Read today’s Kaiser Health News [Many articles on the Senate Bill]
In other news:
The best and worst states for healthcare — and why it’s complicated No one comes close to perfect.
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Health system margins still at 1%, drug expenses soar:Data from Strata Decision Technology, which gathers information monthly from more than 1,600 hospitals, found health system operating margins were around 1% for the fifth consecutive month in May while hospital margins grew by less than 1%. Hospitals in the West and Midwest reported slight margin declines while hospitals in the South reported 3.6 percentage points gained in average margins; hospitals in the Northeast reported 1.3 percentage point gains.
Hospital size matters as well. Hospitals with 300-499 beds reported average margin increase of 2.6 percentage points while larger hospitals of 500 beds or more reported a 2.6 percentage point average margin decrease in May. The average margin for hospitals with less than 25 beds dropped 3.3 percentage points.
Centene stock crashes 40% as enrollments drop and costs surge, 2025 outlook pulled: Centene stock took a major hit as the healthcare company pulled its 2025 earnings outlook, sending shares crashing to their lowest point since 2017. Centene, known for its Medicaid and Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage, revealed that slower enrollment growth and higher-than-expected patient illness would cut $2.75 per share off its earnings. The update slashed its projected revenue by $1.8 billion, causing widespread analyst downgrades. Centene also announced it would reprice its 2026 marketplace plans to reflect these unexpected costs. This sudden shift has left investors and analysts worried about the future of healthcare stocks in the ACA market.