🏥 March Recap

Recapping major healthcare stories and news from the past month or so

PARTNERED WITH Happy Thursday, Hospitalogists.   March Madness is here! Thanks to the 30 or so of you who joined the Hospitalogy bracket challenge. Whoever named their bracket "maybe next year Texas" or whatever, just know...I hope you finish in last.   Today, in traditional fashion, I have way too many links and news stories backlogged, so I'm clearing them all out by sharing them all with you here. Let's dive in and get caught up for the month of March and late Feb. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe Here SPONSORED BY CARE CONTINUITY Your referral pipeline is leaking valuable patients. Every specialist referral is a potential stream of revenue, but without a smart navigation approach, nearly half of these patients are lost to competitors. A patient leaves the ER needing a cardiologist, but they're on their own to schedule with a specialty practice at full capacity. Frustrated by the wait, they find another option, and 90 days later have a critical procedure outside of the network. Another patient receives a self-scheduling text (theoretically this sounds great...before lower-priority cases fill all the appointment slots and your no-show rates hit 30%). Care Continuity's new report breaks down the business case for better navigating high-value patients to in-network specialists, which I recommend you devour immediately. Your bottom line will thank you! Download the business case today. Healthcare Executive Summary - March Hinge Health's S-1 released last week, here. Read my breakdown here.   The pharma direct to patient trend continues as the GLP-1 compounding saga winds down - Novo Nordisk with NovoCare, and Eli Lilly and LillyDirect powered by Ro, and Teladoc, and LifeMD Now that the shortage is over, the power of distribution shifts back to Novo and Lilly. They control the spice on Arrakis, so to speak. The Harkonnens are back in control, and the Atreides' influence has slipped (Hims & Hers). Still, as we know, the Atreides are a scrappy and tenacious bunch. With that in mind, the price of GLP-1s continues to drop - but $500 / month is pretty steep for cash paying customers. Walgreens is going private with plans to divest VillageMD.   Duke & Novant: Two major North Carolina systems, Duke Health and Novant Health, announced a "transformative" partnership. The two "said they will work together to develop new locations across the state to improve health outcomes. No specific projects or financial details were mentioned in a press release issued today."   A slew of CMS and policy / reimbursement updates: CMS looks at 2026 changes: CMS is considering policy updates for the 2026 Medicare Advantage and Part D plans, including changes to star ratings, prior authorization, and supplemental benefits. Cracking down on enrollment abuse: CMS announced new rules to reduce improper enrollments in ACA marketplaces and enhance program integrity. Medicaid cuts = hospital pain: If proposed Medicaid cuts move forward, Fitch Ratings warns not-for-profit hospitals could see margin pressure due to rising uncompensated care. ICHRA movement grows: The individual coverage HRA (ICHRA) model continues to gain traction as a way for employers to offer health benefits more flexibly, according to the Future of ICHRA initiative. Loosening license rules: States are easing licensing requirements for foreign-trained doctors to help address ongoing physician shortages. California CPOM overhaul: New legislation, SB-351, could tighten California's corporate practice of medicine rules and impact MSO business models. Medicaid managed care primer: KFF published 10 key facts about Medicaid managed care, covering how plans work and where challenges remain. ABA therapy under pressure: State-level rules are starting to cap therapy hours and reduce rates for autism care, signaling growing regulatory scrutiny. VBC programs sunset: CMS Innovation Center announced changes to its model portfolio, including sunsetting underperforming programs and tightening guardrails around new pilots. General Catalyst eyes IPOs: The VC firm behind many digital health bets, General Catalyst, is preparing for a potential IPO.   Ortho boom = ASC growth: Surgery Partners is expanding its ambulatory surgery center footprint, capitalizing on the explosive growth in orthopedics.   Providence + Compassus: Providence and Compassus launched a joint venture to deliver home-based care in Alaska, Texas, and Washington.   AI-powered voice assistant: Microsoft's Dragon Copilot aims to streamline clinical workflows with launching the 'first unified voice AI assistant for healthcare.'   VBC outlook for 2025: Advisory Board's value-based care update outlines the current state, expected trends, and the pressure on providers to shift financial models.   MA dealmaking expected to rise: Ardent's CEO predicts that funding cuts will drive more M&A activity as struggling hospitals seek lifelines.   Kidney care JV in Texas: Monogram Health and Memorial Hermann formed a joint venture to expand value-based kidney care in Texas.   23andMe going private: Anne Wojcicki offered $74.7 million to take 23andMe private, signaling a new chapter for the embattled genetics company.   Fierce 15 list: Fierce Healthcare released its "Fierce 15" spotlighting startups bringing innovation to areas like AI, behavioral health, and care delivery.   Biograph launches: A new clinic longevity concept championed by Peter Attia called Biograph is positioning itself as the world's most advanced preventive care and diagnostics center.   