The Gist Healthcare Podcast

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 information.

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.

As COVID cases climb, companies return to remote work and schools go online. Physician practice acquisitions fuel the big surge in healthcare deals this year. And there are big regional variations in child covid vaccine uptake. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.