- Hospitals Are Merging to Face Off with Insurers Bloomberg News by Zachary Tracer — A spate of hospital deals stands to further remake the U.S. health-care landscape, pushing up prices for consumers and insurers and changing how individuals get care. Just this month, health systems with at least 166 hospitals and $39 billion in combined annual revenue have announced merger plans. There's likely more to come: The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Ascension and Providence St. Joseph Health, a pair of nonprofits that together have 191 hospitals and nearly $45 billion in annual revenue, are in deal talks. A fast-moving shakeout in the health care sector has led to once-unorthodox deals across formerly distinct corners of the industry, as large insurers shift their business models amid pressure to bring down costs. That in turn has led hospitals to look for ways to preserve their revenues.
- A CDC Ban on 'Fetus' and 'Transgender'? Experts Alarmed AP by Mike Strobbe — Health leaders say they are alarmed about a report that officials at the nation's top public health agency are being told not to use certain words or phrases in official budget documents, including "fetus," "transgender," and "science-based." The health community was reacting to a story in The Washington Post published late Friday citing an anonymous source who said the prohibition was made at a recent meeting of senior budget officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The seven words and phrases — "diversity," ″entitlement," ″fetus," transgender," ″vulnerable," ″evidence-based" and "science-based" — were not to be used in documents that are to be circulated within the federal government and Congress in preparation of the next presidential budget proposal, the paper reported.
- 2017 Health Care Year in Review Modern Healthcare — For much of 2017, attention was on efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. By the end of the year, though, industry trends pointed toward the market reshaping itself through mergers and new offerings.