Carolinas HealthCare System Expansion Drives Revenue Gains

Carolinas HealthCare System Expansion Drives Revenue Gains

Patients are becoming more active in choosing where they receive medical care due to the growing popularity of high-deductible health plans. Carolinas HealthCare System has been placing more emphasis on making it easier for patients to access care in recent years, which drove significant revenue increases. They reported net operating revenue of $4.4 billion for the first half of 2015, up from $4.1 billion for the same period of last year.

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AMA Warning: Healthcare Mergers Good for Insurers, Bad for Patients & Physicians

AMA Warning: Healthcare Mergers Good for Insurers, Bad for Patients & Physicians

Already, 7 in 10 cities experience a “significant absence” of competition and 46 states have 2 insurers with at least a 50% share of the market. The American Medical Association (AMA) recently released a 12-page analysis, warning that the proposed Anthem-Cigna and Aetna-Humana mergers would lead to an “unprecedented lack of competition” in the market.

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Obamacare Money Leading to Mergers Galore

Health Net Inc. agreed to be bought by Medicaid insurer Centene Corp. for $6.8 billion. This merger is one of many fueled by the surge of insured patients due to the Affordable Care Act.

President Obama's signature health law has unleashed the biggest expansion of insurance coverage in half a century, lifting stock prices and revenues across the healthcare industry.

The federal government is expected to spend $1.2 trillion over the next decade on subsidies and other aspects of the health law.

Despite all those gains, some regulators and consumer advocates expressed alarm about this increasing consolidation. They worry that this will create powerful new healthcare giants that will limit the negotiating power of government health programs and employers to hold down prices.

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Massachusetts Hospital Closure Sheds Light on Plight of Community Hospitals

Massachusetts Hospital Closure Sheds Light on Plight of Community Hospitals

Partners HealthCare said Tuesday that it will close its community hospital in Lynn as part of a $200 million plan to consolidate medical services on the North Shore over the next three years. The plan calls for adding 58 beds at Salem Hospital while shuttering the 126-bed Union Hospital in Lynn, less than 6 miles away. Salem would also get a renovated emergency department and about 50 new beds for psychiatric patients.

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