UnitedHealth Group has abandoned its proposed acquisitions of Stewardship Health Inc. and a related company, following intense scrutiny from the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. This decision comes amidst growing concerns about the potential impact of these transactions on healthcare quality, costs, and working conditions for medical professionals. Assistant Attorney...

UnitedHealth Group Abandons Two Acquisitions Following Antitrust Division Scrutiny

Cigna’s chief executive is pledging to be more aggressive in defending its pharmacy benefit manager amid mounting public criticism of the drug middlemen — and as its PBM, Express Scripts, continues to drive soaring revenue for the insurance giant. That includes heavier lobbying in Washington, sponsoring more research...

Cigna CEO promises ‘aggressive’ defense of pharmacy benefit managers

Patients are becoming less satisfied with physical pharmacies as popularity rises for online and mail-order services, according to J.D. Power's 16th annual U.S. Pharmacy Study. Compared to the company's 2023 study, customer satisfaction with mail-order pharmacies saw a six-point increase (on a 1,000-point scale). Chain drugstores, meanwhile, received satisfaction scores...

Appetite grows for mail-order pharmacies: Study

UnitedHealthcare has completely revamped its provider search experience for millions of members, infusing new features that leverage claims and pricing data, along with AI-powered tools that provide more accurate results. "The company went through a transformation in the way that it operated and started thinking more about the end-to-end consumer...

Inside UnitedHealthcare's provider search revamp

Earlier this year, attorneys started to try to get a class action certified against the carrier. Now, the United States has initiated a civil lawsuit under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) against Allstate company National General Holdings Corp. and its subsidiaries, including National General Insurance Company, National General Lender Services Inc., and Newport Management Corporation.

Allstate subsidiary hit by Feds over alleged insurance fraud

Big Pharma will need to pony up for some of its biggest price hikes. The industry expects invoices from the government later this year as a penalty for raising drug prices faster than the rate of inflation. Drug companies are required to pay inflation penalties to Medicare when prescription drug...

3 Big Pharma cancer drugs facing inflation penalties

Denver, CO

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David Heitz

A dangerous drug that is being mixed into fentanyl is causing those who inject it to develop a rash of sores that resembles a case of flesh-eating bacteria. People experiencing homelessness around Denver can sometimes be seen with these bloody, weeping wounds. I recently mentioned this phenomenon to a fentanyl user who told me about the xylazine connection.

Denver homeless people suffer sores as xylazine enters fentanyl supply

Oncology medications made up 24.14% of pharmacy program participants' drug spend from April 2023 to March 2024, according to Vizient's "Summer 2024 Pharmacy Market Outlook" report. The report, released July 30, analyzed pharmacy program participants' purchase data from April 2023 to March 2024 and provides an estimate of pharmaceutical price...

Top medication spend for oncology drugs

Pharmaceutical maker Cencora - formerly AmerisourceBergen - in an updated filing this week told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that a Feb. 21 cyberattack resulted in the theft of more data than previously reported - including personal and health information. Five months ago, Cencora told the SEC in an...

Pharma Company to SEC: More Data Was Stolen in February Hack

Arizona State

Phoenix, AZ

The Independent

A wealthy power couple from Arizona found themselves in handcuffs just months after getting married, for their role in a $900 million Medicare fraud scheme, according to the Department of Justice. Alexandra “Lexie” Gehrke, 38, and Jeffrey King, 49, were preparing to depart for their honeymoon at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport last month when federal prosecutors arrested them on charges of conspiracy, health care fraud, receiving kickbacks and money laundering in connection to a years-long scheme.The government claims Gehrke and King targeted “elderly Medicare patients, many of whom were terminally ill in hospice care” to get “medically unnecessary”...

Medical entrepreneur and her DJ husband arrested over $900m healthcare fraud scheme

The FDA has accepted the application for suzetrigine, an experimental, non-opioid pain medicine. If approved, the drug will be the nation's first of a new class of pain medicine in more than 20 years. Vertex Pharmaceuticals' drug candidate is an oral selective NaV1.8 pain signal inhibitor that targets moderate to...

