News
In a financial pinch, major health insurers are turning to AI for help
6+ day, 6+ hour ago (292+ words) Facing shrinking profit margins and higher medical costs, the nation's largest health insurers are accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence throughout their sprawling operations, promising a wave of automation designed to cut expenses and boost productivity. References to AI were a…...
Medicare Advantage growth dwindles for a second straight year
6+ day, 22+ hour ago (217+ words) The Medicare Advantage program continues to bring in more older adults and people with disabilities, but not nearly at the same rates from just a few years ago. Almost 35.5 million people were enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan as of…...
Trump officials push for skimpier coverage in ACA marketplaces
1+ week, 4+ day ago (256+ words) Bob Herman is a business of health care reporter at STAT. He covers hospitals, health insurance, and other corners of the industry " with a goal of explaining and shining light on the massive amount of money flowing through the system....
Humana projects sharply lower earnings as Medicare membership surges
1+ week, 4+ day ago (194+ words) Tara Bannow is a hospitals and insurance reporter at STAT. She came to STAT in 2022 from Modern Healthcare magazine, where she was a senior reporter covering hospital finance. There, she wrote about subjects like unscrupulous medical debt collection and private…...
Insurance companies should pay patients when they make cost-effective health care choices
1+ week, 6+ day ago (441+ words) The American health care system suffers from many misalignments of incentives, but one is particularly irksome: When individual patients make prudent decisions about their care, choosing reasonable but less costly alternatives, they capture none of the savings they generate. This…...
Federal government turns to fresher data to rein in Medicare Advantage upcoding
2+ week, 6+ hour ago (131+ words) The health insurance industry was caught off guard by the federal government's recent proposal to keep next year's payments to Medicare Advantage plans mostly flat, and to change a controversial coding practice. But another equally significant change has flown under…...
We helped create Medicare Advantage. Here’s how to fix it
2+ week, 4+ day ago (747+ words) By Donna Shalala and Tommy G. Thompson Shalala was appointed as secretary of health and human services under President Bill Clinton. Thompson served as secretary of HHS under President George W. Bush. Tens of millions of seniors have recently wrapped up Medicare's…...
A telling UnitedHealth chart, and the Medicare Advantage earthquake
2+ week, 6+ day ago (273+ words) Bob Herman is a business of health care reporter at STAT. He covers hospitals, health insurance, and other corners of the industry " with a goal of explaining and shining light on the massive amount of money flowing through the system....
Trump’s latest deal: $600 million of tech company discounts to help implement Medicaid work requirements
3+ week, 3+ day ago (234+ words) Tara Bannow is a hospitals and insurance reporter at STAT. She came to STAT in 2022 from Modern Healthcare magazine, where she was a senior reporter covering hospital finance. There, she wrote about subjects like unscrupulous medical debt collection and private…...
Trump administration signals there’s widespread desire to curb Medicare Advantage
3+ week, 4+ day ago (215+ words) Bob Herman is a business of health care reporter at STAT. He covers hospitals, health insurance, and other corners of the industry " with a goal of explaining and shining light on the massive amount of money flowing through the system....