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:

Health Insurer Centene Is Sued Over Lack of Medical Coverage

People who bought policies from Centene, a large for-profit health insurance company, filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday claiming the company does not provide adequate access to doctors in 15 states.

The New York Times

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Legislators say they are close to CHIP deal

Republicans and Democrats in Congress have said they are close to approving a long-term funding deal for the Children's Health Insurance Program, which could come as soon as next week, according to The Hill. CHIP provides insurance for nearly 9 million low-income children across the nation.

Becker's Hospital Review

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Trump administration to let states adopt Medicaid work requirements

The Trump administration told U.S. states on Thursday they can for the first time move toward imposing work or job training requirements on people as a condition for obtaining health insurance under the Medicaid government program for the poor.

Reuters

Thursday, January 11, 2018

The impact of Medicaid expansion on hospital closures

Medicaid expansion significantly decreased the number of people without insurance, and in turn may have prevented some cash-strapped hospitals from closing, according to a new study.

Fierce Healthcare

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Drug Overdose Deaths Soar Nationally But Plateau In Some Western States

The opioid crisis on the East Coast and in the Midwest has fueled a national surge in drug deaths, even as fatal overdoses have decreased or remained stable in parts of the West, new federal data show.

Kaiser Health News

Monday, January 8, 2018

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.