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Medicare Advantage companies and healthcare providers are reckoning with the effects of an updated federal policy that governs how to pay for patients’ hospital stays. The "two-midnight rule," newly applied to Medicare Advantage this year, lets hospitals categorize more patient visits as higher-cost, inpatient stays. In addition to threatening to disrupt carriers' already shaky finances, it could invite more scrutiny of Medicare Advantage companies' coverage policies and decision-making tools. (Tepper, 5/15)

Andreas Mang knows that executives like him aren’t always going to get a warm welcome from human resources leaders whose company has been acquired by Blackstone. “A lot of companies will say, ‘Oh God, we were just bought by Blackstone,’” said Mang, CEO of Blackstone Equity Healthcare, which manages benefits for some of Blackstone’s portfolio companies. “I’m sure there are a lot of HR leaders who are saying, ‘Oh geez, what are these guys going to do?’” (Perna, 5/15)

Once a full-service hospital that performed heart surgery and treated a range of stroke patients, Beth Israel on Manhattan’s East Side offers more limited services these days. The number of employees has dwindled from 1,800 to about 1,300 in less than a year. Some floors are nearly empty of patients. That is because for years Beth Israel’s parent hospital system, Mount Sinai, has been trying to close it, saying it loses too much money. (Goldstein, 5/16)

Jefferson Health and Lehigh Valley Health Network have taken a major step toward completing their proposed merger. The two health systems have signed a definitive agreement to merge, according to a Wednesday news release. The organizations said they plan to create a $15 billion regional nonprofit system with more than 65,000 employees, which will operate 30 hospitals and more than 700 care sites in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. (Hudson, 5/15)

State leaders on Wednesday unveiled a new $305 million hospital, part of an $2.5 billion overhaul of the state’s aging psychiatric hospital system. Austin State Hospital is a new 240-bed facility that has been built on the existing 80-acre campus located about three miles north of downtown Austin. The Old Main Building, which opened 1861 has been designated a historic landmark. It will continue to be used for offices, when the hospital opens its doors later this summer. (Simpson, 5/15)

Allianz confirmed its 2024 guidance after growth across all of its segments over the first quarter boosted its net profit by 22%. Europe’s largest insurer made a net profit of 2.475 billion euros ($2.68 billion) compared with EUR2.16 billion in the year-earlier period, it said Wednesday. (Vardon, 5/15)

The founder of a Philadelphia-based health care company is going the extra mile to hire caregivers from diverse cultural backgrounds who can communicate with clients in their native languages. There's nothing quite like a home-cooked meal, and caregiver Uknary Rennie recently cooked up something special for her 84-year-old client, Phun Ing — a traditional Cambodian seafood soup with shrimp, vegetables and rice. (Wright, 5/15)

Seeking to differentiate itself from other makers of CAR-T cancer therapies, Galapagos NV on Wednesday announced it had struck a deal with Blood Centers of America to open up dozens of manufacturing sites for its cell-based medicines around the U.S. (Joseph, 5/15)

Roche (ROG.S) shares gained as much as 4.7% early on Thursday after an early-stage trial showed that the obesity drug candidate by newly acquired Carmot Therapeutics led to significant weight loss. The Swiss drugmaker said the study in the first of three trial stages required for regulatory approval showed the compound known as CT-388 resulted in weight loss of 18.8%, when adjusted for a placebo effect, after 24 weeks in healthy adults with obesity. (Burger, 5/16)

Ascension is facing the first class-action complaints related to a ransomware attack it reported last week that shut down systems and continues to disrupt operations. The two complaints ... allege that Ascension failed to properly safeguard patients' private information and put them at risk of fraud or identity theft. (Hudson, 5/15)

The Connecticut Hospital Association is suing Prospect Medical Holdings and its three financially troubled hospitals, alleging they have failed to pay $1.75 million in dues and other fees over the past two years. (Altimari, 5/15)

Pfizer (PFE.N), opens new tab will pay up to $250 million to settle more than 10,000 U.S. lawsuits over cancer risks associated with its discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The drugmaker was set to pay between $200 million and $250 million in the settlement, the newspaper reported, citing two people briefed on the deal. The settlement was disclosed in a court filing in Delaware last week, and is aimed at reducing Pfizer's potential liability, the report added. (5/16)

Dr. Rod Hochman, president and CEO of Providence for 11 years, will retire Jan.1, the health system announced Wednesday. The Renton, Washington-based system, which has 51 hospitals, more than 1,000 clinics and 120,000 employees in seven states, said its board has begun a search for a successor. Hochman will move into the role of CEO emeritus. (Devereaux, 5/15)

Taking care of her dad after his two hip replacements awakened Jasmine Barnachea’s desire to be a nurse, but she needed a way to jumpstart her health care education. So when Barnachea, a nutritional aide at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital, heard about the Basic Nursing Assistant Training Program, she applied and got in. The program at Northwestern Medicine started in 2022 and is free to employees. It recently opened up to outside candidates as well, and offers a payment plan. (Neumann, 5/15)