The emergence of private equity funding across physician practices has continued into 2019, with these firms targeting high-value platforms that can turn around a nice profit in a sale just a few years later. The phenomenon has led to a decline in independent physician practices and created new implications for care services, according to an article in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The $69 billion merger between CVS Health and Aetna is facing another potential obstacle, as the government shutdown could impact court proceedings currently holding up closure of the deal, Reuters reported.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar has a demand for the pharmaceutical industry: “Prices must start coming down.”

With high demand and high salaries, healthcare jobs took 44 spots of the 100 best jobs for 2019, as ranked by U.S. News.

President Trump summoned top officials for a meeting at the White House on Jan. 8, Politico reported. The meeting comes as major drugmakers raised prices at the start of the year, prompting a Twitter response from the president.

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, the largest public hospital in the city, sticks patients with sky-high medical bills because it does not partner with any private health insurance plans, Vox reported.

Cigna and Tenet announced “good news” on Jan. 1 after reaching an agreement on a new commercial contract. The previous contract between Cigna and Tenet was scheduled to end on New Year's Day, after both companies struggled to come to a new agreement over nearly a year of negotiations.

A new federal policy took effect on Jan. 1 that requires hospitals to post standard prices online. However, the rule, which intends to boost transparency, may be causing more confusion than clarity for patients, according to reports.