Week in review: 12 biggest healthcare stories this week

Stay in the know with Becker's Hospital Review's weekly roundup of the nation's biggest healthcare news. Here's what you need to know this week.

1. CMS finalizes changes to ACA marketplace

CMS released a final rule containing standards for health insurers selling coverage through the Affordable Care Act exchanges in 2017, addressing problems such as surprise bills, transparency, standardization and patient safety. Click here for six things to know about the standards for 2017 and beyond.

2. Mayo's Epic implementation will cost upwards of $1B over 5 years
Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo reported it expects to spend more than $1 billion over the next five years to build a hardware infrastructure to support the implementation of Epic's EHR, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

3. Donald Trump unveils healthcare policy details in 7 points
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump unveiled a healthcare reform plan March 2 to "Make America Great Again," this time with more details to quell criticisms that his ideas are too vague. Mr. Trump broke his plan down into seven reforms that Congress must act on, beginning with a repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

4. Super Tuesday exit polls measure voters' healthcare views
In Super Tuesday's aftermath, Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton came out overwhelmingly in the lead. As voters exited the polls in the Super Tuesday primary states, pollsters gauged their take on the candidates and how much healthcare policies swayed their choice. Click here for five things to know about Super Tuesday exit polls on healthcare.

5. How CHS, Tenet, UHS, LifePoint and HCA fared in Q4
Major for-profit hospital operators produced mixed results in the fourth quarter of 2015. Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems reported revenue of $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015, down 2.4 percent from the same period of the year prior. Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare reported revenue rose to $5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015, up 12.6 percent from the same period a year earlier. King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services reported revenue increased 6.4 percent year over year to $2.3 billion in the final quarter of 2015. Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Health reported revenue of nearly $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015, up 8.5 percent from the same period of the year prior, and Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Holdings reported revenue of $10.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015, up from $9.6 billion in the same period of the year prior. 

6. Kaiser moves forward with $1.8B Group Health takeover
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, the health insurance arm of Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, formally applied to acquire Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative, according to The Seattle Times.

7. Aetna CEO reverses opinion, now 'likes' ACA exchanges
In early February, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini said his company had "serious concerns about the sustainability of the public exchanges." But now his thoughts are slightly different, according to CNN Money.

8. Supreme Court ruling to quash claims database initiatives in 18 states
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual that self-insured health plans could not be forced by a state to report claims information for use in state health pricing databases, according to The New York Times. Eighteen states have proposed or passed laws that require health plans to provide the state with pricing data on patient claims. Before the high court's ruling on the issue, more than a dozen other states had shown interest in compiling similar claims databases.

9. South Dakota hospital to lose Medicare funding
CMS terminated Rosebud (S.D.) Indian Health Service Hospital's Medicare contract, effective March 16, according to the Argus Leader.

10. California hospital to close after restructuring plan fails
Saddleback Memorial-San Clemente (Calif.) announced it will close May 31. The primary reason for the closure is dwindling patient volumes. Hospital officials said many days there are fewer than 10 inpatients at the hospital, and the number of inpatient surgeries has dropped to less than one a day.

11. Olympus shells out $646M to settle endoscope anti-kickback allegations
Olympus, the largest endoscope manufacturer in the United States, agreed to pay $623.2 million to settle criminal charges alleging it violated anti-kickback laws, according to the Los Angeles Times. The settlement is the largest ever paid out by a medical device company for anti-kickback related charges.

12. Florida 'teen physician' back in jail
The Florida teen who has been caught multiple times posing as a physician was arrested again March 1 on charges of fraud and larceny, just two weeks after an initial arrest for practicing medicine without a license, according to NBC Miami.

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars