ACA Stress Test: Four Key Takeaways From This Year’s Open Enrollment
The 2026 ACA open enrollment saw 23 million individuals enroll, a modest decline from 2025 but far from the predicted collapse. Enrollment fell sharply in North Carolina but rose in California, Maryland, Texas, D.C., and New Mexico, which fully offset lost subsidies. Consumers gravitated toward bronze, high‑deductible plans, boosting their share to about 60 % in Maine and 73 % of plan changes in California. While final figures await premium payments, the market’s resilience underscores its importance for coverage access.
Know Your Patient: How Technology Can Help Health Care Providers Dramatically Improve One Key Aspect of the Patient Experience
The article argues that AI can close the biggest gap in patient experience—feeling understood—by automating note summarization and turning wearable data into actionable insights. It notes that simple digitization of records has not reduced clinician workload, leaving patients frustrated and...
Healthcare’s Most Fixable Cost Problem: Administrative Waste
Healthcare administrative costs are spiraling, with urban hospital admin expenses up more than 90% between 2011 and 2022 while overall hospital services grew 66%. Premiums for employer‑sponsored plans are already 10% higher this year, and the burden on employers is...
Which Health Plans Rank Highest In Digital Experience?
The JD Power U.S. Healthcare Digital Experience study evaluated 7,687 members across the 17 largest Medicare Advantage and 16 largest commercial health plans. Cigna Healthcare topped the commercial segment with a 684‑point score, while UPMC Health Plan led Medicare Advantage...
Gilead and Roche Bet on Protein Degraders for Their Cancer Drug Pipelines
Gilead exercised its option to license Kymera Therapeutics' CDK2 molecular‑glue degrader KT‑200, triggering a $45 million payment and opening a potential $665 million milestone path, with an IND target of 2027. Roche paid $20 million upfront to C4 Therapeutics to co‑develop degrader‑antibody drug...
AI-Driven Precision Care Is the Fix for Our Health System’s Failures
Primary care physicians face chronic time constraints, often resorting to rushed exams and delayed specialist referrals that exacerbate patient outcomes. AI‑driven precision care tools act as intelligent clinical assistants, surfacing relevant chart data, suggesting differential diagnoses, and drafting evidence‑based treatment...
The Quiet Battle for the Front Door of Healthcare
The article argues that control of primary care—the “front door” of the health system—has become a strategic battleground for hospitals, insurers, employers, and emerging platform companies. Hospital systems have been buying primary‑care practices to capture referral revenue, while insurers such...
How to Use Real-World Data to Improve Drug Development, Starting with the Patient Journey
A new eBook from PurpleLab and MedCity News highlights how real‑world data (RWD) can expose hidden gaps in the non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient journey, such as missed biomarker testing and transportation barriers. Recent state legislation now requires insurers...
Rural Healthcare Transformation Has to Focus on the Real World, Not Techno-Fantasies
The CMS is rolling out $50 billion in Rural Health Transformation (RHT) grants to help under‑funded clinics streamline operations and improve care. Rural hospitals face chronic staffing shortages, shrinking patient volumes and thin margins, with more than 40% operating at a...
It’s Time to Put Guardrails on GLP-1 Compounding
The article warns that the rapid rise of compounded GLP‑1 drugs—spurred by a shortage of FDA‑approved semaglutide and tirzepatide—has created a largely unregulated market fraught with safety risks. The FDA recorded 1,150 adverse‑event reports, including hospitalizations and deaths, linked to...
The Power Behind Enterprise EHR Software for Large Healthcare Systems
Enterprise electronic health record (EHR) platforms are becoming the operational backbone for large healthcare systems, offering a unified, cloud‑based architecture that supports multiple facilities, specialties, and tax entities. Core capabilities include real‑time data synchronization, API‑first interoperability, built‑in HIPAA and ONC...
Do Healthcare CEOs Agree on Whether VBC and MA Actually Save Money?
Healthcare CEOs debated whether value‑based care (VBC) and Medicare Advantage (MA) actually cut costs. Some executives, like Arcadia’s Michael Meucci and Risant Health’s Jaewon Ryu, see untapped potential in fraud‑reduction and population‑health management, while others, such as Shawn Gremminger, claim...
Stop Waiting to Be Asked: What Operators Really Need From Their Revenue Cycle Partners
The article argues that healthcare revenue‑cycle partners must shift from reactive "tell us what you need" approaches to proactive, anticipatory support. Operators juggling access, staffing, patient experience, and finances often lack the bandwidth to articulate needs during crises. By identifying...
How Tech-Enabled Independent Pharmacies Can Address America’s Medication Adherence Crisis
Medication non‑adherence still costs U.S. drug makers roughly $250 billion a year, despite billions spent on marketing. Independent pharmacies, which patients visit nearly twice as often as primary‑care doctors, are emerging as a critical touchpoint as chain stores close. New pharmacy‑focused...
Women’s Health Is Central to the Future of Digital Health
Digital health tools have long suffered from gender bias because training data and clinical trials underrepresent women. The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has introduced the first ANSI‑accredited women’s health standard, giving developers a concrete framework for inclusive design, testing, and...
CEO Building AI’s “Health Universe” Utterly Unperturbed By Rivals
AI is reshaping healthcare, prompting a flood of niche chatbot and analytics startups. Health Universe, a San Francisco‑based platform, raised a $6 million seed round from Kleiner Perkins to build a secure, compliant sandbox that lets organizations deploy multiple AI agents...
From Data Ownership to Learning Velocity in Direct-to-Consumer Healthcare
Healthcare brands are shifting toward direct‑to‑consumer (DTC) engagement, expanding patient portals and digital front doors. Traditional commercialization stacks—data providers, manual intelligence, and media execution—remain siloed, limiting how quickly insights can be applied. While enterprises build internal data lakes and proprietary...
Not All Hospitals Have Equal Resources — Knowledge Sharing Can Help Level the Playing Field
Rural and children’s hospitals in the United States face severe financial strain, with 45% operating at a loss and more than 300 at risk of closing. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has launched the Rural Health Transformation program,...
Pinnacle Medicines Adds $89M for Oral Peptides With Properties of Injectable Biologics
Pinnacle Medicines announced an $89 million Series B financing, bringing its total capital to $134 million, to advance an AI‑driven platform that designs orally bioavailable peptide drugs. The startup aims to launch its lead asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease program in human...
What Will Separate Healthcare AI Winners From Losers?
Healthcare AI startups are flooding the market, but long‑term winners must embed their tools directly into clinical workflows, generate actionable outcomes, and build defensible data assets. Veerappan of Flare Capital emphasizes that frictionless integration—exemplified by ambient AI scribes—drives rapid physician...
Join the Fight Against Chronic Pain: It’s Time for Breakthrough Legislation in Congress
More than 60 million U.S. adults endure chronic pain, a condition that often forces reliance on opioids despite their safety risks. Financial and administrative hurdles such as step‑therapy mandates and prior‑authorizations have limited access to emerging non‑opioid treatments. The bipartisan Relief...
The Algorithm Won’t Hold Your Mother’s Hand
The article warns that AI‑driven elder‑care solutions are expanding amid a looming geriatric workforce shortage, with only about 7,000 board‑certified geriatricians for 70 million baby boomers. The AI‑in‑aging‑care market is projected to hit $322 billion by 2034, but many family caregivers lack...
4 Notable Health Tech Funding Announcements in March
In March, four health‑tech firms announced sizable funding rounds, underscoring the sector’s rapid growth. Miami‑based eMed secured $200 million Series A to scale its AI‑driven GLP‑1 program for employers, while New York’s Nitra raised $187 million to enhance AI‑powered administrative automation for practices. Grow...
Smarter Documentation Is Changing EMS Operations
Emergency medical services (EMS) agencies are adopting AI tools to streamline documentation, a long‑standing bottleneck. Voice‑to‑text and optical character recognition (OCR) now capture patient data in real time, reducing manual entry and errors. Administrators benefit from AI‑driven search, quickly surfacing...
Why “Cleaning” Wipes Are Not Enough: Protecting Patients and Clinicians by Keeping Lead Aprons Truly Clean
Lead aprons, essential radiation shields, are high‑touch items that often harbor dangerous microbes despite routine wipe‑down cleaning. Studies show 84 % of aprons test positive for Staphylococcus aureus and 12 % for MRSA, with biofilms protecting these pathogens from surface disinfectants. Standard...
