Healthcare Economics

Two hands tossing a steaming Medicare Advantage card.
Payers

Are Medicare Advantage rates as bad as they look?

New MA payment rates have spooked investors, but the math suggests insurers may be crying wolf.

Caroline Catherman
Century City hospital nurse, monitors a patients vital signs with computers during a recent surgery at the newly remodeled hospital, Oct. 7, 2005. While doctors around the country have been slow to switch to electronic health records because of costs and habits, the physicians reopening Century City hospital are paperless pioneers.
Payers

After Optum bought ambulatory surgical centers, prices went up

As surgeries shift to outpatient, these centers are the cheaper option—for now.

Caroline Catherman
A phone showing Amazon's logo is pictured on top of the logo for One Medical.
Tech

At-home testing company Reperio partners with Amazon

Amazon also recently announced an agentic AI tool last month.

Cassie McGrath
Doctor talking to a mature women in a consultation at the hospital
Direct Care

Midi Health raises $100m Series D as women’s health market hits $100+b

Women’s health is being reclassified, VC expert says.

Cassie McGrath
Ozempic pen next to three Semaglutide pills with an arrow going up and right behind them
Pharma

GLP-1 manufacturers enter a turf war

The girls are fighting…again.

Caroline Catherman
Hospital building split in half collaged with briefcase and $100 bill. Credit: Illustration: Anna Kim, Photos: Adobe Stock.
Hospitals & Facilities

Signed and Scrubbed: January 2026 hospital M&A

Community Health Systems sold off another hospital this month.

Cassie McGrath
Nurse wearing gloves throwing away used medical plastic bags and tubes in a biohazard trash container in a hospital room
Pharma

Medical waste in hospital-at-home settings creates costly conundrum

Disposal rules for hospitals are clear, but hospital at home? Not so much.

Nicole Ortiz

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Healthcare Brew covers pharmaceutical developments, health startups, the latest tech, and how it impacts hospitals and providers to keep administrators and providers informed.

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