Opinion: Listen: The true costs of mediocre insurance plans for medical students
For the many high-achieving perfectionists who enter medical school each year, the stakes of their…
Category: insurance
STAT+: UnitedHealth pushed employees to follow an algorithm to cut off Medicare patients’ rehab care
The nation’s largest health insurance company pressured its medical staff to cut off payments for…
AMA urges coverage of obesity treatments as payers balk at costs
WASHINGTON – The American Medical Association called on insurance companies, employers, and government programs to…
Wegovy cuts risk of heart attacks in milestone cardiovascular trial
PHILADELPHIA — Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Wegovy notably cut the risk of heart attacks in…
STAT+: Democrats push government to police algorithms in Medicare Advantage
House Democrats are raising concerns with the Biden administration that Medicare Advantage plans need better…
Shrinking COVID vaccine sales has Moderna course-correcting
Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get…
Opinion: The best way to convince healthy people to get insurance is not ‘because it’s in your financial interest’
’Tis the season — open enrollment season, that is. Since before the Nov. 1 start to…
Novo Nordisk is concluding research on Wegovy’s impact on osteoarthritis
Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get…
Opinion: Want to end historic health care strikes? Fix a broken, outdated reimbursement model
History was made this month as more than 75,000 workers staged the largest health care…
STAT+: UnitedHealth discontinues a controversial brand amid scrutiny of algorithmic care denials
UnitedHealth Group and Optum are getting rid of the name of their tech-driven care management…
Opinion: A better way for doctors and health plans to manage genetic tests
New technology has a history of overwhelming existing systems that try to manage it, and…
STAT+: Senate Finance targets Medicare Advantage brokers
Senate Finance Committee members from both parties took aim today at insurance brokers that sell…
STAT+: In an unusual arrangement, UnitedHealth’s board chair also owns a personal investment firm
Stephen Hemsley, the former CEO of UnitedHealth Group and its current board chair, also owns…
STAT+: What to know about this year’s Medicare open enrollment period
It’s the middle of October — the time of year that’s filled with pumpkin spice…
STAT+: UnitedHealth’s profit jumps as medical costs come in lower than expected
UnitedHealth Group has made it clear that more people, especially older adults, are seeing their…
STAT+: Humana CEO Bruce Broussard to step down next year
Bruce Broussard, CEO of health insurance giant Humana, will step down next year after leading…
Opinion: Connecticut’s comptroller explains his thinking about GLP-1s for state employees
This article is part of a partnership between First Opinion and Tradeoffs, a podcast exploring our…
Opinion: STAT+: How payer-participating trials could help transform clinical research on FDA-approved drugs
Earlier this year, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert M. Califf proposed something radical: that…
The stability of $0 premiums in Medicare Advantage
You’re reading the web edition of Health Care Inc., STAT’s weekly newsletter following the flow…
STAT+: More hospital and outpatient visits expected to persist through fall and winter
Health care providers and health insurance companies are closing the books on their third quarters,…
STAT+: New lawsuit highlights another wrinkle for settling disputes over surprise medical bills
After Congress officially outlawed surprise medical bills last year, there’s been endless, litigious debate as…
STAT+: Cigna to pay $172 million in Medicare Advantage fraud settlement
Health insurer Cigna is paying more than $172 million to settle allegations that it committed…
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Republicans aren’t quite done talking about Obamacare, after all
WASHINGTON — In a far-ranging debate that touched on everything from border control issues to…
STAT+: Senate committee chair tries to spark negotiations to keep Medicare solvent
WASHINGTON — The Senate Budget Committee started what could become a bipartisan effort to extend…
STAT+: Medicare Advantage plans for dual-eligible enrollees set to get Senate scrutiny
The Senate has set its eyes on regulating insurance plans for some of the most…
Kaiser Permanente workers announce an official strike date
You’re reading the web edition of Health Care Inc., STAT’s weekly newsletter following the flow…
Opinion: How medical schools are failing students who need mental health care
Medical students experience significant mental distress, including high rates of anxiety, alcohol use, depression and…
FTC sues private equity firm Welsh Carson, U.S. Anesthesia Partners for allegedly creating a monopoly
The Federal Trade Commission has sued U.S. Anesthesia Partners and its private equity owner, Welsh,…
STAT+: Pear’s shadow effect: Data from a Medicaid digital health experiment does the policy rounds
Pear Therapeutics may be gone, but one of its most important deals is still driving…
STAT+: Patients, doctors press FTC to beef up hospital merger scrutiny
Comments to antitrust regulators lay bare Americans’ anger and disillusionment over consolidation’s effects on all…
STAT+: Walmart may buy concierge Medicare Advantage provider ChenMed. But will it scale?
