and virtual care companies said clinicians and pharmacies need time to comment on the rule and prepare for implementation.
Change cyberattack serves as wake-up call for healthcare cybersecurity
The outage shows why health systems need to plan for inevitable cyberattacks, evaluating risks to their operations and financials and putting backups in place, experts say.
CMS finalizes ACA network adequacy rule
Starting in 2026, plans sold in state-based exchanges will be required to meet time and distance standards for provider access that are already applied to plans sold federally.
Blue Shield of California and Providence at stalemate over contract negotiations
It’s the latest negotiation to spill out of the boardroom and into the public eye as tensions between providers and payers ramp up.
Surescripts exploring a sale: report
A private equity buyer could make sense for the health IT vendor, as a strategic sale to a payer could raise antitrust concerns, one expert said.
Intermountain-owned Saltzer shutters operations, sells clinics
The financially strapped physician group finalized a midnight deal to sell some services to Trinity Health-owned Saint Alphonsus Health System and Intermountain Medical Imaging of Idaho.
Kaiser closes Geisinger acquisition, launching Risant Health
The deal closed roughly a year after it was first announced. Geisinger is the first health system to join Risant, but it’s far from the last — the hospital operator wants to acquire at least four additional nonprofits.
UHS could face hit from $535M judgment against subsidiary
Damages could shrink on appeal and Universal Health Services has malpractice insurance to cover some costs, but the for-profit’s exposure from the case could still amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Biden administration finalizes modest cut to 2025 Medicare Advantage rates
Despite heavy lobbying, insurers failed to see MA rates improve in the final rule, which codified a 0.16% decrease to benchmark funding.