It’s never a slow day when it comes to Medicare Advantage.

Payers spiraled and investors followed their lead after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced plans to keep Medicare Advantage (MA) payment rates nearly flat for 2027.

The advance notice, released Jan. 26, proposed a 0.9% payment bump for 2027, a big fall from 2026, when plans saw an average 5.06% increase. While the number isn’t final—CMS said in a release it will lock in rates by April 6—the damage was immediate.

Following the announcement, stocks for leading MA providers like UnitedHealth Group and CVS fell by a respective 20% and 14% and haven’t rebounded much. Humana, the second-largest MA provider after United, saw its stock prices take a tumble from $208 on Jan. 27 to $178 upon market open on Feb. 13.

MA leaders and outside analysts say this unexpectedly small increase amplifies current financial struggles. But it’s debatable whether the cuts will hurt payers as much as they claim.

Is it too much or not enough?—CC

Surgeries are moving outpatient, and ambulatory surgical centers (ASC) are getting a reputation for being a great value.

These centers have caught the eye of payers because they generally charge lower prices than hospitals for the same surgery—and they’ve caught the attention of investors with their fast-growing revenue, up to $54.3 billion in 2026, per research firm IBISWorld.

But after being bought by UnitedHealth Group’s health services subsidiary, Optum, these surgery centers’ prices rose an average of 11%, a February study found.

The study, published in Health Affairs, looked at commercial claims from 2015 to 2018 for seven sampled procedures across 24 of Optum’s centers.

The claims data didn’t include the prices charged to UnitedHealthcare, but it found that prices charged to other private insurers rose 11%, an average of $239 per procedure, increasing spending by about $10.1 million a year. This was driven by an increase in professional fees, according to the study. Extrapolating from those seven procedures to all procedures, the authors estimate that’s more than $67 million per year.

See more on what these payviders are up to here.—CC

Pharmacists are among the highest-paid healthcare professionals in the US, but the industry has nevertheless struggled to attract and retain talent in recent years.

The Covid-19 pandemic placed additional demands on pharmacists, as they were asked to manage new testing protocols and vaccinations without additional staff support. These pressures led to walkouts at major retail pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens.

At the same time, fewer students started enrolling in pharmacy school. The number of applications to colleges of pharmacy declined by more than 64,000 between the 2011–2012 and 2021–2022 school years, according to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

As a result, many pharmacies are now facing a labor shortage, with the number of open jobs outpacing expected graduates from pharmacy school programs. “We know that pharmacists are critical to the healthcare of our communities, and we don’t have enough in the marketplace,” Sal Venegas, SVP, talent management for Walgreens, told HR Brew.

Walgreens is seeking to tackle this issue by covering prerequisite courses for employees interested in pursuing a pharmacy degree. The program is expanding after a successful pilot, and Walgreens hopes it will help the chain strengthen its pharmacist talent pipeline, Venegas said.

Keep reading on HR Brew.—CV

AI scribes and copilots are doing more than cutting documentation time. They’re cleaning up data, tightening attribution, and simplifying physician compensation. Join us March 5 to see how hospitals are turning better documentation into faster payouts and fewer disputes.

From AI adoption to burnout and rising workplace violence, new data outlines the forces shaping healthcare work environments in 2026. Here’s what leaders should prioritize to improve safety, retention, and resilience.

Real jobs, shared through real communities. CollabWORK brings opportunities directly to Healthcare Brew readers—no mass postings, no clutter, just roles worth seeing. Click here to view the full job board.