Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Strong Medicare Advantage Growth Helps Humana Beat Q4 Revenue Projections
Modern Healthcare: Humana Boosts Fourth-Quarter Revenue With Higher Medicare Advantage Premiums
National insurer Humana posted higher revenue in the fourth quarter of 2017, driven primarily by higher Medicare Advantage premiums. The Louisville, Ky.-based insurer recorded revenue of $13.2 billion in the three months ended Dec. 31, up 2.4% over the same period in 2016. Higher Medicare Advantage premium revenue, along with higher revenue in the group and specialty segments, led to the increase in the fourth quarter. (Livingston, 2/7)
In other news —
Modern Healthcare: Long-Term Care Providers Face Barriers To Adopt CMS' Stewardship Program Requirement
PruittHealth, a long-term care provider based in Norcross, Georgia, has been hard at work over the last 18 months to comply with the CMS' newest requirement to have an antibiotic stewardship program. The policy, which went into effect in November, is intended to curb the widespread overuse of antibiotics across nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Antibiotics are the most frequently prescribed medication in nursing homes, and studies show that 40% to 75% of such prescriptions are inappropriate, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This has contributed in part to antibiotic resistance, which has been deemed a global health concern by the United Nations. (Castellucci, 2/7)
