Many around this rural Midwest cow town seem to be going through the motions, handling day-to-day tasks with faraway looks that add an emotional heaviness to the air around them. That's been the case for the last month, since Tyson Foods abruptly and without any heads-up announced the Jan. 20 closing of the town's huge beef processing plant. About 3,200 people work at the plant, which physically, emotionally, and economically is the heart of Lexington. It's a heart many locals say has been broken from a corporate boardroom 600 miles away in Springdale, Arkansas.
Salem Health, the mid-valley's largest medical provider, is in talks to acquire Santiam Hospital in Stayton, one of the few remaining independent hospitals in Oregon. Officials at Santiam Hospital & Clinics confirmed Friday that the intent is for the Stayton operation to become part of Salem Health. Salem Health officials wouldn't address questions about the deal Friday, instead issuing a statement identical to one made by Santiam Hospital. The decision comes amid financial struggles at the Stayton nonprofit, which saw a failed merger with another major Oregon hospital system earlier this year.
Fairview Health Services has $100 million at stake in the state’s eventual liquidation of UCare, the Minneapolis-based health system asserted in court filings this week. The legal papers and a judge's order offer more details into how far UCare has fallen in just a few short years, from a health plan with record annual profits of more than $300 million in 2022 to a company where the court is now barring officers and directors from running the business. For nearly 20 years, Fairview hospitals and clinics have provided services to thousands of UCare-insured patients. In April, the health insurer began reopening and denying claims that had already been paid to the health system, according to a Dec. 18 filing in Ramsey County District Court. UCare did so without requesting medical records to inform those decisions, Fairview said, in what was 'an apparent cost-saving measure.' The insurer also withheld payments for medical and pharmacy services, according to the filing, often with no identified basis for the decision or option for appeal.
The White House announced Friday that nine additional pharmaceutical companies have agreed to follow President Trump's 'most favored nation' drug pricing policy, with some of the companies throwing in several months' worth of emergency drug supplies. According to a senior administration official, the following companies will abide by Trump's MFN pricing policy: Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Merck & Co., Novartis and Sanofi.
North Dakota lawmakers are exploring telemedicine as a solution to the shortage of paramedics and volunteer first responders statewide. One option connects responders in ambulances with medical providers for support.
A new analysis led by researchers at Harvard Medical School’s Blavatnik Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, and Johns Hopkins University provides crucial insight into how the rapid growth in concierge and direct primary care practices is transforming the market for primary care in the United States.