Walmart seems poised to increase its health care footprint by buying value-based senior care company…
STAT+: Experts fear private equity will pour gas on cardiology’s overuse problem
Coronary stenting is, by some measures, the most overused procedure in hospitals. The problem costs…
STAT+: Covid hospitalizations on the rise, Humana says
More older adults have been hospitalized for Covid-19 over the past several weeks, according to…
STAT+: Humana sues Biden administration over Medicare Advantage audit rule
Humana sued the federal government Friday, arguing that this year’s new rule to claw back…
STAT+: As pharmaceutical companies bemoan Medicare’s drug negotiations, hospitals and doctors stay mum
The pharmaceutical industry has been up in arms over Medicare’s first list of 10 prescription…
A big insurer decides to cover naloxone for overdose; will others follow?
At long last, naloxone is available over the counter. But now comes a moment of…
STAT+: Feds fine Medicare Advantage plans for overcharging their members
The federal government has started penalizing Medicare Advantage insurers that have one common, glaring problem:…
STAT+: Blue Shield of California overhauls drug pricing operation — by adding more vendors
Blue Shield of California, a health insurance company that covers almost 5 million people, is…
STAT+: Health care CEOs hauled in $4 billion last year as inflation pinched workers, analysis shows
The health care industry didn’t just provide a safe haven for jittery stock investors in…
STAT+: After Optum Health’s lowest profit margin in a decade, UnitedHealth makes changes
Just weeks after the division of UnitedHealth Group that provides care to patients posted its…
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STAT+: AdventHealth sues MultiPlan, alleging a ‘cartel’ that underpays out-of-network medical claims
AdventHealth, a large religious-affiliated hospital system, has sued MultiPlan, alleging the company has worked with…
STAT+: Alarmed by popularity of Ozempic and Wegovy, insurers wage multi-front battle
Patients are bracing for “D-Day,” the date their insurance companies will stop covering the drugs….
STAT+: Uninsured rate hits ‘record low’ — right before millions start losing Medicaid coverage
Roughly 7.7% of Americans didn’t have any health insurance as of this past March —…
STAT+: With new acquisitions, Humana and CVS hope to turn members into patients
Both Humana and CVS Health on Wednesday touted plans to aggressively scale their primary care…
STAT+: Labor Department says UnitedHealth Group unit illegally denied emergency room, drug screen claims
The U.S. Department of Labor claims in a new lawsuit that a UnitedHealth Group unit…
STAT+: UHS finance chief said company favors patients whose insurance pays more
The country’s largest private psychiatric hospital operator cherry picks patients whose insurance will pay more,…
White House unveils plan to make insurers cover mental health care
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced a proposal meant to force health insurers to cover…
Opinion: Enough with the health care policy patchwork. It’s time for universal insurance
Everyone knows that the United States is the only high-income country without universal health insurance….
STAT+: Lawsuit says Cigna illegally denies claims in bulk, sticking patients with unexpected bills
A new lawsuit accuses Cigna of using an algorithm to automatically deny claims in bulk…
Opinion: Drug pricing and the ‘impossible trinity’ for patients
You don’t have to be an economist to understand the law of demand: The higher…