HCA’s outpatient boom reshapes its care network

Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare is accelerating its push into outpatient care, building on years of aggressive urgent care expansion and a growing slate of freestanding emergency departments as care continues to shift toward lower-cost, more convenient settings. In early February, HCA announced two Texas acquisitions that expand its urgent care and freestanding emergency department footprint, […]

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Watch: Is MAHA the New MAGA?

Republicans have hitched themselves to the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign, banking on its popularity to give them an electoral bounce. But the strategy carries risks. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist who rails against Big Pharma and ultraprocessed food, is the leader of the movement. And Americans’ […]

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MUSC Health, Clemson U break ground on $71M medical facility

Charleston, S.C.-based MUSC Health and Clemson (S.C.) University are partnering to build a $71.2 million medical facility on the university’s campus, which will open in fall 2027. The project cost includes an $11.5 million grant from HSS’ Health Resources and Services Administration, a spokesperson for MUSC confirmed with Becker’s. The two parties broke ground Feb. […]

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Viewpoint: Healthcare needs AI ‘bubble to burst’

With so much money flowing into healthcare AI and funding many unproven solutions that will ultimately fail, a correction will be good for medicine, a Health Affairs commentary argues. AI spending in healthcare outpaces other sectors by a factor of 2.2, reaching $1.4 billion in 2025, triple the year before, the authors noted in the […]

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Healthcare costs for younger people inch up

Younger employees are posing a more substantial cost risk, according to a Feb. 4 whitepaper from UnitedHealthcare and Health Action Council, which focuses on employer healthcare programs. The research relied on data from more than 225,000 HAC members with UnitedHealthcare plans. Craig Kurtzweil, chief data and analytics officer for UnitedHealthcare’s commercial business, joined the Becker’s Payer […]

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HHS seeks input on diagnostic imaging interoperability

HHS is asking for public comments on the potential implementation of regulations on diagnostic imaging technology to improve interoperability. The input will help the agency “explore the best and least burdensome ways to support the access, exchange, and use of electronic health information, including diagnostic images, through the adoption of standards and the certification of […]

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