The Gist Healthcare Podcast

Kaiser Permanente secures a no-bid California Medicaid contract. Governors in the Northeast say school mask mandates will soon end. And direct to consumer health companies are sharing data with third-party sites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pfizer is reportedly joining 12 other pharmaceutical companies in limiting 340B discounts to hospitals contracting with pharmacies to distribute medications. This episode details the saga between pharmaceutical companies and hospitals over the 340B program which has come under scrutiny in recent years. Hospitals say the drugmakers move to limit discounts and Medicare's decision to cut reimbursemen...

Senators work on a bipartisan package to address the country’s growing mental health crisis. The travel nursing industry defends itself after accusations by hospitals of price gouging. Medicare is out with a plan to provide free COVID tests over the counter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Biden revives his cancer moonshot plan to cut the death rate in half over the next 25 years. Anthem is staying the course on its partner not acquire strategy. And reaching the point where covid becomes endemic - is far from the end.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pfizer and BioNTech are asking the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization of their two-dose covid vaccine for kids under 5-years-old. Michigan health systems Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health are moving forward with their planned merger. Multiple states ask CMS for more flexibility in enforcing the COVID vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

The FDA fully approves Moderna’s covid vaccine. South Carolina is the latest state looking to scrap certificate of need laws. And there’s reported tension between the White House and the Secretary of Health. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the country struggles with a shortage of inpatient behavioral health beds and mental healthcare providers, health systems are increasingly turning to telepsychiatry to meet the need. Geoffrey Boyce, CEO of Array Behavioral Care, a 23-year-old telepsychiatry group, says that health systems are seeking more comprehensive behavioral health solutions across inpatient, virtual and home-based setting...

A record 14.5 million people signed up for individual market plans in 2022. Suicide attempts are up but the number of people seeking mental healthcare has remained flat. And STAT News reporting federal provider relief funds were used for covid drugs and vaccines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Massachusetts General Brigham will need to come up with a plan for how to reduce its high spending. New research sheds light on factors that may lead patients to develop long COVID. Former North Carolina Secretary of Health Dr. Mandy Cohen will join primary care enablement company Aledade. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The American Hospital Association is pleading for government help with staffing shortages. Many health plans still aren’t complying with mental health parity rules. And Uber hires a chief medical officer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As US hospitals recruit nurses from overseas, the countries they leave behind struggle with shortages. Traditional Medicare beneficiaries are excluded from new at-home covid test coverage. And IBM sells its Watson Health assets to a private equity firm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Wes Ely, a pulmonology and critical care physician at Vanderbilt University and co-director of the Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction and Survivorship Center, says while much of the current COVID focus is on acute infection, health systems must prepare to care for the millions of chronically disabled individuals with “long COVID.” Dr. Ely's research focus is on cognitive issues that ICU patie...

A new Health Affairs study finds racial bias in patient notes. There are drugs being developed to treat Obesity, but a big hurdle getting providers to recognize it as a disease. And in some places, COVID appears to be receding as quickly as it surged. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much progress has President Biden made on his efforts to defeat the pandemic in his first year? A few weeks into 2022, digital health company Babylon Health already announced two acquisitions. And even though the US has two highly effective COVID antiviral medications, supplies are scarce and incredibly challenging to get. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Americans can now get free rapid covid tests sent right to their homes. Now that the Supreme Court has allowed the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers to proceed, hospitals have to reinstate requirements. And new research finds a link between the Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first conversation of the year Gist Healthcare co-founders, Chas Roades and Lisa Bielamowicz discuss the healthcare trends they're watching for 2022, including the next phase of the COVID pandemic, the challenge of rising labor costs, surging investment in digital health, and the shifting demographics of Medicare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court rules the vaccine requirement for healthcare workers can go forward in facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. This Omicron wave is particularly hard for parents of kids 5 and under who can’t get vaccinated. And primary care enablement company Aledade acquires advanced care planning company Irish Healthcare.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...

Insurers lower Medicare Advantage projections amid a hyper-competitive market. More people are turning to at-home tests as backlogs for care grow. And it’s time to ditch the cloth masks and don an N95 or KN95. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’re lucky enough to find an at-home COVID test, private insurers will soon be required to pay for it. Medicare decides to only cover Biogen’s controversial Alzheimer’s drug for a subset of patients in clinical trials. And Omicron is forcing millions to call out sick.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Biogen halved the price of its Alzheimers drug Medicare reevaluates its Part B premium hike. Omicron’s deluge on hospitals could be even worse than what’s being reported. And six former White House COVID advisors call for a new covid strategy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Janelle Lee, VP of Talent Services at St. Joseph, MO-based Mosaic Life Care, discusses strategies to bolster nurse retention during the COVID crisis. In addition to financial incentives, Mosaic is allowing shift flexibility and increasing training and support for first-year nurses.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on vaccine mandates today. The American Medical Association blasts the CDC’s COVID isolation guidance. With the new year, pharmaceutical companies have raised list prices on drugs an average of 5 percent, according to industry reports.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nursing home staff shortages are having cascading impacts on hospitals. Seattle-based Primary care company Vera Whole Health and San Francisco-based health navigation company Castlight Health announce plans to merge. And UnitedHealthcare confirms it’s not implementing a controversial ER coverage policy.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A jury finds the founder of Theranos guilty on four counts of fraud. Biden’s plans to increase testing and antiviral drugs will come too late for the current surge. And large for-profit hospital chains’ expansion strategies shift to outpatient sites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we enter the third year of the COVID pandemic, hospitals are again struggling to deal with an influx of patients. Oracle announces plans to buy Cerner. And the surprise billing ban went into effect on January 1. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.