Midweek update

The Senate leadership is expected to release its version of the American Health Care Act tomorrow. Stay tuned.

The FEHBlog recently mentioned the HCP/LAN spring forum. HCP/LAN is a public / private partnership to promote alternative payment methods for healthcare.  HCP/LAN has provided a link that allows you to view the forum webcast and the presentations.

Teladoc, one of the large telehealth vendors, announced a deal to acquire a medical consultancy known as Best Doctors.  The Teladoc press release explains that

Teladoc will marry its award-winning technology, industry-leading engagement capabilities, and robust, scalable platform with Best Doctors’ world-renowned network of medical experts, analytics expertise, patient decision-support, and regional expertise on a global scale. The newly combined company offers a highly differentiated suite of virtual care delivery solutions for a broad range of market segments, spanning the full spectrum of employers to health plans and health systems. Furthermore, Teladoc will now develop and deploy global expansion plans, meeting a broader spectrum of care needs outside the U.S.

Healthcare Dive reports that hospitals and other health care providers are filling vacant spaces in shopping malls across the country.  The FEHBlog noted that the Wall Street Journal which first reported the foregoing phenomenon reported today that TJX, the owner of TJ Maxx and Marshalls, is doing well by sticking to the retail store model.

TJX gets almost all its sales from its roughly 3,800 physical locations and plans to open 250 stores this year. Its revenue and profits are climbing and it envisions expanding to 5,600 stores worldwide over time.
The Framingham, Mass., company isn’t shifting business online or using big data to figure out what shoppers want. Instead, it has become one of the country’s fastest-growing retailers by sticking with a playbook from a vanishing era. It relies heavily on the instincts of its merchandise buyers, many of whom have been with the company for decades. TJX stores rapidly turn over limited quantities of products that are all sold at bargain prices. The result is a rarity in retail—a constant treasure hunt.

One size does not fit all.