Expert Warns About Healthcare’s Cybersecurity Weakness

A cybersecurity expert said that the ransomware attacks on Change Healthcare and St. Louis-based Ascension has highlighted the healthcare industry's cybersecurity weakness, CNN reported May 15.

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UnitedHealth’s Unit To Launch New Drug Pricing Model Next Year

The new model, Optum Rx Clear Trend Guarantee, will provide value-based pricing of drugs per member combining the cost of these medicines from various sources such as retail pharmacy, home delivery, specialty drug and rebates.

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Senate Drug Shortage Bill Zeroes In On Supply Chain, Would Pay Hospitals To ‘Stockpile’

With drug shortages at an all-time high, the Senate Finance Committee wants to create a new program to incentivize improved contracting and purchasing practices in the supply chain by offering bonuses to hospitals and providers.

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HHS Unveils New $50M Program To Protect Hospitals From Cyberattacks

Following the Change Healthcare and Ascension breaches, this new HHS program will solicit proposals from companies that can create tools to ensure internet-connected hospital equipment is kept safe and functional.

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CVS Warns It Could Lose Up To 10% Of Its Medicare Members Next Year

Facing the wrath of upset investors following its first quarter earnings, CVS Health has promised to value margins over members going forward. First apologizing for last quarter’s earnings, which were plagued by higher-than-expected Medicare Advantage (MA) utilization, CFO Thomas Cowhey told the Bank of America Securities 2024 Health Care Conference crowd that CVS remains a big ...

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Prescription Drug Ads Should Soon Start Looking Noticeably Different

A new chapter in drug advertising begins Monday when a federal transparency rule takes effect requiring commercials to clearly spell out potential side effects and when a person should avoid the medicine. Why it matters: The effort, more than a decade in the making, could demystify those rapid-fire disclaimers at the end of TV and radio ads through ...

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Wegovy Could Bankrupt U.S. Health System, Sanders Says In New Report

Blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy could bankrupt the U.S. health care system unless the price drops, according to a staff report released Wednesday from the office of Senate Health Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Unless prices dramatically decline, Wegovy and weight loss drugs could push Americans to spend $1 trillion per year on prescription drugs, the report concluded. ...

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People Spent the Most Money on These 25 Prescription Drugs Last Year

According to a study published in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy on April 24, the U.S. spent more than $722 billion on prescription drugs in 2023, a 13.6% increase from 2022. This is the largest uptick in spending in 20 years. Semaglutide (sold under brand names Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus) ranked No. 1 on the list of the ...

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New Data Show Mental Health Claims Continue to Rise in the U.S.

LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, a leading provider of data and analytics, today released its latest healthcare data brief highlighting new insights on key mental health trends including the continued increase in claims for mental health care, shifts in telehealth and in-person utilization, and specific diagnoses that have surged between 2019 and 2023. The brief analyzes de-identified medical claims and ...

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Buffett’s Berkshire Reveals $6.7 Billion Stake in Insurer Chubb

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. unveiled a $6.7 billion stake in insurer Chubb Ltd., ending months of suspense over its mystery position in a financial firm, previously kept concealed in regulatory filings. Berkshire disclosed the holding in a filing on Wednesday, reflecting its positions at the end of the first quarter. The conglomerate has been ...

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