HCA Healthcare's stock price increased by almost 5% today after the operator of hospitals and surgery centers posted higher-than-expected profits in 2018 and anticipated an even bigger year in 2019.
By the numbers: HCA's "same facility revenue per equivalent admission," an important industry metric that shows how much hospital and clinic prices increased, went up by 3.9% in 2018. That was the highest rate for HCA since 2014, meaning higher prices and medical codes helped fuel the company's big 2018 — in addition to the $551 million in tax savings the company reaped from the Republican tax overhaul.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) sure doesn't sound like she's planning to soften her support for Sen. Bernie Sanders' version of "Medicare for All." When asked by CNN's Jake Tapper about the Sanders bill during an interview last night, specifically asking whether people who like their existing plans could keep them.
What she's saying: "The idea is that everyone gets access to medical care, and you don't have to go through the process of going though an insurance company ... going through the paperwork. ... Let's eliminate all of that. Let's move on."
For the first time, a pharmaceutical CEO is officially on trial for charges related to the opioid crisis. Opening arguments began yesterday in the trial of former Insys CEO John Kapoor, who — along with four other Insys executives — faces racketeering charges over the marketing of Subsys, a prescription fentanyl product.
Driving the news: Kapoor's lawyer sought to shift the blame to other Insys employees, Bloomberg reports, telling the jury during her opening statement that one of those employees hid payments to doctors from the CEO.
After having practically eradicated measles from the U.S. almost two decades ago, a growing anti-vaccination movement has led to a resurgence of cases, currently focused in the Pacific Northwest and New York.
Why it matters: Unless doctors and the public step up to counteract the vocal opposition to vaccines with evidence-based facts, there is a serious concern that infectious diseases like measles could return full force, public health officials and scientists tell Axios.
If Humira, the drug that treats a range of autoimmune conditions, were its own company, it would have almost the same amount of annual sales as Southwest Airlines or Visa and would be more than twice the size of the Hilton global hotel chain.
The big picture: AbbVie has several other drugs, but Humira is its financial bread and butter. Humira's sales likely will decline this year as more biosimilar versions hit European markets, but the drug will still rake in more revenue in the U.S. as its net annual price exceeds $40,000.
PhRMA, the drug industry's leading trade group, is considering a proposal that would commit member companies to limiting increases in the prices of drugs purchased by Medicare, BioCentury reported this weekend.
Why it matters: Rising brand-name drug costs are due largely to price inflation, a January Health Affairs study found, while generic and specialty drug price increases are driven more by new products entering the market.
Surprise medical bills not only provide financial stress to those who receive them, but they also can raise health care costs for everyone else.
How it works: Emergency room doctors can use the threat of high out-of-network bills to negotiate higher payment rates with insurers, raising premiums.
