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Cigna Group abandoned its pursuit of a tie-up with Humana after shareholders balked at a deal that would have created a roughly $140 billion giant in the health-insurance industry. The companies couldn’t come to agreement on price and other financial terms, according to people familiar with the matter. In the near term, Cigna is turning its focus toward smaller, so-called bolt-on, acquisitions. (Thomas, 12/10)

On Thursday, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission reviewed Medicare performance data and concluded that despite doctors’ protests that their pay hasn’t kept up with inflation over the last 20 years, doctors shouldn’t get more than a minor raise for 2025. On the other hand, the committee admitted hospitals could use a larger increase in payment rates. (Trang, 12/8)

The Northern Arapaho Tribe is taking a case against the Department of Health and Human Services to the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawsuit in question, Becerra v. Northern Arapaho Tribe, revolves around funding for health care and questions of tribal self-governance – and its outcome could have a big impact on the financial future of the tribe. (Habermann, 12/8)

First Lady Jill Biden toured the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center and Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Friday, Dec. 8, as part of the White House’s initiative on women’s health research. ... “Research on women’s health has been underfunded for decades and many conditions that mostly and only affect women, or affect women differently,  have received limited attention — like those debilitating migraines and undiagnosed heart attacks,” Dr. Biden said. (Grigoryants, 12/9)

Johns Hopkins University Friday announced that Dr. Theodore L. DeWeese, who has been interim dean for the School of Medicine and interim CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine since 2022, will take over the positions on a permanent basis. DeWeese, who joined Johns Hopkins hospital as a radiation oncology resident in 1991, was appointed to the leadership roles on a temporary basis following the retirement of Paul B. Rothman. (Roberts, 12/10)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Biology, Anatomy, And Finance? More Med Students Want Business Degrees Too 

Jasen Gundersen never considered a career in business when he entered medical school nearly three decades ago to become a rural primary care doctor. But, today, he isn’t working in rural America and he doesn’t do primary care. In fact, he no longer practices medicine at all. As CEO of CardioOne, which provides back-office support to cardiologists, Gundersen is part of a growing trend: physicians and medical school students earning advanced business degrees to work the business side of the booming health care industry. (Liss, 12/11)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Watch: She Had A Home And A Good-Paying Job. Then Illness And Debt Upended It All. 

Sharon Woodward used to travel the country as a medical technician. She made good money and prided herself on her skills. But in her mid-40s, Woodward retired after being diagnosed with a debilitating form of arthritis. Her condition required expensive drugs and regular medical care, which left her with more than $20,000 in medical debts. (Levey and Norman, 12/11)