Healthcare had another busy week.
Here’s some of our top analysis to help you make sense of it all.
Inside insurer annual reports: DEI is out, publicity worries are in
The largest health insurers, including UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, Cigna, Humana and Elevance Health, are expressing less interest in diversity, equity and inclusion strategies, and more worry about bad publicity and the Trump administration, based on what they've tucked into their 2024 annual reports.
Each year, publicly traded companies file the reports for investors with the Securities and Exchange Commission, filling the pages with dense details on finances, operations, leadership and risks. Much of the reports consist of boilerplate language, but the changes in substance and tone from one year to the next can reveal a company’s frame of mind, said Bill Mayew, a professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Why PACE programs are joining forces with senior housing
Operators of a program designed to keep older adults out of nursing homes are looking to attract enrollees by integrating with senior housing communities.
Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly in Massachusetts, New York, Michigan and California are locating PACE centers within or adjacent to senior housing facilities. These locations make it easier for participants to access PACE services, help operators recruit new members and help older adults remain in senior housing and their communities longer. Locating centers close to where participants live can also reduce operating costs, though there can be challenges to colocating PACE centers with senior housing.
Trump revives hospital, insurer price transparency oversight push
Health systems and insurers are bracing for tougher enforcement of price transparency regulations.
President Donald Trump last week issued an executive order to bolster oversight of price transparency requirements enacted in 2021. Regulators have given too much leeway to hospitals and insurers, limiting the potential price-easing benefits of the law as healthcare companies have been slow to meet the requirements, Trump said in the order. Still, hospitals and industry observers question whether transparency regulations will actually lead to lower prices and, ultimately, costs for patients.
Quote of the week
“If we don't listen to [nurses], we're going to continue to bring things in that they're going to have to work around.”
