Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the financial outlook for the medical products and device industry from stable to positive, predicting that “continued product innovation” and synergies from acquisitions will drive growth of earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of between 4 and 5 percent over the next 12 to 18 months.

As Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett has said, one of the first priorities for the highly anticipated healthcare venture between Berkshire, Amazon and JPMorgan is finding a CEO to run it. According to CNBC, two of the three names on their shortlist don’t want the job.

Clinicians have until March 31 to submit 2017 performance data for the Quality Payment Program established after passage of Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). HealthExec spoke with Beth Houck, MBA, the vice president of client services at value-based program compliance and analytics software company SA Ignite, at the HIMSS18 conference in Las Vegas.

High performing practices earn nearly $150,000 more in medical revenue, after operating costs, than other practices. In addition, optimized medical practice operations yield the highest quality care for patients. To help practices better their earning potential and increase patient outcomes, Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) will host MGMA18 | The Operations Conference on April 22-24 in Phoenix.

Idaho’s plan to allow health insurers to offer coverage which doesn’t comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would result in CMS fining insurance companies and taking over the state’s role in enforcing the law, essentially denying the state’s proposal to violate the ACA—but also offering the state some guidance on how it could approve the plans in the future.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Presence president and CEO Michael Englehart told staff in a memo he “has decided to take some time off before pursuing new opportunities.” His last day will be March 30, ending a tenure with the company that began in October 2015.

Cigna announced this morning it will buy Express Scripts in a deal worth a total of $67 billion. The health insurer will assume $15 billion in debt from the pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) in addition to the $52 billion stock-and-cash transaction.

Health IT leaders, professionals and vendors saw few negatives in the new My HealthE Data initiative announced by CMS at the HIMSS18 conference in Las Vegas, even though CMS Administrator Seema Verma, MPH, warned that the agency would crack down on information blocking by vendors or providers.