Fierce Healthcare

Middle-income workers and their families are spending an average of 10.1% of the median income on their health premiums and deductibles, according to a new report.

Following the departure of Jim O'Neill, National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D., will step in as the acting leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to media reports.

Optum is rolling out a new AI tool that aims to address some of the key barriers to value-based care, from data fragmentation to administrative burden.

A recent unopposed motion filed by the class action's plaintiff outlines terms for court approval that would bring nearly $182 of benefits to around 202,000 plan participants or beneficiaries.

Constant exposure to diverse diseases is an occupational hazard for all healthcare workers, especially those who work with children. Scientists have now plumbed the immune systems of pediatricians to unearth antibodies the doctors have developed against common respiratory viruses, which the researchers next hope to turn into new medicines for the illnesses.

How a nurse-driven solution became a powerful platform improving onboarding speed, accuracy, and impact for the University of Maryland Medical System.

The nonprofit, which has been hard at work overhauling its portfolio, highlighted same-store volume growth stemming from access expansions and speedier discharges of more complex patients.

Ongoing headwinds caused by elevated utilization and medical costs continued to drag major health plans in the fourth quarter, completing the story of a complex 2025 for the industry.

In this episode, Senior Writer Anastassia Gliadkovskaya explores what it takes to make measurement-based care work in behavioral health, from clinician training and internal culture to the systems that support better outcomes.

The 138-hospital Catholic nonprofit reached a narrow $2 million operating income (after adjustment) on more than $10.5 billion of revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31. Management attributed the improvements to ongoing strategic efforts and an ongoing crackdown on operating efficiency.

Humana's CenterWell unit has closed a deal to buy primary care provider MaxHealth from private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners.

Doctors are skeptical after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it plans to shut down Making Care Primary a year into what was supposed to be a 10-year program. Nearly 700 practices in eight states were enrolled.

Nextech recently launched its next-generation AI assistant, called Cora, along with its clinical documentation feature, Cora Scribe, to provide AI technology designed with specialty workflows in mind, according to the company.

Signature by MedStar Health tapped Withings Health Solutions to arm patients with a cellular blood pressure monitor, BPM Pro 2, and an advanced cellular scale, Body Pro, to support personalized care.

The move will bring the chronic care model to an additional 165 million Americans, according to the CMS.

The overhaul to the Hart-Scott-Rodino form went into effect in early 2025, and, by the regulator's own estimates, expanded merging companies' average paperwork burdens from 37 hours to 105 hours. The court's ordered rollback is set to take effect Feb. 19 pending an emergency appeal from the agency.

The Coalition for Health AI promised the healthcare industry a way to responsibly oversee AI through a nationwide network of AI assurance labs. Those labs never materialized.

Health systems that use Suki’s ambient clinical AI solution have seen measurable improvements in documentation time, but they’ve also reported clear financial gains, generating incremental revenue from higher acuity coding.

The complaint accuses the companies of marketing and selling the drugs as “a safe and effective equivalent and alternative” to FDA-approved GLP-1s. Oral tirzepatide has not been approved by the FDA, but compounding it is not necessarily illegal.

AI’s greatest contribution to healthcare may not be automation or scale, but its ability to make care a more consumer-centric and personal experience, write Elevance Health's Ratnakar Lavu and Gautam (G) M. Shah.