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: 

Medicaid, CHIP enrollment for kids dropped by 861,000 in 2018

An estimated 861,000 fewer children were covered by Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program in 2018 compared with the year before, according to an analysis by Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families drawing on new CMS data.

Thursday, April 25, 2019 

Anthem Beats Earnings Estimates, Outlines Plans for Pharmacy Benefits Unit

Anthem Inc on Wednesday posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit and laid out its plans to transition most customers to its revamped pharmacy benefits business this year.

NY Times

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Pharma Lobby Nears Spending Records With Drug Prices Under Fire

Large drug makers and the industry’s primary trade group neared previous spending records on lobbying in the first three months of the year as President Donald Trump and Congress increased pressure to rein in the cost of medicine.

Bloomberg

Tuesday, April 23, 2019 

More than 1 million Americans have lost health insurance since 2016

More than 1 million Americans have lost health insurance coverage since 2016, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

The Hill

Monday, April 22, 2019 

Hospitals Stand to Lose Billions Under ‘Medicare for All’

For a patient’s knee replacement, Medicare will pay a hospital $17,000. The same hospital can get more than twice as much, or about $37,000, for the same surgery on a patient with private insurance.

NY Times

Monday, April 22, 2019 

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.