Topics
Reimbursement
Volume growth contributes to improved hospital margins in October, finds Kaufman Hall
Hospital margins up in October, driven by volume
Revenue Cycle Management
Referral process going digital as healthcare providers look to stem revenue leakage
Referral processes going digital
Strategic Planning
Machine learning, AI, telemedicine and other technologies will pose data security risks, says Dr. John Halamka
New tech will create data security risks
Capital Finance
Healthcare real estate: The pros and cons of buying versus leasing
To lease or to buy? The pros and cons
Supply Chain
Unnecessary healthcare supply chain spending reaches almost $26 billion; savings opportunities remain
Unnecessary supply chain spending reaches $26B
Accounting & Financial Management
Healthcare spending rises to $3.6 trillion in the U.S., driven partly by health insurance tax
Health spending rises to $3.6T
Budgeting
'Care cascades,' or unwarranted tests, show hidden costs
Unnecessary tests show hidden costs
Quality and Safety
Hospitals given latitude to select transplant candidates don't prioritize sickest patients
Hospitals don't prioritize sickest transplant candidates
Billing and Collections
Poor digital billing process associated with uncollected payments
Poor digital billing associated with collections
Claims Processing
BCBS Institute and Solera partner, pay SDoH organizations through outcomes-based medical claims
BCBS Institute, Solera, to pay organizations through outcomes-based claims
Workforce
Job opportunities for physicians increase by 5% as demand surges, though worries about a shortage remain
Physician job opportunities increase 5%
Operations
Getting a handle on identity and access in healthcare isn't just a technology problem
Identity and access: Not just a tech problem
Medical Devices
Apple is developing custom health information tracking chips
Apple is developing custom health chips
Hospital/physician relations
Quality of initial training makes a big difference in EHR satisfaction, KLAS report finds
Poor EHR training brings down provider satisfaction
Construction & Facilities Management
Cape Cod Healthcare building $180M patient tower, investing in EHR
CCHC building $180M patient tower
Compliance & Legal
Ten former NFL players charged with alleged fraud of healthcare benefit program for retired players
Ten former NFL players charged with fraud
Policy and Legislation
Republican satisfaction with U.S. healthcare costs is on the upswing, finds Gallup
GOP satisfaction with health costs on upswing
Community Benefit
Advocate Aurora Health contributed $2.1 billion to community charitable care and services in 2018
Advocate Aurora: $2.1B in charity care
Accountable Care
Physician-led accountable care organizations outperform hospital-led counterparts
Physician-led ACOs outperform hospital ACOs
Acute Care
Pressure ulcers cost the health system $26.8 billion a year
Pressure ulcers cost the health system $26.8B a year
Ambulatory Care
Medical schools, teaching hospitals account for 3% of US GDP, report shows
Med schools, teaching hospitals are 3% of GDP
Analytics
Anthem, MassChallenge HealthTech to collaborate on accelerator launch
Anthem, MassChallenge HealthTech launching accelerator
Business Intelligence
While the price of healthcare is growing, utilization is dropping and price variations persist, report says
HCCI: Price of healthcare is growing, utilization is dropping, price variations persist
ICD-10 & Coding
Physician practices examine risk adjustment coding in wake of federal lawsuits
Practices keeping close watch on risk adjustment coding
Meaningful Use
CMS overhauls meaningful use EHR program, renames it 'Promoting Interoperability'
CMS overhauls meaningful use as 'Promoting Interoperability'
Medicare & Medicaid
Final days of ACA open enrollment show 10% drop in signups
ACA enrollment down 10% going into final days
Patient Engagement
Millennials, Gen Xers less satisfied with health plans, new survey shows
Younger consumers are less satisfied with health plans
Pharmacy
Suicide attempts and hospitals admissions linked to non-opioid drugs on the rise
Suicides, admissions linked to non-opioid drugs
Population Health
Majority of parents say socioeconomic factors negatively impact their families' health
Socioeconomic factors impact families' health
Risk Management
Cybersecurity needs to be put in business terms
Cybersecurity needs to be put in business terms
Telehealth
Roper St. Francis Healthcare launches multi-hospital tele-ICU initiative with Advanced ICU Care
Roper St. Francis launches multi-hospital tele-ICU initiative
Mergers & Acquisitions
CVS Health to acquire IlliniCare Health in agreement with Centene
CVS to acquire IlliniCare in Centene deal
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Mergers & Acquisitions

Dec 02 | Jeff Lagasse
CVS Health to acquire IlliniCare Health in agreement with Centene
Centene will retain IlliniCare's Medicare-Medicaid Alignment Initiative business and its YouthCare foster care…
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UnityPoint corporate offices in West Des Moines, Iowa. (Google Earth)
Nov 14 | Jeff Lagasse
Sanford Health, UnityPoint Health call off plans for $11 billion merger
No reason was given for the decision, which negates plans that would have resulted in a system ranking among the…
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Nov 01 | Susan Morse
California AG denies Adventist\West and St. Joseph affiliation
The health systems had proposed forming a joint operating company to manage hospitals in six counties.
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Oct 30 | Jeff Lagasse
CHS divests Virginia hospitals, sells to Bon Secours Mercy Health
In an ongoing effort to consolidate and reduce debt, CHS is exiting the state in a deal expected to close by year's end.
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Amazon Health Navigator
Oct 25 | Jonah Comstock
Amazon makes its second digital health acquisition with Health Navigator
The five-year-old Illinois company offers digital health content middleware in the form of APIs used by Microsoft,…
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Sep 04 | Susan Morse
Federal court sides with CVS Health/Aetna on their merger
Arguments against the merger were insufficient to undermine the settlement agreement reached by the Department of Justice, judge…
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Sep 04 | Jeff Lagasse
Priority Health, Total Health Care signal intent to merge
The transaction is expected to be complete in early 2020 following approval by Total Health Care members and state officials.
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Aug 23 | Jeff Lagasse
Signify Health, Remedy Partners signify intent to merge
This comes amidst a market shift from fee-for-service toward value-based payments based on quality.
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Harvard Pilgrim headquarters
Aug 14 | Susan Morse
Tufts and Harvard Pilgrim to merge, creating large nonprofit insurer
The new organization, yet to be named, will be one of the largest nonprofit health organizations in Massachusetts and the…
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A Putnam, CT hospital run by Day Kimball Healthcare (Google Earth)
Aug 14 | Jeff Lagasse
Day Kimball Healthcare has sights set on partnership with California for-profit
It could be several months before the deal is finalized, though the agreement itself is projected to be…
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