- The Bureau of Labor Statistics' acute-care hospital Producer Price Index remained unchanged in May. The data—the broader of two federal inflation measures—are the latest to potentially ease fears of a possible sharp acceleration in healthcare spending this year. The price data follow new health-spending survey data that showed far weaker demand for hospital and physician services between January and March than had been projected in an April federal estimate.
Hospital prices stay flat in May, and other briefs
- Major Washington state health systems announced direct contracts with aerospace giant Boeing Co. that include financial incentives for faster, cheaper and higher-quality medical care. Providence Health & Services, Renton, Wash., and Swedish Health Services, Seattle, jointly entered into a contract with Chicago-based Boeing, as did the University of Washington Medicine. Roughly 27,000 Boeing employees in the Puget Sound area will participate in health plans under the new accountable care contracts among the options for benefits next year, with financial incentives to encourage their use. Boeing is seeking to test its ability to reach direct contracts with providers that can deliver savings, as well as gains in quality, access and patient experience, said Alan May, vice president of human resources for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “This is the first, as a model,” May said.
- Xerox, bloodied by its experiences trying to run Nevada's health insurance exchange, isn't walking away from other exchange business. Instead, it has landed a contract to work with Maryland's state exchange and is bidding to help New York with its Medicaid program. Ursula Burns, Xerox chairwoman and CEO, explained why the firm is insistent on pursuing government opportunities. “Demographics are all tailwinds for it, all in the favor of government health,” she said.
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