Support for expanding Medicare into a government-run health plan for everyone swings by nearly 20 percentage points depending on how the idea is described to voters, according to new polling that arrives as the ACA marketplace is deteriorating and employer…
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Memorial Hermann Health System plans to shut down its commercial health insurance business. The wind-down affects the Houston-based system’s HMO, PPO, and self-funded products for employers. On its website, the system said it would be difficult to reach the scale…
CVS Health and its long-term care pharmacy subsidiary, Omnicare, have reached a Justice Department settlement with a $440 million floor. The settlement would resolve a false claims case that resulted in a nearly $950 million judgment. A jury had previously…
CMS is proposing to create a new payment pathway for algorithm-driven diagnostic software, including AI tools, as part of its 2027 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgery Center proposed rule, issued July 2. The proposal marks CMS’ first…
The percentage of U.S. hospitals owning or jointly owning a health plan grew from 18.3% in 2018 to 27.2% in 2023, leaders from Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital said in a research letter published in JAMA. Here is what to know:…
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Optum is speaking with multiple large New York health systems to sell some specialties in the state, the company confirmed to Becker’s June 24. The UnitedHealth Group subsidiary is considering the sale of certain specialties, including orthopedics, general surgery and…
St. Louis-based Ascension has become the third-largest ASC operator after its $3.9 billion acquisition of AmSurg expanded its footprint to more than 300 surgery centers. The health system now trails only Tenet Healthcare’s USPI, which operates more than 535 ASCs…
A man charged in connection with one of the largest Medicare fraud schemes in U.S. history is back in American custody after being apprehended in Northern Cyprus and flown to South Florida, the Justice Department said June 23. Ibrahim Khaldoon…
The White House Council of Economic Advisers addressed the possibility of banning antisteering practices, which prohibit insurers from guiding patients to lower-cost providers, in payer-provider contracting. Its conclusion: Prices and premiums could drop. Along with broader antisteering issues, the memo…
The Congressional Budget Office is requesting more research on the No Surprises Act. In a June 15 website post, CBO called for research relying on more recent data, as claims data for existing studies end in 2023, while arbitration patterns…