What's the current state of AI in healthcare? "Deployment is King" answer the Mayo Clinic's Dr. John Halamka and Paul Cerrato. There have been very few working implementations so far of the numerous AI solutions for healthcare developed by startups and established companies. "For a solution to work within a health system, it needs to conform to specific governance protocols, integrate with its IT systems, and win the support of clinicians and administrators who will be using it on a daily basis," write Halamka and Cerrato.
Ascension Wisconsin announced plans to close a small hospital in Waukesha and consolidate and close birthing services, mental health units and cardiac catheterization labs across southeast Wisconsin. The announcement comes as other hospital systems across the state have made similar cutbacks and closures. The Saint Louis-based hospital system will close its "micro-hospital," which opened in Waukesha at the start of 2021. Ascension Wisconsin announced plans to centralize all of its inpatient behavioral healthcare services for the southeast portion of the state at St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee, meaning it will eventually close its inpatient behavioral health units at All Saints Hospital in Racine and at Columbia St. Mary's Hospital-Ozaukee.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and environmentalist, for years gained a loyal and fierce following with his biting condemnations of how the nation's public health agencies do business. And that's put him on a direct collision course with some of the 80,000 scientists, researchers, doctors and other officials who work for HHS, especially with President-elect Donald Trump tapping him to head the agency. If confirmed, Kennedy will control the world's largest public health agency, and its $1.7 trillion budget.
Republicans have despised the ACA since its inception almost 15 years ago. But some healthcare executives think Republicans may actually help the law as they regain control of Washington. Enhanced tax credits that help millions of middle-income Americans afford health plans on the ACA's individual marketplaces, signed into law by President Biden, expire at the end of 2025. Conservatives have railed against those subsidies as wasteful spending, but millions of people now depend on them: More than 21 million people had an ACA plan this year, compared with 12 million in 2021, when the enhanced subsidies started rolling out. And executives are banking on President-elect Trump and congressional Republicans not wanting to take the blame if millions of people who currently get these subsidies — many of whom live in red states — suddenly find themselves with coverage they can't afford.
CVS Health said on Monday it would add four new members to its board in an agreement with Glenview Capital Management, including the hedge fund's CEO Larry Robbins. Shares of the healthcare conglomerate rose nearly 3% in premarket trading. Longtime investor Glenview Capital Management bought 2.8 million CVS shares during the third quarter, increasing its stake by 31%. "In our discussions with the leadership at Glenview, we agreed that we can deliver greater value from our integrated businesses to all of our stakeholders, including our customers, consumers, colleagues and shareholders," said CVS chairman Roger Farah. Three other executives will join Robbins on the CVS board, bringing the total members to 16.
CareMax, which operates 56 medical centers in Florida, Texas, Tennessee and New York catering largely to older patients, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas on Sunday. The Miami-based firm listed debts of $693 million and assets of $390 million, according to a filing with U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. In August, CareMax posted a second-quarter loss of $170.6 million and issued a going-concern warning. This month it disclosed it would not be able to file its third-quarter report with the SEC due to a lack of funds.