‘Vertical integration is destroying people’s ability to access care’: Payer CEOs face bipartisan congressional grilling

The CEOs of the nation’s largest health insurers drew the ire of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle during congressional hearings Jan. 22 over industry consolidation, prior authorization practices and executive pay, with members pressing executives to explain how vertical integration benefits consumers as insurance premiums continue to climb. Stephen Hemsley of UnitedHealth Group, […]

Continue Reading

Make Us Swoon: Send In Your Health Policy Valentines

Affordable health care is our love language. Stoke the fire by submitting your sweetest “Health Policy Valentines.” We want to see your clever, heartfelt, or hilarious tributes to the policies that shape health care. An esteemed panel of editors will review entries. We’ll share favorites on our social media channels, and our staff will pick […]

Continue Reading

Farmers Now Owe a Lot More for Health Insurance

Last year was a tough one for farmers. Amid falling prices for commodity crops such as corn and soybeans, rising input costs for supplies like fertilizer and seeds, as well as the Trump tariffs and the dismantling of USAID, many farms weren’t profitable last year. And now, the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that many […]

Continue Reading

Allegheny Health hospital opens $6.2M rehab unit

Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network has opened a $6.2 million inpatient rehabilitation unit at Natrona Heights-based Allegheny Valley Hospital. The renovated unit expands the hospital’s inpatient rehabilitation bed capacity from 17 to 29, according to a Jan. 15 news release from Allegheny Health Network. The system began construction on the unit in July 2025 and added […]

Continue Reading

Lifepoint Rehabilitation partners on inpatient facility

Lifepoint Rehabilitation, part of Brentwood, Tenn.-based Lifepoint Health, has established a joint venture with Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System to operate an inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Green Bay, Wis.  Construction on the 40-bed Hospital Sisters Health System Rehabilitation Hospital is currently underway, with an expected opening later in 2026, according to a Jan. 12 […]

Continue Reading

Clinicians should play bigger role in care transitions: Report

Clinicians should take on a more proactive role during post-acute care transitions, according to a review published Jan. 20 in JAMA Internal Medicine.  Researchers from University of California at San Francisco and Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania analyzed the post-acute care landscape for the review and highlighted potential opportunities for clinician involvement.  “Clinicians should proactively recognize […]

Continue Reading