Nonprofit hospitals squeezed by pricier labor, investment losses in Q1
The first quarter is going to be “one of the worst for most of our providers,” Fitch Analyst Kevin Holloran said last week.
NIH licenses COVID-19 technologies to WHO-backed program
The agreement, which covers three experimental vaccines as well as several key patents, makes products sold in 49 low-income countries royalty-free.
Insurers seek steep marketplace premium hikes in Vermont for 2023
Proposed average increases on individual and family plans of 17% for MVP Health Care and 12% for Blue Cross Blue Shield in the state buck the national trend of declining ACA exchange premiums.
Efforts to protect health workers from violence on the job ramp up
Renewed efforts to pass federal requirements for healthcare employers come as some systems are implementing their own policies to keep workers safe.
VA, EHR implementation facing patient data, access concerns, audit finds
The multibillion-dollar Cerner implementation hasn’t improved data exchange as well as some had hoped, as the departments “did not take all actions needed to achieve interoperability,” the audit found.
Hospital labor expenses up 37% from pre-pandemic levels in March
Hospitals spent nearly $5,500 in labor expenses per adjusted discharge in March compared to about $4,000 roughly three years ago, according to a report from Kaufman Hall.
FTC likely to examine insurer overlap in Advocate Aurora, Atrium merger
Hospital mergers with geographic overlap face challenges. This deal doesn’t “raise the same red flags, but it doesn’t mean that it gets waved through,” said Leemore Dafny, former deputy director of healthcare and antitrust at the FTC.
Advocate Aurora, Atrium Health to merge, creating $27B system
The combination brings together two separate regional health systems, one with operations in the Midwest and the other with a four-state reach in the South.
Oscar Health withdraws from 2 states
The departures won’t have a material effect on the company’s income, and leaving Arkansas and Colorado should reduce the insurtech’s overhead in areas like compliance work and statutory reporting, executives said.
Intermountain names first chief equity officer
Tiffany Capeles’ “leadership and her strong record of achieving greater health equity have earned her the respect of our peers in healthcare along with well-deserved national acclaim,” Intermountain CEO Marc Harrison said.