Amazon Teams Up with Berry Street to Expand Access to Nutrition Therapy
Amazon has incorporated nutrition‑therapy platform Berry Street into its Health Benefits Connector, a marketplace that links employees with employer‑covered digital health services. When shoppers look for nutrition products, the connector promotes Berry Street’s virtual dietitian network of about 1,500 clinicians covering weight...
Debunked Episode 25: Sutter Health’s Allina Health Acquisition Strategy, a Deep Dive on Doctronic
Sutter Health announced a cross‑border acquisition of Minnesota‑based Allina Health, marking a strategic push into health‑technology and AI. The deal gives Sutter access to Allina’s medtech engineering talent while providing Allina with the scale needed to compete against larger systems...
AI-Powered Cohorting Is Quietly Reshaping How Real-World Evidence Gets Built
AI‑powered cohorting is redefining how real‑world evidence is generated by replacing manual SQL‑driven processes with modular, workflow‑based automation. The new approach decomposes cohort construction into discrete steps—intent interpretation, clinical concept mapping, temporal reasoning, execution, validation, and explanation—each handled by specialized...
To Bend the Curve on Heart Disease, Prevention Must Move Upstream
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, yet preventive cardiovascular screening is scarce and confined to specialist settings. Advanced imaging tools can detect risk early, but most primary care visits only include basic vitals, leaving...
AI Drug Discovery Is Reshaping Longevity Medicine. Is Your Practice Ready?
Eli Lilly announced a $2.75 billion investment to acquire global rights to AI‑discovered drug candidates from Insilico Medicine, a platform that already has 28 compounds with roughly half in clinical trials. Insilico’s PandaOmics and Chemistry42 engines can move a drug from target...
Rural America Doesn’t Need Another Framework … It Needs Care by September 2026
The CMS Rural Health Transformation Program will undergo its first performance review in September 2026, linking future funding to measurable patient outcomes. While policymakers debate long‑term frameworks, rural communities are already facing acute mental‑health bed shortages, with thousands forced into...
MedCity FemFwd: ACOG’s New Guidelines Around Endometriosis
During the latest MedCity FemFwd podcast, Dr. Barbara Levy of Visana Health discussed the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists' (ACOG) newly released clinical guidance on endometriosis. The guidelines introduce updated diagnostic criteria, prioritize early detection, and recommend multidisciplinary treatment...
Fixing Healthcare Means Trusting Doctors and Patients — Not Payers
Employers are confronting the steepest premium hikes in 15 years, with average family coverage nearing $25,500 and a 10% increase this year. The article argues that the employer‑based insurance model’s built‑in barriers—prior authorizations, narrow networks, and opaque pricing—are features, not...
The Digital Imperative: Why the Future of Surgery Will Be Built on Integrated Intelligence, Not More Devices
Surgeons are overwhelmed by isolated devices that generate data without context, creating a hidden cognitive burden in the operating room. The industry is shifting from a hardware‑centric model to integrated platforms that synthesize information in real time, mirroring aviation’s move...
Healthcare Moves: A Monthly Summary of Hires, Exits and Layoffs
April’s healthcare talent roundup shows a wave of tech‑savvy hires, with Advocate Health tapping a former Verily chief and Artera appointing an ex‑Amazon CTO. Cigna announced its long‑time COO Brian Evanko will take over as CEO, while several seasoned leaders...
Healthcare Staff Can Maximize the Value of AI with High Performing Endpoints
Healthcare organizations are evaluating endpoint hardware to unlock AI‑driven efficiencies, weighing thin clients, traditional PCs, and emerging AI‑optimized workstations. Thin clients offer low power consumption, centralized management, and longer refresh cycles, while AI PCs deliver on‑device neural processing at a...
Concussion Protocols: What Providers Should Know to Diagnose, Treat, and Rehabilitate
Millions of Americans sustain concussions each year, yet up to half remain unreported and untreated. Dr. Al Cobb highlights five essential updates for providers: recognizing concussion as a brain‑wide and cervical injury, abandoning prolonged dark‑room rest, integrating graded exercise and...
Health Care Technology And Tactics For Addressing Gaps In Patient Communication
Patient‑provider communication gaps—language barriers, hearing loss, rushed visits, and limited empathy—continue to jeopardize care quality and increase legal exposure. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that 22% of adults 65‑74 and 55% over 75 suffer disabling...
