Offering health insurance is becoming less lucrative
In the third quarter, the seven major publicly traded insurers’ medical loss ratios increased an average of 3.3 percentage points year over year — a major jump in medical costs.
CHS is gearing up to play offense again in hospital M&A game, CFO says
The Franklin, Tennessee-based operator has not purchased a hospital in years. That may soon change as CHS’ margins improve.
Top CMS official urges Trump administration to treat Medicaid with care
“Do to others what you would want done to yourself,” Medicaid director Daniel Tsai said Thursday when asked about advice for his replacement in Trump’s HHS. Trump is expected to cut Medicaid eligibility and funding.
Trump nominates RFK Jr. to lead HHS
The nomination of a prominent vaccine skeptic to the head of the nation’s largest healthcare program is expected to alarm some public health experts.
CMS to lower importance of ‘call center’ metric in Medicare Advantage star ratings
Regulators’ assessment of customer support centers has spurred recent lawsuits from UnitedHealthcare, Centene and Humana. But the metric “is going to have a smaller weighting on star ratings moving forward,” the director of Medicare said.
No link between telehealth and low-value services in primary care: study
The findings could reassure policymakers concerned that virtual care could increase unnecessary or wasteful services.
Health systems band together to test and publicly rank top AI models
Mass General Brigham, Emory and other providers will assess different AI models from companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon.
Cardinal Health inks 2 acquisitions worth $3.9B
The drug distributor will buy a majority stake in gastroenterology practice management group GI Alliance and purchase Advanced Diabetes Supply Group in deals that should close in early 2025.
Centene President Ken Fasola to retire next year
Fasola is the second-highest paid executive at the insurer, trailing only CEO Sarah London.
J&J sues federal government for halting 340B rebate plan
The New Jersey-based drugmaker is trying to get the courts’ backing to pay hospitals rebates for two drugs in the 340B drug discount program, instead of offering upfront discounts.