News Briefs
✦ Cigna Corp.’s Evernorth division has reached a deal to acquire the telehealth platform MDLIVE, the companies said on Feb. 26. Cigna is already an MDLIVE customer and investor, and noted in a press release that...
States Might Not Fight Medicaid Work Requirement Rollback
In recent weeks, the Biden administration has begun the process of rescinding Trump-era waiver programs authorizing Medicaid work requirements. Experts say that the new administration has a strong legal position in ...
Analysts Shrug at Stock Selloff Following CVS Earnings Report
Although CVS Health Corp.’s stock price dropped about 5% after the company reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 financial results on Feb. 16, equities analysts seemed to be unshaken in their view that th...
Pandemic Exposes Need for Alternate Primary Care Payment
Experts in primary care say the field has still not resolved long-term financial and structural challenges exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. They also point out that primary care must play a central role if the heal...
News Briefs
✦ Multiple news outlets were reporting at press time that President Joe Biden was expected to nominate Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as the new CMS administrator. Brooks-LaSure, who currently is a managing director with ...
MA Startup Hits Back at Damning Report as SEC Investigates
The tech-focused Medicare Advantage startup Clover Health — which should be riding high after its recent stock market debut — is instead being probed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and is facing a sha...
Feds Launch Testing Strategy, but Price Gouging Continues
Testing for the novel coronavirus still has an important role to play in saving lives and ending the pandemic, but it will require significant investment and attention to become effective. As testing is scaled up by...
Centene to Shed 4,500 Positions After Fourth-Quarter Loss
Centene Corp. said it would eliminate 4,500 jobs, including 3,000 current employees and another 1,500 open positions, as it focuses on “innovation, growth and agility” after posting a $12 million fourth-quarter ...
COVID Relief Package Could Also Boost Coverage, Help Insurers
COVID-19 relief legislation under consideration by key committees in the House of Representatives includes provisions aimed at helping Americans afford health insurance, many of which could be beneficial to consumer...
Study Illustrates Demographics, Specialties That Used Telemedicine Most During Pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic spread in the U.S. from January to June 2020, 30.1% of all outpatient visits were delivered via telemedicine, but the growth of telemedicine use varied dramatically across patient demographi...