By DAVID SHAYWITZ Consumer health and wellness is experiencing a flurry of activity. The lab testing company Function (motto: “It’s time to own your health”) acquired Ezra, a whole body MRI company promising “the world’s most advanced longevity scan.” Oura, maker of the popular smart ring, recently added an integration for continuous glucose measurement as…
There were lots of very interesting sessions at ISPOR 2025 in Montreal. One of my favorites that I was able to attend was titled “Medicare Price Negotiation of Part B Drugs: Implications for Provider Reimbursement and Commercial Spillover“. The session was moderated by Sean Sullivan of University of Washington, with Kristi Martin from the Centers…
The Host Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner @julierovner.bsky.social Read Julie’s stories. Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Federal prosecutors sought a maximum prison sentence of nearly 20 years for the CEO of Pain MD, a company found to have given hundreds of thousands of questionable injections to patients, many reliant on opioids. It would have been among the longest sentences for a health care executive convicted of fraud in…
Callisto is a non-profit tech company that helps survivors of sexual violence identify repeat offenders. The company was started a few years back by Jess Ladd and Tracy DeTomasi took over as CEO a few years back, It focuses on college campuses where 90% of assaults are perpetrated by repeat offenders, who on average commit…
More Californians are talking to their therapists through a video screen or by phone than in person, marking a profound shift in how mental health care is delivered as record-setting numbers seek help. While patients and providers say teletherapy is effective and easier to get than in-person services, experts in the field noted that teletherapy…
Brian Rigsby was lying with his right wrist shackled to a hospital bed in Montgomery, Alabama, when he learned he didn’t have long to live. It was September 2023, and Rigsby, 46, had been brought to Jackson Hospital from an Alabama state prison 10 days earlier after complaining of pain and swelling in his abdomen….
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday proposed that California roll back health care for immigrants without legal status, saying the state needed to cut benefits for some to maintain core services across the board. It’s a striking reversal for the Democrat, who had promised universal health care and called health coverage for immigrants the…
How does a hospital’s participation in a health plan’s Medicare Advantage (MA) provider network impact their commercial rates? Since many insurers offer both MA plans and commercial plans, there could be spillovers with respect to negotiating. How would MA network participation impact commercial rates? Marr et al. (2025) offers some hypotheses: On the one hand,…
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Wednesday about President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 Department of Health and Human Services budget request. That followed a morning hearing with the House Appropriations Committee. The sessions were the first time Kennedy appeared before Congress following the mass layoffs…