Humana & Thyme Care: Humana announced a value-based oncology partnership with Thyme Care to improve cancer patient navigation and care coordination. Quick Notables - March Amazon's One Medical CEO Trent Green steps down. CenterWell is bringing senior care to Walmart in Gladstone, Missouri. GE HealthCare launches AI-based breast imaging for dense tissue detection. Mass General Brigham and Best Buy expand hospital-at-home capabilities. R1 RCM and Palantir launch AI lab focused on healthcare finances. American Cancer Society partners with Layer Health to drive patient engagement. Tampa General and Mass General Brigham open oncology center in Palm Beach. Compass Surgical opens new multispecialty ASC in Texas. RadNet eyes expansion into urgent care and non-radiology practices. Mass General Brigham begins second layoff round. HHS offers $25K buyouts to federal health employees. DarioHealth partners with Rula to expand behavioral care. Cano Health CEO Mark Kent steps down. Blue Cross NC announces modernized structure. Apollo Hospitals launches new cardiac partnership. Fitch revises Providence Health outlook to stable. Henry Ford Health opens innovation hub in Detroit. SCAN Group invests in MedArrive to bolster home care. Privia Health partners with Arkansas physicians to expand its network. Clarify Health debuts new analytics suite for value-based care. Rush expands Suki partnership with enterprise AI rollout. Bicycle Health and Wellpath renew FBOP contract. Dozens of health systems opt out of Blues antitrust deal. Zoom unveils AI tools to support clinicians. Azalea Health launches AI assistants for clinical and billing workflows. Nanit and Summer Health integrate smart baby monitor data for pediatric care. Simpl Healthcare joins PointClickCare Marketplace with AI charting. Notable expands AI Flow Builder for automation. Saint Peter's Health partners with Clearway to open specialty pharmacy. Novant and Duke Health collaborate on NC care delivery. New KFF brief projects impact of ending premium subsidies. Rush scales ambient AI across its system. Eye Health America acquires Georgia practice. Prime Healthcare completes Ascension Illinois deal. Tia partners with Nourish for nutrition counseling. TPN Health acquires All Counseling to grow behavioral health support. Foundation MedAesthetics launches, seeks partners for medspa growth. Glooko joins Epic Showroom to streamline EHR integration. Abridge partners with Inova Health on AI clinical conversations. 3. COMMUNITY UPDATE The latest from inside my community of healthcare thinkers This is a big one fam...   Today, all of my past newsletters (300+) are now accessible via the Hospitalogy Membership Library. Search by keyword, filter by topic, and bookmark your favorites. Oh, and financial analysis, research reports, and event replays are in there, too.   The Mavs may be breaking our hearts, but at least we have 1M words of healthcare reading we can nerd out on distract ourselves with.  Not a member yet? Apply to join 👇 Join my Community SPONSORED BY COMMURE Healthcare runs on its people, so what happens when they don't feel safe? Workplace violence is on the rise, fueling burnout and turnover. Protecting frontline staff is essential. Strongline Pro offers discreet, real-time duress alerting, so your team can focus on care, not fear. The result? A workforce that stays, thrives, and keep hospitals running smoothly. Safe teams stick around. So the question isn't if safety matters—it's what you're doing about it. This is your sign to take action. Learn more. VENTURE SPOTLIGHT The latest startup and funding news Proscia raised $50M in funding to accelerate its AI-driven digital pathology solutions. Vori Health raised $53M for its integrated musculoskeletal care platform. SafelyYou raised $43M in Series C funding to enhance AI-driven care in senior living. Abridge raised $25M for its medical documentation technology. KODE raised $27M in Series B funding to transform medical coding and data management. Ataraxis AI raised $20.4M in Series A funding to transform precision medicine in cancer care. Motivity raised $27M to drive product innovation and expansion. The Helper Bees raised $35M to expand its aging-in-place platform. Delfina raised $17M to revolutionize maternal health with AI-powered care. Posterity Health raised $13M to expand its male fertility platform. Zest Health raised $13M to curb unnecessary pharmaceutical spending through high-touch care. Junction raised $18M to link health wearables with labs via an API. MISCELLANEOUS MADDENINGS It's that time of year again where I start ramping up the golf game, fam. I'm hard at work at the range and getting some practice rounds in. Most recently I shot an 86 at Luna Vista - a local muni in Dallas - with some pretty inconsistent play. I will say - the swing feels pretty dang good, surprisingly. But anytime you take a long hiatus from the game, your touch and feel suffers. So I'll be working to get that back prior to my big guys' trip to Pine Dunes in May. Hospitalogy Archive Thanks for the read! Let me know what you thought by replying back to this email.   — Blake   Share Hospitalogy, Earn Rewards Have friends who'd love Hospitalogy too? Click the link below to share Hospitalogy with your friends and earn awesome rewards! PS: You have referred 0 people so far Share Hospitalogy! Get your brand in front of 42,500 executives and healthcare decision-makers. Let's Partner Workweek Media Inc.  1023 Springdale Road, STE 9E Austin, TX 78721   Want to ruin my day? Unsubscribe.