Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Humana, Aetna Project Lower Medicare Revenue
The Wall Street Journal: Humana, Aetna Predict Drop In Medicare Funding For 2016
Humana Inc. and Aetna Inc. said Monday that they expect their Medicare funding to drop in 2016, after federal regulators last week proposed slight decline in payments for insurers that offer private Medicare plans. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimated that the Medicare Advantage rate proposal represented a decline of 0.95% on average for 2016, though the agency said the insurers would likely see overall revenue increase about 1.05% as they deliver, and bill for, more intense services. (Dulaney, 2/23)
The Wall Street Journal: Tenet Healthcare Swings To Profit On Higher Admissions
Tenet Healthcare Corp. swung to a profit in the fourth quarter, as the hospital operator recorded higher admissions and revenue. The company, which in recent quarters had seen improved results from the U.S. health-care policy overhaul as newly insured patients sought treatment, attributed most of its admissions growth in the fourth quarter to operational adjustments. In the current quarter, the Dallas company expects to make five cents to 55 cents a share and revenue of $4.3 billion to $4.5 billion, compared with the consensus of 42 cents a share and $4.28 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. (Armental, 2/23)
