This week’s top stories include Physician Partners of America agreeing to pay $24.5M to settle a number of alleged violations, including unnecessary testing, and CMS estimates that payments to acute care hospitals will increase in 2023 by $1.6B.

Humana has signed a definitive agreement with private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice to divest a majority interest in Humana’s Kindred at Home subsidiary, KAH Hospice.  Under the agreement, Humana will divest a 60% interest in KAH Hospice and receive cash proceeds of approximately $2.8 billion. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Health Resources and Services Administration, is earmarking roughly $90 million in American Rescue Plan funds to reduce health disparities through new data-driven efforts for HRSA Health Center Program-supported health centers and look-alikes.

On Wednesday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services outlined a multi-pronged action plan geared toward promoting health equity, which will be enacted throughout the agency and will focus on access, outcomes and outreach to better serve marginalized populations.

The Department of Justice has filed an appeal of a judge’s order that overruled a Centers of Disease Control and Prevention requirement for mask wearing on airplanes and other public transit. The Justice Department filed the notice of appeal Wednesday in Health Freedom Defense Fund v. President Joe Biden in the U.S. District Court in […]

Virginia Hospital Medical Center, a community-based hospital system headquartered in Arlington, is kicking off rebranding efforts and will now be known as VHC Health, joining other organizations that have rebranded in an effort to retain or attract new market share.