About health insurance/insurers
Cigna to buy back $3.2B in stock “The Cigna Group is buying back $3.2 billion in common stock through accelerated repurchase agreements with Deutsche Bank and Bank of America, the company announced Feb. 15.
Cigna is expecting an initial delivery of 7.6 million shares, with a final settlement expected in the second quarter of 2024.”
The burden of medical debt in the United States “This analysis shows that 20 million people (nearly 1 in 12 adults) owe medical debt. The SIPP [2021 Survey of Income and Program Participation] survey suggests people in the United States owe at least $220 billion in medical debt. Approximately 14 million people (6% of adults) in the U.S. owe over $1,000 in medical debt and about 3 million people (1% of adults) owe medical debt of more than $10,000. While medical debt occurs across demographic groups, people with disabilities or in worse health, lower-income people, and uninsured people are more likely to have medical debt.”
Postacute Care for Medicare Advantage Enrollees Who Switched to Traditional Medicare Compared With Those Who Remained in Medicare Advantage “Findings This cohort study using Medicare data including 4613 hospitalizations of retired Ohio state employees found that after a mandatory MA plan was discontinued, enrollees who switched to traditional Medicare received more intensive postacute care. No changes in 30-day hospital readmissions or mortality were observed.
Meaning This finding suggests that MA plans provided less intensive postacute care than traditional Medicare, with no significant difference in measured short-term outcomes; measures of postacute functional status over a longer follow-up period are needed.”
Medicare Advantage enrollment races past 33 million “Roughly 33.4 million adults older than 65 and people with disabilities were enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan as the calendar flipped to 2024 — another year of steady, albeit slower, growth for the taxpayer-funded program.
Enrollment increased 7.1% year over year, which would make this year’s annual growth rate identical to last year’s, according to new federal Medicare Advantage enrollment data analyzed by STAT.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
$1.48B Kaiser Sacramento hospital could break ground in 2024 “Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente might be breaking ground on a hospital in the Sacramento rail yards this year, the Sacramento Business Journal reported Feb. 15.
The project, which will replace the current 287-bed Arden-Arcade, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Medical Center, is expected to cost $1.48 billion, according to a free estimate request the city received in December, the publication reported.”
CommonSpirit Health's finances trend upward thanks to higher volumes, efficiency push “CommonSpirit Health reported Thursday a $356 million operating gain (3.5% operating margin) for the three months ended Dec. 31—its first quarter on the right side of zero since tthe summer of 2022—thanks to substantially higher volumes, shorter stays and other efficiency programs launched by the Catholic giant.”
Comment: The above two articles highlight the turnaround in hospital finances.