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Medicare rates for skilled nursing facilities will increase 4.2% in fiscal 2025 under a final rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published Wednesday. That's higher than the 4.1% reimbursement increase CMS proposed in March. Payments for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 are based on a 3% increase in the skilled nursing facility market basket minus a 0.5 percentage point productivity adjustment and plus a 1.7 percentage point boost to correct previous forecasts. (Eastabrook, 7/31)

Medicare Advantage giant Humana expects to lose a “few hundred thousand” members in its marquee business next year, after seriously shrinking its benefits and exiting markets for 2025 in a bid to boost profits, the insurer disclosed Wednesday. It’s the first time Humana has estimated membership losses from culling its plans, and squares with past guesses from market watchers. (Pifer, 7/31)

GE HealthCare cut its year-end revenue growth estimates, citing headwinds in the Chinese market — but executives pointed to potential U.S. regulatory changes as reasons for optimism. Proposed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reimbursement updates could help GE HealthCare's business lines, especially regarding products often used for cancer, cardiovascular problems and neurological disorders, said President and CEO Peter Arduini on the company's second-quarter earnings call Wednesday. (Perna, 7/31)

Google will not renew its contract with Amazon’s primary care subsidiary One Medical, ending a longstanding agreement that gave Google employees access to discounted medical care, the companies confirmed to Healthcare Dive. The contract loss is a major blow for the provider. Google was One Medical’s largest customer, accounting for 10% of its revenue in 2020. That figure dipped slightly in 2021, after which One Medical stopped disclosing its finances publicly. (Pifer, 7/30)

Massachusetts could face a "public health crisis" if bankrupt Steward Health Care cannot quickly complete a sale of six hospitals, an attorney for the state said Wednesday. Steward has binding purchase agreements in place for all six properties, but the sale has been delayed by a dispute between Steward and its landlords, Medical Properties Trust (MPT) and Macquarie Asset Management, a lawyer representing the office of attorney general and other state agencies said at a U.S. bankruptcy court hearing in Houston, Texas. (Knauth, 7/31)

CVS Health is doubling down on offering primary care, with plans to open 25 Oak Street Health clinics in its stores, including three in the Chicago area — a move that comes as competitors Walgreens and Walmart pull back on the idea. (Schencker, 7/31)

On Saturday, barring any last-minute hiccups, Intermountain Health’s Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge will shut down its current location and move 3 miles west to a brand new, $680 million campus. It’s the first major hospital relocation in Colorado in years, and the new facility showcases how the COVID-19 pandemic has forced health systems to rethink what a hospital must be able to do. (Ingold, 8/1)

Indigenous peoples around the country have a new opportunity to enter the medical field for free. It’s a way to funnel tribal members into careers while filling healthcare gaps. Health Tech Academy, a company that offers online medical training and fills staffing shortages, is partnering with the Jackson, Wyoming-based nonprofit Native American Jump Start, which helps “jumpstart” tribal members’ college and employment careers. (Merzbach, 7/31)