News Briefs

✦ President Joe Biden was slated to issue an executive order on July 9 aimed at “promoting competition in the American economy,” which notably includes the health care sector. It calls on federal agencies to “enforce antitrust laws vigorously,” recognizing that they have the authority to challenge “prior bad mergers.” In particular, enforcement should focus on “labor markets, agricultural markets, healthcare markets (which includes prescription drugs, hospital consolidation, and insurance), and the tech sector,” stated a White House press release.

✦ HealthPartners, a Minnesota-based integrated health system, will offer a single bill for pregnancy care delivered at Ridgeview, a provider system with three hospitals. Per a press release, the so-called “bundle” will include “several clinic visits, numerous tests, ultrasounds and a hospital stay…as long as no non-routine tests or services are required during pregnancy or delivery.” Ridgeview said in the release that the billing approach is possible because of higher integration across its affiliated clinics and specialists, which “results in high-quality care and birth experiences for pregnant patients, better coordination of services and billing, lower costs of care, and lower insurance costs.”

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