Plus, Higher Medicare Advantage rates don’t always lead to better quality

Weekly Digest

This Week

Sep 3, 2022

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Featured

Amazon Care shutdown is a strategic play, not a failure, some healthcare experts say

Forrester healthcare analysts called the shuttering of Amazon Care "a strategic move" rather than a failure. Amazon still has its sights set on primary care, many healthcare experts say, as it represents the gatekeeper of patient care.


Top Stories

Higher Medicare Advantage rates didn't always lead to better quality, RAND study finds

Larger premiums did not always lead to better quality of care for beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage plans, a new RAND study found.


CMS aims to streamline Medicaid, CHIP enrollment process

CMS proposed a new rule outlining requirements for states to ensure that Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries are able to hold on to their coverage.


CMS: ACOs saved Medicare $1.6B overall in 2021 as big changes on the horizon

Accountable care organizations generated $1.6 billion in savings for Medicare last year, the fifth straight year the program has garnered savings.


Cigna to enter ACA exchanges in 3 more states for 2023

The expansion, which is pending regulatory approval, will bring Cigna's total ACA footprint to 363 counties across 16 states, the insurer said.


Oscar Health loses major tech customer amid integration challenges

Health First Health Plans, an early adopter of Oscar Health's tech stack, is pulling the plug on the project amid implementation challenges.


Industry Voices—Facing unprecedented challenges, America's hospitals and health systems need help now

A tsunami of challenges is exerting tremendous pressure on hospitals and health systems’ ability to provide access to care to their patients and communities.


July's hospital margins were among the worst of the pandemic, Kaufman Hall says

Hospitals just weathered "some of the worst margins since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic" due to lower outpatient volumes and longer inpatient stays, Kaufman Hall wrote in its July report.


Backlash against CVS, Walgreens raises questions about role of retail in post-Dobbs world

Messages on the popular social media site accused the retail pharmacy of “putting politics over patients" by refusing to fill a prescription for non-abortion related care. Other drugstores restricting reproductive health care raise questions about retail’s role in the abortion debate.


Appeals court strikes down bid to reinstate OSHA COVID-19 protection standard

A federal appellate court ruled it doesn't have the authority to get OSHA to make permanent a COVID-19 emergency protection standard.


Resources

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Keep your EHR systems in good health

Could cloud be the cure for your EHR headaches? See our infographic on how moving to the cloud can slash financial and administrative burdens.



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