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This Week

Jul 1, 2023

UnitedHealth outbids Option Care Health for Amedisys in deal valued at more than $3B

Ascension nurses locked out after largest nurse strikes in Texas and Kansas history

Digital health company Babylon Health to go private in merger with brain tech company MindMaze

Optum adding 2 more Humira biosimilars to its formulary

UnitedHealthcare to waive cost-sharing in 24/7 Virtual Visit program for some fully insured plans - Paige Minemyer

Featured

UnitedHealth outbids Option Care Health for Amedisys in deal valued at more than $3B

By Heather Landi

Amedisys on Monday agreed to be acquired by UnitedHealth's Optum unit in an all-cash deal while also scraping a previous all-stock deal offer from previous suitor Option Care Health.

18-19

Jul

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July 18-19, 2023 | Jersey City, NJ

Ascension nurses locked out after largest nurse strikes in Texas and Kansas history

By Dave Muoio

The 2,000-nurse strikes were held Tuesday morning and ran a single day. However, four-day-minimum contracts for temporary staff signed by the Catholic giant to keep its hospitals active mean the union workers will be sitting out until Saturday.

Digital health company Babylon Health to go private in merger with brain tech company MindMaze

By Heather Landi

Beleaguered digital health company Babylon Health finalized plans to go private and will combine with digital therapeutics company MindMaze.

Optum adding 2 more Humira biosimilars to its formulary

By Paige Minemyer

Optum Rx will add two more Humira biosimilars to its formulary later this summer.

UnitedHealthcare to waive cost-sharing in 24/7 Virtual Visit program for some fully insured plans

By Paige Minemyer

UnitedHealthcare will nix out-of-pocket costs for its 24/7 Virtual Visits in some of its fully insured plans beginning July 1.

Epic, Nuance bring ambient listening, GPT-4 tools to the exam room to help save doctors time

By Heather Landi

Microsoft-owned Nuance Communications is building on its long-standing partnership with Epic to broaden the availability of generative AI tools for medical note-taking.

Walgreens slashes financial outlook, ramps up efforts to drive profitability in healthcare unit

By Heather Landi

Drugstore chain Walgreens reported third-quarter sales were up nearly 9% to reach $35.4 million, but the company slashed its profit outlook for the year as it faces lower consumer spending and a drop in COVID-19 tests and vaccines.

MA enrollees see fewer inpatient stays, ER visits than those in traditional Medicare: report

By Frank Diamond

Medicare Advantage beneficiaries have fewer inpatient hospital stays and emergency department visits than beneficiaries in traditional fee-for-service Medicare, according to a report (PDF) by consulting company Avalere Health.

Meals for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries cut mortality, improve outcomes: study

By Frank Diamond

Kaiser Permanente Southern California found that a meal delivery program for Medicare Ad-vantage beneficiaries cut mortality rates, and improved outcomes overall, according to a study in JAMA Health Forum.

Humana planning to open 7 CenterWell locations in Tennessee this year

By Paige Minemyer

Humana has major growth ambitions for its CenterWell primary care business, and the company has unveiled its latest expansion.

Fierce podcasts

Don't miss an episode

'Podnosis': Medicaid eligibility determinations, healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community

This week on "Podnosis," we talk about the role commercial insurers play in Medicaid eligibility determinations. Also under discussion is healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community.

'Podnosis': Health equity, measuring social determinants of health

'Podnosis': Price negotiations and longevity research

Resources

Whitepaper

Why Your Cancer UM Strategy needs to Include Digital Health

Does your cancer cost containment strategy stop with utilization management and prior authorization? Download this white paper to understand ways that digital care management helps address total cost of care for your plan, your employers, and your members

Navigating succession planning challenges in healthcare facilities management

Did you know it takes six to nine months to fill healthcare facilities manager vacancies? The time for organizations to focus on succession planning is now.

The State of Vision Health 2023

The Harris Poll recently conducted a survey to explore key experiences, challenges, and desires for vision care among U.S. adults. The survey revealed reasons why those that have benefits don’t always use them, pointing to the need for a better consumer experience with clearer information, more transparent cost structures, and broader access to coverage. Download more insights from The Harris Poll’s study here.