The insurance giant has been piloting a program to speed up reimbursement to hospitals in 10 states, reducing delays by roughly 50%. Now, the company said it will work to lift prior authorization barriers on patient care delivery. The intent is to roll out these changes nationwide by the end of 2026, UnitedHealthcare confirmed.

Family physicians and other primary care providers don’t mind being held to account for care quality by healthcare administrators. The rub is that multiple other stakeholders often demand similar levels of answerability, pulling the doctors in different directions at once. 

Pharmaceutical companies are spending close to $10 billion per year on direct-to-consumer advertising in the U.S. Only the entertainment industry spends more. Is that a good thing? 

The idea was floated as part of a proposed budget for the state released by Democrats in the Senate. If passed, only the top 2% of corporations in California would be impacted. The levy would generate $5 billion to $8 billion annually for Medicaid. 

The new clinic wants to keep patients out of hospital EDs when possible and provide care at a lower cost.