Susan Ladika

Some are offering travel benefits.

Private equity firms have pulled back some this year, but money has been pouring into the healthcare sector. Will the cash infusion make healthcare more efficient or drive up costs as investors seek returns?

The companies issued statements referencing out-of-state abortions and travel benefits. Both are in headquartered in states with strong abortion rights laws.

Demand for birth control obtained through telehealth or without a prescription continues to grow, and some states have loosened up their rules. Meanwhile, groups and organizations involved in contraception are bracing themselves for the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court decision today overturned Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion.

Florida Blue and Blue Shield of California are among the insurers curating and offering free access to wellness apps for their members.

Fabric Health is bringing healthcare services to laundromats in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Other organizations are using barbershops and churches to deliver healthcare services and messages.

Cuban, an investor on “Shark Tank” and owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, has launched a namesake online pharmacy that says it will have transparent pricing and will bypass pharmacy benefit managers.

EmsanaRx, a pharmacy benefit manager launched by the Purchaser Business Group on Health, started operations in January.

Special purpose acquisition companies took off as investment vehicles in healthcare. Increased regulatory oversight and some flagging stock prices may cool off the trend.

Walmart seems to be pulling back and opioid litigation looms.

The discount retailer signaled this summer that it was preparing to get into the delivery of healthcare.

Investor funding for digital healthcare ventures during the first three quarters of 2021 has already far outpaced last year’s levels, surpassing $20 billion for the first time

But CVS, Walgreens and Walmart differ in how they are setting up in-store health clinics.

Abarca’s Javier Gonzalez discussed the advantage of health plans insourcing PBM services in an à la carte fashion.

Almost 21% of adults were uninsured in states that failed to expand Medicaid, compared to about 10% of adults in expansion states.

Almost 95% of U.S. employers surveyed expect to see increased demand for medical services due to employees deferring care because of the pandemic. More than 90% are concerned about their employees’ long-term mental health because of COVID-19, according to a survey of 136 large employers by the Business Group on Health.

The government awarded $80 million in grants to help 60 organizations train more than 1,500 navigators who will focus particularly on underserved communities.

The first half of 2021 saw 372 deals averaging $39.6 million, which is already more than the total value of the deals done in all of 2020.

Insurers make acquisitions as pandemic adoption of virtual care delivery becomes the norm.

Oscar and Bright Health, with their retail orientation, are attracting investment, adding members, entering partnerships and making acquisitions.

Angela Celestin, executive vice president and chief human resources officer for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, had a career outside of healthcare before working at CareFirst. “Healthcare was going through some major changes, and I wanted to be part of that change,” she says.

Romilla Batra, M.D., MBA, chief medical officer of SCAN Health and a professor of medicine at University of California, Irvine, says she was drawn to working for SCAN because “its mission resonated so strongly with me."

Findings from industry studies show major cost savings for beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage plans. Some say the cost per enrollee for the government is higher than that for traditional Medicare.

Companies are forming and investment dollars are pouring in. Can these services make mental healthcare more accessible and affordable as the pandemic leaves depression and anxiety in its wake?

Smaller providers that have seen sharp declines in revenue may be acquisition targets for large healthcare systems.

Insurers are taking a hands-on approach to primary care, buying or partnering with practices or setting up their services.

Federal assistance programs and telehealth have helped, but they haven’t made up for the shortfall from lack of services.

Although virtual visits as a whole have dropped off since their peak last spring, visits for behavioral health issues are still going strong, a reflection, in part, of the toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on the mental health of Americans.

Riding high because of the COVID-19 surge, telemedicine companies are going public and making expensive deals.

The decrease in in-person healthcare this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic could be a good thing for telehealth and programs that deliver hospital-level care at home.