The Gist Healthcare Podcast

President Biden moves up the deadline for states to open vaccinations to all adults to April 19. Investors poured a record-breaking $6.7 billion into the digital health sector last quarter. And while nursing homes struggle to keep patients and health systems invest in-home care. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hospitals and nursing homes debate whether to require COVID vaccinations for employees. An anesthesia group is taking UnitedHealthcare to court. And more than 40 Oregon insurers and providers pledge to move away from fee-for-service payment.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Healthcare futurists Jeff Goldsmith and Ian Morrison say it’s time to reconsider hospital systems' social impact. In a recent Health Affairs editorial, the two write health system scale has been essential to procuring personal protective gear, expanding bed capacity, and quickly standing up telemedicine solutions.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pfizer says its covid vaccine is 100 percent effective in kids over 12. The federal incentives weren’t enough for Wyoming to expand Medicaid. And some shake-ups at Walmart Health lead to questions about its healthcare strategy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The FTC challenges its first vertical healthcare merger in years. President Biden’s American Jobs Plan includes large investments in home health. And some small businesses hard hit by the pandemic are struggling to afford health coverage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Health officials warn of a fourth COVID surge. Tensions between therapists and a virtual mental health app play out in Reno, NV. And more expensive outpatient care is driving spending growth in Massachusetts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Deborah Birx tells CNN a more aggressive COVID response could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Regulators are looking into UnitedHealth Group’s acquisition of Change Healthcare. And the JAMA’s editor-in-chief is on leave after a controversial podcast episode about racism in medicine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristen McGovern, a partner at healthcare consulting firm Sirona Strategies, discusses the next evolution of value-based payment: Medicare’s Direct Contracting model. The first group of participating organizations starts the demonstration this week.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Price transparency in New Hampshire didn’t lead consumers to get cheaper care, according to a Health Affairs study. Uber is expanding its pharmacy delivery business. And hospitals are struggling to balance patient care, staffing shortages, and higher expenses amid the pandemic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic is accelerating medical schools' shift to virtual dissections. Epidemiologists say scaling up testing is the key to controlling the pandemic in the long term. And lawmakers agree on a plan to delay Medicare payment cuts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.