The Gist Healthcare Podcast

The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO has been extradited to New York on murder charges. National healthcare spending hit $4.9 trillion in 2023, likely due to increased utilization and intensity. And, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports first severe human case of bird flu in the United States tied to a backyard flock. We’ll get those stories—and more—coming up on today’s episode of the Gist Healthcare

Congress is another step closer to finalizing a year-end spending package to keep the government operating, and the plan includes some significant healthcare related spending. The Health Resources and Services Administration demands the French drugmaker Sanofi abandon its controversial 340B credit model.  And, fewer children are being vaccinated against the flu. We’ll get those stories—and more—coming up on today’s episode of the Gist Healthcare podcast. 

President-elect Donald Trump has named a number of high-profile individuals to lead federal healthcare agencies. These include Robert F. Kennedy Jr. To lead the Department of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. On today’s episode, host J. Carlisle Larsen speaks with POLITICO’s Ben Leonard to talk more about his healthcare choices, their chances of getting confirmed by the Senate, and what his picks could signal about his second administration’s priorities. 

United States Senators introduce legislation that would break up healthcare giants’ pharmacy benefit managers. Walgreens is reportedly looking into a sale to a private equity firm and going private. And, a new poll finds fewer than one in five Americans are satisfied with the cost of healthcare. We’ll get those stories—and more—coming up on today’s episode of the Gist Healthcare podcast. 

Police arrest suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield backtracks on a controversial planned cap on anesthesia payments. And, dozens of Nobel laureates write to the US Senate urging lawmakers to oppose Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. We’ll get those stories coming up on today’s episode of the Gist Healthcare podcast. 

Since January 2021, hospitals and health systems have been required to post the prices of standard charges publicly. The goal of the Hospital Price Transparency Rule has been to increase competition and bring down the cost of healthcare for consumers. Since the regulation went into effect three years ago, researchers at Turquoise Health wanted to see if the market had responded.   Carol Skenes, Interim Vice President of Product at Turquoise, joins host J. Carlisle Larsen to talk about what their researchers found after reviewing industry-wide data.   You can find the white paper discussed on today’s episode here.  

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's killing in Manhattan this week sends shockwaves through the industry. Cone becomes the latest health system to join Kaiser Permanente’s Risant Health system. And, CMS proposes new guidelines regulating Medicare Advantage prior authorizations and advertisements. We’ll get that story—and more—coming up on today’s episode of the Gist Healthcare podcast.

Sanofi becomes the latest pharmaceutical company to introduce a rebate model for 340B-eligible healthcare organizations. A new rule proposed by the Biden Administration would allow Medicare and Medicaid to cover drugs like Ozempic for weight loss. And, patients with HIV can now donate and receive organ transplants from other individuals with the disease. We’ll get those stories—and more—coming up on today’s episode of the Gist Healthcare

On this week’s Monday interview, host J. Carlisle Larsen speaks with Kaufman Hall’s Scott Christensen about trends within the retail healthcare delivery space and what hospitals can learn from these organizations’ stumbles and successes.  You can find the first part of our conversation here. And you can read Scott’s recent blog post about the topic here.