Friday Five: Top 5 healthcare business news items from the MCOL Weekend edition

Every business day, MCOL posts feature stories making news on the business of health care. Here are five we think are particularly important for this week: Congress Isn’t Really Done With Health Care — Just Look At What’s In The Tax Bills Having failed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Congress is now working on a tax overhaul. But it turns out the tax bills in the House and Senate also aim to reshape health care. Kaiser Health News Friday, December 1, 2017 CMS makes it official: Two mandatory bundled-pay models canceled The CMS has finalized its decision to toss two mandatory bundled-payment models and cut down the number of providers required to participate in a third. Modern Healthcare Thursday, November 30, 2017 CVS Nears Deal to Acquire Health Insurer Aetna CVS Health Corp. is nearing an agreement to acquire health insurer Aetna Inc. for more than $65 billion, according to a person familiar with the negotiations, in a deal that could reshape the pharmacy and health insurance industries. Bloomberg Thursday, November 30, 2017 Marketplace Confusion Opens Door To Questions About Skinny Plans Consumers coping with the high cost of health insurance are the target market for new plans claiming to be lower-cost alternatives to the Affordable Care Act that fulfill the law’s requirement for health coverage. Kaiser Health News Monday, November 27, 2017 As Health Care Changes, Insurers, Hospitals and Drugstores Team Up They seem like odd couples: Aetna, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, is in talks to combine with CVS Health, which manages pharmacy benefits. The Cleveland Clinic, a highly regarded health system, joined forces with an insurance start-up, Oscar Health, to offer individuals a health plan in Ohio. NY Times Sunday, November 26, 2017 These and more weekly news items on the business of healthcare are featured in the MCOL Weekend edition, along with the MCOL Tidbits, and more, for MCOL Premium level members.