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This Week

Dec 16, 2023

Optum Rx rolls out new weight management program

Most healthcare provider leaders are eying the door—and many have already heard offers, survey finds

House price transparency legislation passes with bipartisan support

Cigna, Humana merger talks put on ice: WSJ

TEFCA goes live in 'Big Bang' for nationwide health data sharing - Paige Minemyer

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Optum Rx rolls out new weight management program

By Paige Minemyer

Optum Rx is launching a new weight management program aimed at improving outcomes and addressing affordability.

Most healthcare provider leaders are eying the door—and many have already heard offers, survey finds

By Dave Muoio

A new poll of provider organization leadership found that 62% are planning a job change within the next 12 months. Nearly four in five say they've been propositioned within the past six months.

House price transparency legislation passes with bipartisan support

By Noah Tong

Members on both sides of the aisle are celebrating successful efforts to codify price transparency requirements and establish site-neutral payments in the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act passed by the House of Representatives on Monday.

Cigna, Humana merger talks put on ice: WSJ

By Paige Minemyer

Cigna is planning a massive $10 billion stock buyback as its merger talks with Humana reportedly fall through.

TEFCA goes live in 'Big Bang' for nationwide health data sharing

By Heather Landi

Seven years in the making, a nationwide network to exchange patient data called the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement is now operational, marking a critical step in establishing universal connectivity across providers.

Massachusetts providers, payers axing mental health, prior drug use credentialing questions

By Dave Muoio

In a nationwide first, every hospital, health system and local health plan in the state has signed on to removing sensitive mental health questions from physician credentialing processes that advocates say inhibit their ability to seek help.

Mental health startup Headway partners with Cigna, Blues plan to expand to all 50 states

By Heather Landi

Since launching four years ago, mental health startup Headway has built out its provider network and payer partnerships and now has expanded to all 50 states and Washington D.C.

North Carolina AG sues HCA Healthcare for breaching Mission Health purchase agreement

By Dave Muoio

The for-profit had agreed to continue offering certain services for at least 10 years in order to secure its acquisition. Attorney General Josh Stein said that his state's Department of Justice has received over 500 complaints suggesting that HCA was falling short.

Biden administration flags dozens of pharma companies to pay Medicare rebates for 'outrageous' price hikes

By Noah Tong

The Biden Administration announced Thursday a list of 48 Part B drugs with prices that rose faster than the rate of inflation in the final quarter of 2023. Here's what they plan to do now.

KKR in talks to buy stake in analytics firm Cotiviti in a deal valued at $11B: media report

By Heather Landi

Private equity firm KKR & Co. is exploring a potential deal to buy a stake in healthcare analytics company Cotiviti from Veritas Capital, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Fierce podcasts

Don’t miss an episode

'Podnosis': Breaking down barriers with adaptive recreation

Children’s Specialized Hospital, part of RWJBarnabas, is providing recreation, sports and social programs for kids with special healthcare needs. This week on "Podnosis," Anastassia Gliadkovskaya sat down with Matthew McDonald, M.D., the hospital’s president and CEO, to discuss what it takes to offer these services in-house and the future of pediatric care.