Read today’s Kaiser Health News
In other news:
About health insurance/insurers
Navigating the Maze: A Look at Health Insurance Complexities and Consumer Protections A great monograph.
Fitch Ratings: Potential Medicaid cuts could pressure insurers: The Fitch analysts said insurers likely wouldn't see any major shifts in their businesses for 2025. However, should Congress make major changes to Medicaid—proposals include per capita caps, work requirements and rolling back the federal match for expansion—they could lead to pressure on margins.
UnitedHealthcare to cut prior authorization by 10%:UnitedHealthcare plans to cut prior authorization requirements by around 10% in 2025.
In a March 1 notice to providers, the health insurer said it will eliminate prior authorizations for home health services managed by Optum Home & Community, formerly naviHealth. The changes, which take effect April 1, apply to Medicare Advantage and dual special needs plans in more than 30 states.
The cut is part of a broader effort to eliminate around 10% of UnitedHealthcare's prior authorization requirements in 2025, according to the company.
Payers ranked by Medicare Advantage special needs plan membership | 2025 FYI
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Duke Health, Novant to partner: Durham, N.C.-based Duke University Health System and Charlotte, N.C.-based Novant Health have shared plans to partner and build new campuses across the state to expand care.
Under the partnership, clinicians from both systems will offer services in new locations to increase primary care and advanced specialty treatment access. The partnership also aims to reduce wait times, create more appointment availability and increase virtual access to specialists, according to a March 3 news release shared with Becker's.
UPMC's operating loss grows to $339M in 2024: Pittsburgh-based UPMC posted a $338.9 million operating loss (-1.1 operating margin) in 2024, compared to an operating loss of $198.3 million (-0.7 margin) in 2023, according to its Feb. 28 financial report…
Operating expenses totaled $30.1 billion in 2024, up from $27.9 billion in 2023. Salaries, professional fees and employee benefit costs totaled $10 billion, up from $9.7 billion. Insurance claims expenses reached $11.2 billion, up from $10.1 billion. Supplies, purchased services and general expenses were $8.2 billion, up from $7.4 billion.
UPMC said in the report that its health plan has seen increased medical use and rising pharmacy costs, which include expenses for GLP-1 drugs.
About pharma
Private-equity firm closes in on acquisition of Walgreens: Sycamore Partners is nearing an acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., people with knowledge of the matter said, in a deal that could end the drugstore operator’s tumultuous run as a public company.
The private equity firm and Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens are putting the final touches on a transaction that may be announced as soon as this week, according to the people. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Sycamore was closing in on a deal to acquire Walgreens for $11.30 a share to $11.40 a share in cash, or about $10 billion.
About the public’s health
Global, regional, and national prevalence of adult overweight and obesity, 1990–2021, with forecasts to 2050: a forecasting study for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 Lots of dire statistics and predictions. Here is part of the story:
In 2021, an estimated 2·11 billion (95% UI 2·09–2·13) adults aged 25 years and older worldwide were affected by overweight and obesity—almost half of the total adult population (45·1% [44·7–45·4]). Of these individuals, approximately 1·00 billion (0·989–1·01) were males and 1·11 billion (1·10–1·12) were females. Eight countries—China, India, the USA, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia, and Egypt—accounted for more than half of the global population living with overweight and obesity. The highest numbers were observed in China (402 million [397–407] individuals), India (180 million [167–194]) and the USA (172 million [169–174]; appendix 1 pp 85–112).
About healthcare IT
HIMSS25: Microsoft launches voice-activated AI assistant for clinicians: Microsoft has rolled out a new AI assistant for healthcare professionals that it bills as an all-in-one technology that combines voice dictation, ambient listening and generative AI.
The new tool, Dragon Copilot, combines the natural language speech recognition capabilities of Dragon Medical One with the ambient listening of DAX Copilot, which it launched about a year ago.
About healthcare personnel
To solve for doctor shortages, states ease licensing for foreign-trained physicians : The changes involve residency programs — the supervised, hands-on training experience that doctors must complete after graduating medical school. Until recently, every state required physicians who completed a residency or similar training abroad to repeat the process in the U.S. before obtaining a full medical license.
Since 2023, at least nine states have dropped this requirement for some doctors with international training, according to the Federation of State Medical Boards. More than a dozen other states are considering similar legislation.
An Evaluation of the Decline in Primary Care Physician Visits, 2010 to 2021 :The visits led by PCPs and IM subspecialists declined by 43% and 23% between 2010 and 2021, respectively. However, visits led by NP/PA/RNs increased by 98%. From 2010 to 2021, the proportion of preventive care visits provided by PCPs, IMs, and NP/PA/RNs increased by 25%, 7%, and 4%, respectively. PCPs provided fewer acute and chronic care visits in 2021 than in 2010. Regression analyses illustrated that relative to Non-Hispanic White patients, non-White patients had a higher likelihood of seeing PCPs. Patients reporting 1 chronic condition were more likely to obtain care from an IM or NP/PA/RN than a PCP. In contrast, those with 2 or more chronic conditions had a greater propensity to see PCP than NP/PA/RN.
Why Retail Health Giants Are Failing in Primary Care A good review of the topic.
