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Industry news and insights by David Hamilton
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Squeaky Hips Cause "Cyborgs" to Squawk
As medical devices like artificial hips grow more prevalent, their recipients are experiencing a range of mechanical problems -- much like cyborgs breaking down -- creating a new challenge for their makers.... Continued »
BNET Health Care Insights
The Cyborg Industry Springs a Squeak
Medical devices are kind of the Rodney Dangerfield of medicine’s high-tech armamentarium. Sure, companies like Medtronic, Guidant and Stryker make artificial replacements or supplements for body parts ranging from hearts to bones (OK — joints), but for whatever reason, devices don’t seem to inspire the popular imagination the way, say, stem cells or gene therapy […]
...Health Care Articles
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The Cyborg Industry Springs a Squeak
Medical devices are kind of the Rodney Dangerfield of medicine's high-tech armamentarium. Sure, companies like Medtronic, Guidant and Stryker make artificial replacements or supplements for body parts ranging from hearts to bones (OK -- joints), but for whatever reason, devices don't seem to inspire the popular imagination the way, say,...
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Aetna's Ron Williams Speaks -- And Actually Says Something
This Fortune interview with Aetna CEO Ron Williams is a few days old, but as it just popped up in my RSS reader, it is, as they say, new to me. Since it's pretty rare to see someone like Williams candidly discuss the health-plan business, its problems and some intriguing...
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As Hospitals Hit the Skids, Odds of a Healthcare Crisis Rise
It's not just big insurers who are sinking into the swamp these days -- hospitals are slipping as well. And while it's a little early to know for sure, the problems of health plans seem quite likely to make those of hospitals even worse. Yesterday, Tenet Healthcare...
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Medtronic to Cut About 1,100 Jobs
By Susan Kelly CHICAGO (Reuters) - Medtronic Inc (MDT) on Tuesday said it would eliminate about 1,100 jobs this year, or almost 3 percent of its work force, in businesses whose growth has slowed, including its flagship heart rhythm device unit. The company...
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Good News Not Totally Absent in Healthcare
Medical costs continue to rise much faster than general inflation, the insurance safety net is fraying as health plans and hospitals push the financial burden of being ill back onto the sick themselves, and even people who get their insurance through work have seen their premium contributions rise ten times...
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Stryker's Biotech Unit Gets FDA Warning Letter
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Stryker Corp (SYK) said on Friday its biotechnology division received a warning letter from U.S. health regulators regarding quality systems and compliance issues at its Hopkinton, Massachusetts, location. Stryker shares dipped on the news and were trading $3.07 ...
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Humana Profit Rises 13 Percent
By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) - Health insurer Humana Inc (HUM) said on Monday that first-quarter profit rose nearly 13 percent, beating dramatically reduced expectations, helped by its commercial plans for employers and a lower-than-expected tax rate. Shares rose 3...
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Coventry Health Profit Up 3 Percent, Meets Estimates
By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) - Coventry Health Care Inc (CVH) posted a 3 percent first-quarter profit increase on Friday, matching Wall Street estimates, helped by higher membership, and the insurer backed its full-year forecast. Coventry shares rose more than 2 percent,...
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Coventry Health Profit Up 3 Percent
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Insurer Coventry Health Care Inc (CVH) posted a 3 percent first-quarter profit increase on Friday, matching Wall Street estimates, helped by higher membership. The company forecast second-quarter earnings below analyst estimates but backed its full-year outlook, which...
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3M Profit Tops Street View
NEW YORK (Reuters) - 3M Co (MMM), a diversified manufacturer whose products include Scotch tape and Post-It notes, reported lower first-quarter profit on Thursday but beat analysts' estimates as strong international sales offset economic challenges in the United States. Net income...
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Aetna Profit Meets Street
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Aetna Inc (AET) on Thursday posted first-quarter profit that met Wall Street expectations, helped by higher membership, and the health insurer backed its 2008 profit forecast. The No. 3 U.S. health insurer also raised its enrollment projection...
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WellPoint Cuts 2008 Forecast After Profit Slumps
NEW YORK (Reuters) - WellPoint Inc (WLP) said on Wednesday first-quarter profit slumped a steeper-than-expected 25 percent on high medical costs, mainly in its Medicare plans for the elderly. The health insurer also further cut its 2008 forecast. The largest U.S....
