Drug developers, academic institutions and government agencies across the globe are investigating more than 100 potential vaccines for the coronavirus. The Trump administration on Wednesday identified a handful of organizations that it believes are the most likely to produce a viable vaccine candidate, ... READ MORE >
health care
Amid disruption in health care, private equity is poised to put its cash to work
As the human and economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic has mounted, companies across industries have fallen into distress, including in the health care sector. As they look for a lifeline, private equity firms are in position to put some of their significant cash on hand to work. Many of these ... READ MORE >
Coronavirus spurs service disruption for health care providers, extending human toll
The coronavirus (COVID-19) has dominated the news since the outbreak began in China early this year. As the situation evolves, health care companies and organizations should monitor four important risk areas: supply chain, patient demand, workforce supply and their t function. Supply chain According ... READ MORE >
Shadow IT risk is growing as health care industry consolidates
As U.S. health care systems continue to consolidate, they must be aware of the information technology risks lurking in the shadows. The pace of consolidation remained strong last year, with approximately 1,600 deals. And while megamergers are expected to slow in 2020, larger organizations continue ... READ MORE >
Private equity’s role in health care gains interest in Congress
A bill is working its way through Congress that could have an impact on health care providers, particularly those owned by private equity firms. On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a markup of new legislation that would require public disclosure of a range of information ... READ MORE >
Private equity looks for recession-proof deals
These are flush times for American private equity funds. Through November, they have raised more capital than any other fiscal year. But a good portion of that cash has not been put to use – yet. One reason is that many takeover targets have simply become too expensive, a dynamic reflected in the drop in ... READ MORE >
Scrutiny on private equity investment in health care increases
As private equity groups continue to invest in the health care industry, their business practices are falling under increasing scrutiny from lawmakers, researchers and the news media. In 2018, for example, three Yale University researchers released a report that examined how out-of-network billing for ... READ MORE >
Health care jobs market remains tight, government data shows
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey released by the government last week underscored continued tightness in the health care labor market through June. Health care organizations added 60,000 employees, after accounting for employee departures. Total job openings across the ecosystem increased by ... READ MORE >
When addressing nursing shortage, look to your own ranks first
The market for skilled workers, administrators and support staff remains tight in U.S. health care as providers struggle to fill jobs, particularly critical roles such as nurses. The numbers have not appreciably improved since the last time I wrote about this topic: Total health care job openings have ... READ MORE >
Medical cost ratio is a growing concern among health insurers
In recent weeks, health insurers Centene Corp., UnitedHealth Group Inc., and Anthem Inc. released earnings. Two others, Molina Healthcare Inc. and Humana Inc., will report later this month. Among the worrisome trends discussed on their earnings calls is a growing medical cost ratio, or MCR, the percent of ... READ MORE >