Ratnakar Lavu, Elevance
Ratnakar Lavu is the Chief Digital Information Officer of Elevance, the holding company of Blue…
Ratnakar Lavu, Elevance
Ratnakar Lavu is the Chief Digital Information Officer of Elevance, the holding company of Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in some 14 states (usually called Anthem Blue Cross). We had a great chat about what the priorities are for Elevance, and Ratnakar’s goal is to use tech to make the member experience simple. They…
Startup Waiv Spins Out of Owkin With $33M to Bring AI Precision to Cancer Decisions
Waiv, formerly the diagnostics division of AI biotech Owkin, developed AI-enabled testing technologies that found use in clinical settings and in cancer drug research. Spinning out as an independent company enables Waiv to pursue its own growth strategy, co-founder and CEO Meriem Sefta said. The post Startup Waiv Spins Out of Owkin With $33M to…
Most Medicare Beneficiaries Affected by Plan Terminations in 2025 Have Robust Medicare Advantage Options in 2026
Virtually all (98.9%) of the 2.6 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan that terminated coverage at the end of 2025 have at least one MA-PD available in 2026, including more than two-thirds (68.7%) who have the option of enrolling in a plan sponsored by the same insurer.
How Moneyball Economics in Healthcare is Taking Shape with AI
Full schedules and broad outreach look productive, but they are a mirage. Real value comes from using data to hunt for the patients who matter most: the ones whose care drives stronger outcomes and higher margins. The post How Moneyball Economics in Healthcare is Taking Shape with AI appeared first on MedCity News.
The Aging Crisis Is Here, and Technology Is No Longer Optional
We need to pivot from a deficiency to an abundance model – from over-focusing on what an individual cannot do, to making the most of the physical and mental resources at hand to maximize independence, dignity, and quality of life. This includes rethinking physical environments and thoughtfully embedding technology to support capability rather than limitation…
5 Key Facts About Medicaid Prescription Drugs
To provide context for emerging debates about federal actions to address prescription drug costs, this issue brief highlights five key facts about Medicaid prescription drug coverage, payment, and administration.
Families Scramble To Pay Five-Figure Bills as Clock Ticks on Promised Preauthorization Reforms
Sheldon Ekirch is used to being disappointed by her health insurance company. That’s why Ekirch, 31, of Henrico, Virginia, was stunned when she learned Anthem would finally have to pay for life-changing medical treatment. For two years, she had battled the company to cover blood plasma infusions called intravenous immunoglobulin, or IVIG. The treatment has…
Doctors Warn of a Deadly Complication From Measles Outbreaks
The first sign came when Deepanwita Dasgupta was 5 and started stumbling more while playing at her home in Bangalore in southern India. The girl was always up to something, so her parents figured extra bumps and bruises were just symptoms of an active childhood. Maybe, they thought, it was ill-fitting shoes. Relatives described the…
Medicare Advantage ‘Dark Money’ Group Attempts To Win Higher Payments for Insurance Companies
Judging by more than 16,400 comments recently posted on a federal government website, you’d think there was a groundswell of older Americans demanding that federal officials hike payments to their Medicare Advantage health insurance plans. Yet about 82% of the comments are identical to a letter that appeared on the website of a secretive advocacy…
Public Views on Prescription Drug Costs: Regulation, Affordability and TrumpRx
Amid the Trump administration’s focus on lowering prescription drug costs, including its new TrumpRx website, KFF’s Health Tracking Poll finds that most Americans (59%) are worried about affording prescription drugs and support more regulation of prescription drug pricing (72%). Looking ahead to the 2026 midterm elections, the Democratic party currently holds the advantage when it…
