AMA, RAND check appetite for physicians moving to alternative pay models

OCT. 23: Centene Corp., which has carved out a successful pocket of business on the Affordable Care Act exchanges, is set to release third-quarter earnings. Revenue in the second quarter of 2018 was buoyed by growth in exchange enrollment and by expanding Medicaid business in new states. For Q3, Zacks Investment Research expects more of the same. The addition of New York-based health plan Fidelis Care to Centene’s portfolio also should help. Zacks predicts Q3 revenue will hit $16.1 billion; that compares with $14.2 billion in Q2.

OCT. 24: So, how do doctors really feel about alternative payment models? We’ll find out when the American Medical Association and RAND Corp. release findings from a new study. Initial research conducted in 2014 found that docs were participating in new payment models but needed help managing the huge amounts of data and figuring out how to discern between competing programs.

OCT. 25: News has been pretty good for Merck & Co. Will it continue with its latest earnings report? The drugmaker last week announced that it’s seen positive results in fighting late-stage kidney cancer from a treatment combo of its cancer drug Keytruda and Pfizer’s Inlyta. Merck also picked up an exciting new team member last week, Jim Scholefield, Nike’s global chief information officer. He’ll take over Merck’s IT and digital strategy.

OCT. 25: When Vocera debuted nearly a decade ago it quickly became the talk of the exhibit floor at HIMSS’ annual conference. The mobile communications company has since grown to be a household name across the industry. Zacks predicts Q3 revenue to be $46.4 million, up 9.7% from the same period last year.