Friday Five: Top 5 healthcare business news items from the MCOL Weekend edition

By Claire Thayer,  August 24, 2018

Every business day, MCOL posts feature stories making news on the business of health care. Here are five we think are particularly important for this week:

CIGNA Shareholders Approve $52B Express Scripts Merger

Cigna shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger agreement with Express Scripts on Friday morning, the health insurer announced. Early results show that 90% of shareholders favored the proposal.

HealthLeaders

Friday, August 24, 2018

Your Office Doctor Is Getting a Big Push From Private Investors

A group of investors is putting up $165 million to fuel an expansion of Paladina Health, bringing a recent surge of private funds flowing into companies that run primary-care clinics to more than a half-billion dollars.

Bloomberg

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Senate backs $854B bill to fund health, education, military

The Senate approved an $854 billion measure Thursday that funds much of the government, including $675 billion for the Defense Department. The bill combines military spending with disbursements for Health and Human Services, Education, Labor and other agencies.

The Associated Press

Thursday, August 23, 2018

The Man Who Used To Run Medicaid Has A New Idea To Make It Better

Andy Slavitt was working as an executive at Optum in 2013 when he was called in to be part of the team tasked with repairing Healthcare.gov’s disastrous rollout, kicking off a two-year stint as acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Forbes

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Why Are Black And Latino Kids More Likely To Die Of Certain Cancers?

When it comes to cancer survival, the United States is sharply divided by race. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the cancer death rate for African-Americans is 25 percent higher than whites, and Hispanics and Latinos are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at a late, and more dangerous, stage of the disease.

NPR

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

These and more weekly news items on the business of healthcare are featured in the MCOL Weekend edition, along with the MCOL Tidbits, and more, for MCOL Premium level members.