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WellPoint Posts Lower Quarterly Profit
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Health insurer WellPoint Inc (WLP) on Wednesday said first-quarter profit slumped on high medical costs, including in its Medicare plans for the elderly, and further cut its 2008 forecast. Net income fell to $588.1 million, or $1.07 per share,...
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UnitedHealth Profit Misses, Cuts 2008 Forecast
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH) on Tuesday posted a lower-than-expected first-quarter profit, hurt by weakness in its business serving employers and lower investment income, and slashed its full-year earnings forecast by 10 percent. The lower outlook...
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UnitedHealth Posts Profit Rise, Cuts 2008 Forecast
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH) on Tuesday posted higher first-quarter profit, helped by its Medicaid plans for low-income Americans, but cut its full-year earnings forecast by 10 percent. Net income rose to $994 million, or 78 cents per share,...
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Boston Scientific Net Rises on Cost Cuts
By Susan Kelly CHICAGO (Reuters) - Medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp said on Monday quarterly net earnings more than doubled as cost savings from a restructuring program offset weaker sales in its core drug-eluting stent market. Stent revenue fell as Boston Scientific...
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Boston Scientific Net Rises on Cost Cuts
CHICAGO (Reuters UK) - Medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp said on Monday quarterly net earnings more than doubled, boosted by cost-reduction measures and a tax benefit. First-quarter net income was $322 million (162 million pounds), or 21 cents a share, compared with $120 million, or...
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Quest Profit Jumps 32 Percent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Quest Diagnostics Inc (DGX), the largest U.S. medical testing company, posted a 32 percent increase in quarterly profit on Monday on a boost in revenue from an acquisition, sending shares higher by about 6 percent. First-quarter net income rose to...
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Baxter Quarterly Net Up, Raises Outlook
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Baxter International Inc (BAX) reported on Thursday quarterly profit rose 6 percent, but another delay in getting its Colleague infusion pump back on the U.S. market weighed on its shares. Baxter, which also makes medication delivery systems and ...
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Abbott Profit Up on Drugs Sales
By Ransdell Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc (ABT) said on Wednesday first-quarter earnings increased 34 percent on higher sales of its prescription drugs and medical devices and favorable foreign exchange factors. The company reported strong sales gains for its top...
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Top Companies
- 3M Co. $54.5B
- Baxter International Inc. $39.7B
- AFLAC Inc. $32.3B
- Stryker Corp. $26.4B
- WellPoint Inc. $26.3B
- UnitedHealth Group Inc. $75.4B
- WellPoint Inc. $61.1B
- Aetna Inc. $27.5B
- Humana Inc. $25.2B
- 3M Co. $24.4B
- UnitedHealth Group Inc. $4.6B
- 3M Co. $4.0B
- WellPoint Inc. $3.3B
- Medtronic Inc. $2.8B
- Aetna Inc. $1.8B
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- Nonprofit Hospitals Get Wealthy Fast, but Don't Share Much+5 votes
- How Medicare Screwed Up Cost Saving in Lab Tests+3 votes
- Five Major Challenges for a $2 Trillion Industry+2 votes
- Comparative Effectiveness: Putting Medicine Under a Microscope+1 vote
- Insurers Take On Botched Medical Work -- With Their Checkbooks+1 vote
- Insurers vs. Drug Dangers: Cheap but Ineffective?+1 vote
- Medicare Ups the Ante on Medical Mistakes -- But Risks Going Too Far+1 vote
BNET Industry Analyst Profiles
David P. Hamilton
David P. Hamilton, a 14-year veteran of the Wall Street Journal, is a freelance business and medical writer in San Francisco. He most recently founded the LifeScience section of VentureBeat, a news site for innovation and venture business. Previously, David covered biotechnology, the Internet, and computing and served as a Tokyo foreign correspondent for the Journal. He is a two-time winner of the Overseas Press Club award and spent several years as a reporter at... more »
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AboutHealth Care Industry
BNET Health Care provides daily industry news coverage and insights for managers and executives, focusing on the major health care providers, hospitals and facilities, insurance companies, and medical device manufacturers. In addition to detailed company profiles, we bring you critical analysis on new alliances and partnerships, new products, health care cost control, partnerships and alliances, management and board changes, and a host of other important business issues.