Evan Sweeney
FierceHealth
Portland, ME, United States
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Past articles by Evan:
FierceHealthcare’s 10 most read stories of 2018: Amazon, mergers and more Amazon
It was a wild year for healthcare. Amazon made waves with a big (but vague) new venture, Allscripts was hit with a ransomware attack and megamergers grabbed the headlines. Here's what our readers were clicking on. → Read More
Healthcare’s vertical mergers kick-started a massive industry shift in 2018. Will it pay off?
Two massive megamergers in CVS-Aetna and Cigna-Express Scripts dominated the conversation around M&A in healthcare, with the companies promising to transform the industry. But those deals also set the stage for smaller acquisitions across the payer industry. → Read More
CMS finalizes ACO overhaul, shortening pathway for financial risk
CMS finalized substantial changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), an overhaul that will truncate the time that Accountable Care Organizations can remain in one-sided risk models. But ACOs in one-sided risk models took a smaller hit on shared savings than originally proposed. → Read More
Cigna closes $67B Express Scripts acquisition, promising affordability and choice
Cigna officially absorbed one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the country on Thursday, closing it’s $67 billion purchase of Express Scripts. The company said it's now better positioned to deliver better care, expanded choice and drive down health care costs. → Read More
Investor suit claims Centene hid $900M tax liability in HealthNet purchase
Insurance giant Centene has been hit with another shareholder lawsuit, alleging company executives concealed financial concerns in its $6.8 billion acquisition of HealthNet. The latest complaint includes new details that Centene hid nearly $1 billion in HealthNet's potential tax liabilities. → Read More
Cigna-Express Scripts clears final state approval, set to close on Thursday
Cigna and Express Scripts have received approval from the last state necessary to complete their $67 billion merger, setting the stage for the deal to close this week. → Read More
State AGs ask Texas judge to clarify ACA decision as they prepare for appeal
California and 16 other state attorneys general are asking a Texas judge to clarify his ruling on the Affordable Care Act, a procedural move that sets the stage for an appeal. On Tuesday, Judge Reed O'Connor agreed an expedited briefing was necessary. → Read More
Providence St. Joseph Health lures another executive from Microsoft
At a time when healthcare executives are leaving the industry for gigs at big tech firms, Providence St. Joseph Health keeps poaching IT executives from Microsoft. This week it hired B.J. Moore as chief information officer. → Read More
Teladoc Health CFO resigns amid allegations of misconduct
Teladoc Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Mark Hirschhorn is stepping down from his position amid allegations that he fed stock tips to a company employee he was having an affair with. The company has appointed two existing employees to fill both roles as it conducts a formal search to find Hirschhorn's replacement. → Read More
Centene wants its PBM to move from rebates to net pricing. That could be the new normal
On Friday, Centene CEO Michael Neidorff said he has been pushing the company's new PBM, RxAdvance, to find a way to shift from rebates to net pricing. That's something CVS has already started doing, and more PBMs are likely to follow, according to analysts. → Read More
Texas judge strikes down ACA as unconstitutional, but long legal path remains
A federal judge ruled Friday night that the entire Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, casting doubt on the healthcare law on the eve before the end the final day of 2019 open enrollment. The ruling is likely to spur an appeal and could wind up in the Supreme Court. → Read More
HHS to appeal New Mexico court's risk adjustment ruling
The legal fight over Affordable Care Act risk adjustment calculations wages on. HHS is appealing a New Mexico district judge's ruling that the agency's risk adjustment formula is arbitrary and capricious. → Read More
Cigna-Express Scripts nears finish line with approvals from California and New York
Cigna's $67 billion acquisition of Express Scripts cleared regulatory hurdles in two states on Thursday, putting the deal on pace to close by the end of the year. Regulators in New York and California approved the deal on Thursday, leaving New Jersey as the last remaining state. → Read More
Teladoc sued for deceiving investors after report reveals CFO’s misconduct
A class-action lawsuit filed against Teladoc Health and its top executives claims the company deceived investors by holding back information about the CFO’s relationship with a subordinate that included offering tips on stock trading. → Read More
Athenahealth customers nervous about the future following private equity takeover
Weeks after Athenahealth closed a $5.7 billion takeover deal that will take the company private at the hands of Veritas Capital and Elliott Management, customers are nervous about the EHR vendor's future and its ability to maintain its disruptive persona. → Read More
ACOs saved Medicare $2.7B to date, outpacing CMS estimates
Accountable care organizations in the Medicare Shared Savings Program have saved Medicare $2.7 billion to date, including $859 million in 2016, according to a new analysis commissioned by NAACOS. That's $1.1 billion more than CMS estimates. → Read More
Azar assures HIV patients ‘protected class’ proposal won’t cut off access to drugs
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar assured the HIV community on Tuesday that proposed Medicare Part D reforms around "protected class" drugs would not cut off critical access to lifesaving medications for patients. → Read More
ONC focused on privacy and usability in new app-based healthcare ecosystem
ONC head Donald Rucker told lawmakers on Tuesday that his agency is prioritizing privacy and security as well as usability as regulators push healthcare into an "open API" environment. But his testimony was also constrained by the fact that a key rule on data blocking is still under review by OMB. → Read More
UnitedHealthcare and Envision extend contract, avoiding coverage lapse for millions
The nation’s largest health insurer and Envision Healthcare have signed an agreement to keep the staffing company in-network, ending a drawn-out dispute between the two companies. The contract, which was set to expire on Jan. 1, keeps Envision’s 25,000 clinicians in UnitedHealthcare's network. → Read More
Allscripts to net $525M after selling off Netsmart stake
Allscripts said it will make $525 million in net proceeds after selling off its ownership stake in a behavioral health EHR Netsmart. The company has been trying to unload its investment since June. → Read More