Pain medicine candidate might log a 1st in 20 years

Boston, MA

Massachusetts State

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez approved the closure of Dallas-based Steward Health Care's two Massachusetts hospitals, Boston-based Carney Hospital and Ayer-based Nashoba Valley Medical Center, by Aug. 31 during a July 31 hearing. Mr. Lopez also granted a request from Steward to reject "Master Lease II" agreements for its Massachusetts...

Judge OKs Steward to close 2 Massachusetts hospitals

Los Angeles, CA

Knight-Swift Transportation announced the acquisition of a Los Angeles-based regional LTL carrier. On July 30, Knight-Swift announced that the companies acquired Dependable Highway Express, Inc. (DHE). Financial terms were not disclosed. Following the acquisition, DHE will operate as a separate brand under the AAA Cooper corporate group. Knight-Swift stated that...

Trucking giant Knight-Swift acquires 74 year old California carrier

Camden, NJ

Cornelius, NC

Morristown Minute

CAMDEN, N.J. – Lisa Smith, 61, of Cornelius, North Carolina, has admitted to her role in a fraudulent scheme involving over $3.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today that Smith pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams in Camden federal court on July 17, 2024, to a charge of bank fraud conspiracy.

Woman Pleads Guilty to $3.5M COVID Relief Scam

Health systems must ensure they're working to better understand and prevent safety risks among patients with disabilities, said Tejal Gandhi, MD, chief safety and transformation officer at Press Ganey. At present, disabilities are not a field hospitals are required to denote in safety reports, making it difficult to identify and...

An overlooked safety improvement area for hospitals

UPS will soon acquire a nearly 50-year-old delivery company based in Mexico as part of the company’s plan to become the top delivery service in the world. UPS has entered into an acquisition agreement with Estafeta, which is expected to close by the end of the year. The acquisition of Estafeta will include six Boeing 737-400 freighters, along with maritime, railway, and trucking services, reported AirCargoNews.

UPS to acquire nearly 50-year-old Mexican delivery company

Kentucky State

Corbin, KY

Angelia Foster was appointed president of Baptist Health Corbin (Ky.). Ms. Foster will begin her new role Oct. 14, according to a hospital news release. She joins the hospital from Marshfield Medical Center-Beaver Dam (Wis.), where she serves as president. She is also regional president at Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic Health System for the southern region of Wisconsin.

Kentucky hospital names president

Missouri State

Wentzville, MO

Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy received unanimous approval from the Missouri Facilities Review Committee to build a $650 million medical campus in Wentzville, Mo. Anticipated to take four years to build, the campus will include Mercy Hospital Wentzville, a 75-bed hospital and emergency department. The hospital will sit alongside other specialty service centers, including those for cardiovascular, oncology and orthopedic care, according to a July 29 new release from Mercy.

Missouri approves Mercy plans for $650M hospital

Pennsylvania State

Beaver, PA

Beaver, Pa.-based Heritage Valley Health System has laid off several workers and is closing multiple facilities as part of an organizational downsizing, Beaver County Radio reported July 31. The workforce and service cuts were made to help the system meet its fiscal year 2025 (year ending June 30) budget as...

Pennsylvania system lays off workers, closing multiple facilities

Minnesota State

How to succeed in RA and other tips and words of wisdom from Boston Scientific retiree and University of Minnesota professor Mac McKeen. Recently retired from a 35-year career in medtech, I want to share some of my experiences and “pearls of wisdom” with you as you continue your journey.

What this Boston Scientific vet learned from a 35-year career in regulatory affairs

NewsBreak

Cigna prepares 'aggressive' defense of PBMs

Cigna is planning to vigorously defend its pharmacy benefit manager from scrutiny. On an Aug. 1 call with investors, Cigna Group CEO David Cordani said the...

Cigna prepares 'aggressive' defense of PBMs

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