Large dental supply firm Dentsply is acquiring competitor Sirona Dental for $5.5 billion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/business/dealbook/dentsply-to-acquire-sirona-dental-for-5-5-billion.html?utm_campaign=KHN%3A+Daily+Health+Policy+Report&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=22074792&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_p_iA9MCAcjWe0XRXQDBO2uV9e20H0Rq0i3N9KsroqS4N1laawnWwqfC8oOgumtqlG91dwsNWJU00W6tMjnaFTI_fzPH-nRB0sHqlG5dDpDNQJxq0&_hsmi=22074792&_r=0Proving that making lots of money doesn't make a company smarter, Google is apparently investing $32.5 million in struggling "new style" insurer Oscar, at a $1.75 billion. So far Oscar has mostly shown it needs a good actuary.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/google-backs-startup-oscar-health-insurance-1442374756?utm_campaign=KHN%3A+Daily+Health+Policy+Report&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=22074792&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8cZicOlwwg6VnAY8BWJDTC6HEnJvoFIt1anPy0KOLFgcLspdcIO6GE6qyxEM7d5Z802aQ4KfV7fRrAr3tRdQ4ubVrtgd0dOHOuRzwwxxT0Bn4UjNE&_hsmi=22074792Persivia, which aims to be a precision medicine and health analytics firm, is buying IHM Services Company, which provides clinical intelligence to hospitals.
http://medcitynews.com/2015/09/persivia-health-it-big-data/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=80d7526ff1-MCN+Daily+Email&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5092836c41-80d7526ff1-408793005New research in JAMA Internal Medicine finds that half the difference in readmission rates among hospitals can be explained by characteristics of the patients they treat, further demonstrating the poor design of the CMS penalty program.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/09/14/medicare-unfairly-penalizes-hospitals-treating-sickest-poorest-patients-study-finds/Wellness firm Training Amigo is seeking friends to invest $1.5 million in the company.