Stalled membership numbers, hospital business mar Teladoc’s Q2 beat
Executives on a conference call stressed per-member revenue metrics and touted new contracts, including with major Blues payer HCSC, but investors pushed shares down.
UHS posts Q2 profit, but executives warn delta variant could stress labor challenges
“The concern is with the resurgence of COVID that turnover rates could increase because we’ve seen turnover rates increase every time that COVID volumes increase,” CEO Marc Miller said.
Humana warns of ‘uncertainty’ in medical usage amid rising COVID-19 cases
Medical utilization bounced back faster than the payer expected, though the company was still able to post a profit for the second quarter.
Systems can nudge more healthcare workers to get vaccinated through targeted messaging: JAMA report
Among unvaccinated workers at Geisinger’s system in Pennsylvania, an email nudge playing up social norms and virus risk caused more than twice as many employees to register for a shot compared with those who didn’t get the note.
Amwell snaps up 2 digital health startups in $320M longitudinal, behavioral care bid
The acquisitions won’t result in an immediate boost for Amwell’s topline, but could be valuable strategic positioning for the future.
How the pandemic has accelerated digital payments in telehealth
Digitalization can simplify the medical bill payment process and give patients more information earlier on about their financial responsibilities, experts said.
Molina sees bump in coronavirus inpatient costs as delta variant takes hold
Those COVID-19 costs quickly tapered off as the quarter progressed, executives said. Still, the insurer was able to post a second quarter profit as more members sought care.
COVID-19 impact on US healthcare system will stretch for decades, Fitch says
In the long term, hospitals will face increased pressure from tight labor and wage markets, especially for experienced staff, as well as rising pharmaceutical and supply chain costs, the ratings agency warned.
CHS profit down in Q2 but buoyed by non-COVID-19 care
Jefferies analysts said in a Thursday note they view the results positively, especially a jump in surgeries and “healthy organic growth trends.” Still, CHS’ stock was trading down about 8% Thursday morning.