New Bill Seeks to Lower Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs
Rep. Greg Murphy (R‑North Carolina) introduced the Every Dollar Counts Act, requiring that out‑of‑pocket spending on covered prescription drugs count toward patients' deductibles and annual out‑of‑pocket limits regardless of purchase channel. The bill targets the current practice where many health plans only credit spending made through plan‑designated pharmacies, forcing patients to “pay twice.” It gained support from the Council for Affordable Health Coverage, which sees the measure as a way to boost competition and lower drug prices. The legislation follows the Trump administration’s TrumpRx platform, which offers discounted cash prices but does not allow direct purchases.
Why Innovaccer Is Pouring $250M Into Its Agentic AI Platform
Healthcare AI firm Innovaccer announced a $250 million, three‑year investment to expand its agentic AI platform built on the “Gravity” unified data layer. The platform deploys AI agents across patient access, value‑based care, revenue cycle, risk assessment and utilization management, delivering...
From Insight to Intervention: Why Over-the-Counter Digital Therapeutics (ODTx) Are the Next Step for LLMs and Wearables
Over‑the‑counter digital therapeutics (ODTx) are emerging as a regulated, consumer‑accessible bridge between data‑rich wearables, AI‑driven language models and clinically proven treatment. Unlike wellness apps, ODTx are classified as software‑as‑a‑medical‑device and must secure FDA authorization, allowing them to make evidence‑based therapeutic...
The Last Mile Problem in AI Radiology: Detection Improves, Follow-Through Breaks
AI tools are dramatically improving the detection of pulmonary nodules and other incidental findings in radiology, but hospitals struggle to translate those alerts into completed follow‑up exams. The handoff chain—from radiology report to electronic health record order, scheduling, and final...
Vida Health Teams Up with ŌURA to Provide More Personalized Metabolic Care
Vida Health, a virtual cardiometabolic care provider, announced a partnership with wearable maker ŌURA to embed biometric data from the Oura Ring into its clinical programs. The integration gives care teams access to continuous sleep, heart‑rate variability and resting heart...
5 of the Top 10 U.S. Health Systems Are Moving to This New Health IT Category. Here’s Why.
Health systems have built fragmented AI "agent" stacks that operate on isolated data slices, leading to mis‑aligned decisions and limited impact. The core issue is a lack of unified context across clinical, financial and operational information. Innovaccer’s Gravity platform introduces...
Why Synthetic Data Is the Antidote to Clinical Trials
Synthetic data, digital twins, and AI are reshaping medical‑device trials by generating virtual patient cohorts that reduce enrollment needs and cut validation costs. The FDA’s in‑silico guidance and EMA’s acceptance of AI tools are paving regulatory pathways for these simulations....
Clinical Supply Chain Hits Its AI Turning Point
AI is reaching a tipping point in the clinical supply chain, with McKinsey forecasting real‑time inventory, predictive replenishment and automated procurement. Agentic AI solutions will shift operations from reactive to predictive, delivering cost‑intelligence, operating‑room optimization, infection‑risk mitigation, robotic‑surgery ROI and...
Hospital Margins Squeeze as Costs Outpace Revenue Growth
Kaufman Hall’s analysis of 1,300 U.S. hospitals shows operating margins at 1.9% in February, up from 1% in January but far below the 3.7% year‑end 2025 level. Revenue grew 5% month‑over‑month, yet expenses rose 5% from January and 6% year‑over‑year,...
Report: Growth in MA Is Associated With Lower Total Medicare Spending
Medicare Advantage enrollment surged from 11 million in 2010 to 32 million in 2024, now covering 54% of beneficiaries. A new Elevance Health study links higher MA penetration to lower total Medicare spending, estimating a 1.5% per‑capita reduction—or $194—without risk‑adjustment, and 1.1%...
The AI Value Gap and Why Validation Is a Practical First Win for Life Sciences
AI adoption in life‑sciences is hampered by a wide value gap, with only about 40% of firms seeing EBIT impact and most gains under 5%. A practical entry point is FDA‑oriented computer system validation (CSV) and computer software assurance, where...
Trust Before Triage: Why I Let the Patient Help Write the Agenda
In safety‑net clinics, clinicians are increasingly pressured by EMR alerts to chase quality metrics before hearing the patient’s story. Samuel Logan, a nurse practitioner, argues that starting with the question “What can I do for you today?” restores trust and...
Two New Takes on Making a Type of Targeted Cancer Therapy Even Better
Two biotech startups announced fresh capital to boost next‑generation antibody‑drug conjugates (ADCs). Sidewinder Therapeutics raised a $137 million Series B, bringing total funding to $162 million, to develop bispecific ADCs that bind a tumor‑driving receptor and an internalizing receptor, aiming for tighter cancer...
Inside The DOJ’s Hospital Contracting Crackdown: What Message Are the Feds Sending?
The Justice Department has filed antitrust lawsuits against OhioHealth and NewYork‑Presbyterian, accusing them of using “all‑or‑nothing” contracts that force payers to accept entire health‑system networks. The complaints argue these tactics suppress competition, keep prices high, and limit patients’ ability to...
What ‘The Pitt’ Gets Right About Emergency Medicine — and What It Reveals About Healthcare IT
The article uses HBO’s *The Pitt* to illustrate how identity‑management friction hampers emergency‑room efficiency. Repeated logins, password resets, and locked workstations add seconds that cascade into longer wait times, clinician burnout, and higher error risk. With CMS and HIPAA tightening...
