Wait Times Up For Doc Appointments Across Many Specialties, Survey Finds
A recent survey of six medical specialties in 15 U.S. metropolitan areas finds that the average wait time for physician appointments has increased significantly in recent years. Specialties most affected include OB-GYN and cardiology.
MedPage Today:
Wait Times For Physician Appointments Surged In Recent Years
The average wait time for a physician appointment has dramatically increased in recent years, according to a new survey. Across six medical specialties in 15 large U.S. metropolitan areas, the average wait time for an appointment was 31 days, up 19% since the last survey in 2022 and up 48% since the first survey in 2004, according to AMN Healthcare's 2025 Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times and Medicare and Medicaid Acceptance Rates. (Henderson, 5/28)
Newsweek:
US Shutting Nursing Facilities Despite Ageing Population
The number of nursing facilities in the United States has declined sharply despite a rapid growth in the country's ageing population. More than 820 nursing facilities closed across the U.S. between 2015 and 2024, according to the hospital bed company Opera Beds. It revealed that 45 out of 51 states saw a reduction in nursing facilities despite a nationwide increase in the older population. (Cameron, 5/28)
Fierce Healthcare:
How Grow Therapy Hopes To Curb Patient Dropout During Referrals
When providers work together, patients are more likely to get their needs met at the right place and the right time. This leads to better health outcomes and lower healthcare costs. In outpatient behavioral health, a certain subset of patients need intensive or specialized care. But referrals to higher levels of care are often inefficient and risk patients dropping out of treatment altogether. (Gliadkovskaya, 5/28)
From the health care sector —
Modern Healthcare:
ChristianaCare To Run Operations At 5 Crozer Health Facilities
ChristianaCare plans to assume operations of five Crozer Health outpatient facilities in Pennsylvania after submitting the highest bid of $50.3 million. The auction was held as Prospect Medical Holdings, Crozer's parent company, seeks to sell the system's assets after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January. The sale to Wilmington, Delaware-based ChristianaCare is subject to court approval, according to a Wednesday news release. (DeSilva, 5/28)
Modern Healthcare:
Cleveland Clinic Updates Outpatient Copay Policy After Backlash
Cleveland Clinic is revamping an outpatient copay policy before it was scheduled to take effect, following concerns about disrupting care. Cleveland Clinic said earlier this month it would require copays for nonemergency outpatient services at or before appointment times starting June 1. If patients couldn't pay, their appointments would be canceled or rescheduled. However, the health system is backing away from that tactic and instead offering to set up 0% interest payment plans for patients to keep their appointments. (Hudson, 5/28)
St. Louis Public Radio:
Phelps Health Expands Ambulance Service For Rural Missouri
Rural hospitals closing and population and traffic increasing along Interstate 44 are putting more pressure on the hospital in Rolla to handle growing patient loads, especially for emergency services. To meet those demands, Phelps Health has constructed an $8 million EMS base that will put its ambulance and helicopter crews in the same facility and allow for expansion in the coming years. The new building includes a helipad, training rooms, a dispatch center and bunk rooms for the EMS drivers and flight nurses who work 24-hour shifts. (Ahl, 5/28)
Modern Healthcare:
HarmonyCares' Matt Chance Bets On CMS' In-Home Primary Care Push
HarmonyCares CEO Matt Chance said companies moving primary care into the home are in the right place at the right time as the Trump administration looks to rein in healthcare costs. The Troy, Michigan-based company delivers home-based primary care to people with complex conditions through value-based care arrangements with Medicare Advantage plans and accountable care organizations. Chance said that strategy aligns with a plan the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation recently laid out calling for new delivery models that help save money and offer healthcare where people want it, including their homes. (Eastabrook, 5/28)
Modern Healthcare:
Elevance Sues Providers, HaloMD Over No Surprises Act Allegations
An Elevance Health subsidiary is suing the billing dispute consulting company HaloMD and two hospital-based Georgia providers, alleging they conspired to exploit the No Surprises Act. Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthcare Plan of Georgia, which operates under Elevance Health's Anthem brand, filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on Tuesday. The company alleges HaloMD and its out-of-network clients inappropriately won higher reimbursements through the No Surprises Act's independent dispute resolution, or IDR, system. (DeSilva, 5/28)
Modern Healthcare:
Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans Reverse Course On GLP-1 Coverage
A handful of nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurers dipped their toes into expanding coverage for blockbuster weight-loss drugs. Then they quickly pulled them back out. It’s still early days of the glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist, or GLP-1, drug phenomenon with no definitive clinical or cost-savings evidence and no blueprint for how to control spending. What is clear is the immediate consequences these costly medications have had for health insurance company bottom lines. (Berryman, 5/28)
Modern Healthcare:
Devoted Health Layoffs Affect 5% Of Workforce
Medicare Advantage insurance startup Devoted Health cut approximately 5% of its workforce earlier this month. The company, which also operates a medical group, confirmed that it laid off 120 people across various departments. It has 2,460 employees. (Tepper, 5/28)
Stat:
PillPack Founders' New Health Care Marketplace Has Deep Roots With Amazon
A new digital health care marketplace, launched last week, has a good amount of Amazon in its DNA. General Medicine, with $32 million in funding, came out of stealth with three former Amazon employees as co-founders and investors, a business model that could compete with Amazon’s One Medical — and behind the scenes, a current senior Amazon executive. (Palmer, 5/28)
In pharma and tech news —
The Wall Street Journal:
How Ozempic Maker Novo Nordisk Fell Behind In The Weight-Loss Drug Market
In 2023, Novo Nordisk was the most valuable company in Europe, surpassing LVMH on the back of soaring demand for Ozempic and Wegovy. Today, the Danish company has lost its grip on the anti-obesity market it carved out. The company has lost market share amid production missteps and a bungled rollout of Wegovy that led to shortages. (Loftus, 5/28)
Fierce Healthcare:
How Much GLP-1 Prescriptions For Weight Management Have Grown
The number of people prescribed GLP-1 drugs for weight management has skyrocketed over the past five years, according to new data from FAIR Health. The report found that just over 2% of adults in the U.S. took a GLP-1 to treat obesity or overweight in 2024, up from just 0.3% in 2019. This is a relative increase of 586.7%, according to the analysts. (Minemyer, 5/28)
Stat:
AI For Breast Cancer Detection Growing Faster Than Trust In The Results
Radiologists interpret more than 40 million mammograms in the United States every year. In 2025, AI tools to help detect or diagnose possible cancer will be applied to millions of them. As the Food and Drug Administration has cleared several AI algorithms to analyze mammograms, some imaging centers are adopting them en masse. (Palmer, 5/29)