Kailera Plans IPO for Obesity Drug That Could Top Lilly’s Zepbound
Mass‑market biotech Kailera Therapeutics filed a Form S‑1 to list on Nasdaq under KLRA, aiming to raise capital for its dual GLP‑1/GIP peptide ribupatide. Ribupatide, an injectable designed for higher receptor affinity and a longer half‑life than Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, is...
MedCity Pivot Podcast: How Fujifilm Tackled An Existential Crisis
Fujifilm faced a 60% revenue collapse in 2006 as digital cameras displaced film, prompting a strategic pivot toward healthcare. The company launched a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) in 2011, acquiring Biogen’s large‑scale site and expanding its biotech capabilities....
Top-Paying Healthcare Settings for Travel Nurses and How to Land Them
Travel nurses can command top-tier pay by targeting high‑acuity settings such as trauma centers, intensive care units, operating rooms, and specialized labor‑delivery or NICU units. Specialized certifications like CCRN, TNCC, and RNC‑OB dramatically increase bargaining power, while geographic flexibility lets...
AI Is Fueling a New Arms Race in Healthcare: Here’s How We Stop It
Artificial intelligence is sparking an adversarial arms race in healthcare utilization management, pitting provider‑centric approval bots against payer‑focused denial algorithms. The clash threatens patient access, inflates provider burnout, and undermines trust. Simultaneously, regulators are pushing for real‑time, FHIR‑based authorizations under...
Red Light Therapy’s Regulatory Implications
Red and near‑infrared light therapy, known as photobiomodulation, has shifted from clinics to the consumer health market, prompting a surge in device sales and investor interest. In the United States, products reach consumers via distinct FDA pathways: 510(k) clearance for...
Why CREST-2 Trial Results Should Inform, Not Replace, Clinical Judgment
The New England Journal of Medicine released the CREST‑2 results, a pair of parallel randomized trials that compared intensive medical management (IMM) alone with IMM plus either carotid stenting (TFCAS) or carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in patients with asymptomatic high‑grade carotid...
The Cost Blind Spot: Why Non-Clinical Spend Is Healthcare’s Untapped Opportunity
Healthcare leaders face mounting financial strain from workforce shortages, Medicaid cuts and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which could generate $200 billion in uncompensated care by 2034. While clinical costs dominate attention, non‑clinical expenses such as IT, facilities and corporate...
UnitedHealthcare Unveils AI Companion to Improve Navigation
UnitedHealthcare introduced Avery, a generative AI companion designed to streamline care coordination for members. The tool currently assists about 6.5 million commercial and 160,000 Medicare Advantage members, with plans to reach 20.5 million across commercial, Medicare and Medicaid by year‑end. Avery can...
How Real-World Data Is Reshaping the NSCLC Patient Journey
Pharma firms are leveraging real‑world data (RWD) to map the patient journey of non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and uncover social determinants of health that hinder care. The new eBook highlights how gaps in biomarker testing, socioeconomic barriers, and incomplete...
Closing Behavioral Care Gaps: Three Ways Providers And Health Plans Can Reimagine Care
Millions of Americans face fragmented physical and behavioral care, driving costly emergency department visits and worsening outcomes. Administrative waste consumes roughly 30% of U.S. healthcare spending, while a projected shortfall of over 100,000 workers intensifies staffing pressures. Behavioral health patients...
Democratizing Access: How Community Hospitals Can Drive the Next Wave of Robotic Bronchoscopy
Second‑generation robotic bronchoscopy platforms now embed advanced imaging, delivering higher diagnostic accuracy for peripheral lung lesions while simplifying workflow. Community hospitals can adopt these systems using single‑use bronchoscopes, eliminating reprocessing costs and reducing procedure time. Relocating the service to endoscopy...
Top Companies to Build and Operate Mobile Clinics for Your Organization
Four firms—BusTest Express, Odulair, CGS Premier, and Mission Mobile Medical—offer distinct pathways for organizations to launch mobile health clinics. BusTest Express provides a turnkey lease model that bundles vehicles, drivers, compliance and logistics. Odulair builds modular vans, trucks or containers...
