In response to the cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare, CMS is expanding its aid to include advance payments for physicians and outpatient care providers facing claims processing disruptions. Following significant operational challenges caused by the attack, Medicare Part B suppliers can now access payments to mitigate financial strain. This decision builds on previous efforts to accelerate payments to hospitals and create workarounds. Physicians are facing considerable financial challenges due to delays in restoring Change Healthcare's claims processing capabilities, with estimates of large health systems losing over $100 million daily. Change Healthcare expects to reestablish connectivity for its electronic payment platform and begin testing its medical claims network by mid-March. Medicare providers affected by the service disruptions can apply for advance payments, calculated based on a recent three-month average of claims and the payments will be recuperated over 90 days.

CMS accelerates payments to physicians following Change attack Beckers Hospital Review

Health system operating margins have shown significant improvement in 2023, with a range from -6.8% to 12.2% across 34 health systems, after facing a challenging year in 2022. This change is attributed to increased patient volumes boosting revenue, which helped mitigate the effects of rising labor and supply costs. However, despite the overall progress, discrepancies persist as many hospitals still report financial losses, with high-performing institutions increasingly distancing themselves from lower-performing ones. Kaufman Hall's analysis highlights this divide, emphasizing the ongoing financial instability within the healthcare industry, reflected in the fluctuating average operating margins throughout the year.

From -6.8% to 12.2%: 34 health systems ranked by operating margins Becker's Hospital Review

In an article for Big Technology, David Kiferbaum, a former Google employee from 2015 to 2023, discusses the decline of Google’s once-celebrated open culture and its repercussions on the company's products. Kiferbaum shares his observations on how intense focus on politically correct language and the controversial firing of an employee for questioning diversity practices marked the beginning of the end for open discourse within the company. He reflects on the pre-2017 era when employees engaged freely in robust discussions at TGIF meetings, a practice that dwindled following leadership's response to internal and external controversies. This shift away from openness towards a more restrictive culture of communication, according to Kiferbaum, has visibly affected Google's product innovation and effectiveness, notably in instances like the Gemini project's failures and the stagnation of Google Assistant. The piece underscores the broader implications of a silenced workforce, suggesting that without a revival of its foundational open questioning ethos, Google is at risk of further setbacks, alienating both its employees and its user base.

How Google Blew Up Its Open Culture and Compromised Its Product Big Technology

The Coalition for Health AI (CHAI), having amassed over 1,300 members, was launched with the aim of becoming the trusted source for AI best practices in health, emphasizing inclusivity and good governance reminiscent of historic "goo-goo" good government groups. Although partnered with notable stakeholders including Google and Microsoft, CHAI's ambitious goals raise questions about its ability to confront contentious AI uses in health care, such as secretive data collection practices, and whether it will ultimately prioritize technical standards over empowering patients to make their own health decisions. While the organization promises to revolutionize patient care through AI, its true commitment to transformative change versus technical fixes remains to be seen, mirroring the dual legacy of good governance advocates of the past.

The Coalition For Health AI Is A ‘Goo-Goo,’ Not Yet A Revolutionary Forbes