At a rate of 72.3%, patients receiving opioid treatment through in-network insurance overwhelmingly stayed in treatment for at least 180 days in comparison to those who were either out-of-network or uninsured and paying for treatment with cash, a new study finds.

A House bill that passed on Wednesday importantly would lessen the cut to physician payment.  A 3.34% physician payment reduction began January 1. The legislation  proposes a prospective increase of 1.68% to Medicare physician reimbursement effective March 9, according to MGMA. Medical groups would still be left with a 1.69% reduction in reimbursement for the […]

Heading into HIMSS24, Prashant Natarajan, vice president of strategy and products at H2O.ai, says he’s looking forward to hearing strategies and working together within the HIMSS framework.  

St. Luke’s, based in Duluth, Minnesota, has officially completed its affiliation with Wausau, Wisconsin-based Aspirus Health.  The expanded health system now operates 19 hospitals and 130 outpatient locations with nearly 14,000 team members, including 1,300 employed physicians and advanced practice clinicians across northeastern Minnesota, northern and central Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

As CEO of health IT company Augmedix, Manny Krakaris knows how much AI can benefit clinicians. He also knows its current limitations. “AI’s been overhyped,” Krakaris said of recent buzz around generative AI. “Technology can do the heavy lifting but it still needs someone with expertise to provide that last mile, ‘the sanity check.’” 

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has announced that the state has secured a $5 million prejudgment remedy against Stone Academy, a now-defunct for-profit nursing school.

The Department of Health and Human Services is offering flexibilities to hospitals, physicians, pharmacies and other stakeholders to help ease cash flow concerns caused by the Change Healthcare cyberattack and resulting disruption of services. Provider payment has been affected by an inability to submit claims. 

Sumit Nagpal, CEO of Cherish Health, said technology that can track people’s movements inside the home has preventive benefits to move the dial on healthcare costs.  

Despite strong enrollment gains, market growth for Medicare Advantage seems to be slowing, according to the 2024 Medicare Advantage competitive enrollment report released by Chartis and HealthScape Advisors.

All manufacturers participating in the first cycle of Medicare drug price negotiations have responded with counteroffers, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.  The news comes after HHS sent initial offers on February 1, as the agency was empowered to do by the Inflation Reduction Act, the White House’s attempt at lowering drug […]