HCA Healthcare names Chad Wasserman as Chief Information Officer
HCA Healthcare, Inc. announced that Chad Wasserman, a nearly 30-year veteran of the company, has been appointed senior vice president and chief information officer, effective February 1, 2024. Wasserman succeeds P. Martin “Marty” Paslick, who is retiring after 38 years with HCA Healthcare.
As chief information officer, Wasserman will lead more than 6,700 colleagues in the Information Technology Group (ITG), which provides global IT strategy, solutions and support for HCA Healthcare and its hospitals and sites of care. He will oversee the group’s array of solutions including infrastructure, cloud, automation, data engineering, software development, enterprise systems and clinical technology initiatives.
Wasserman has been with HCA Healthcare for 28 years and previously served as senior vice president and chief operating officer for ITG. Throughout his career with the company, he has served in a variety of senior leadership positions including vice president of ITG Service Line and Corporate Solutions, vice president of ITG Digital Patient Experience and vice president of ITG Infrastructure Services and Operations. Prior to 2017, Wasserman was chief information officer of Parallon Business Performance Group.
Wasserman holds a masters degree in business administration from Tennessee State University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Villanova University. He currently serves on the executive committee of the Nashville Technology Council and is an HCA Healthcare Hope Fund board member.
Participation grows in CMS’ Accountable Care Organization Initiatives
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced increased participation in CMS’ accountable care organization (ACO) initiatives in 2024. Increased participation will increase the quality of care for more people with Medicare. 19 newly formed accountable care organizations (ACOs) are participating in a new payment program which will enable ACOs to receive advanced interest payments to care for underserved populations. CMS’ priorities are to expand access to affordable care and health coverage for users of Medicare across the nation. 50 new ACOs joined the program in 2024, and 71 renewed their participation, bringing the new total to 480 ACOs in the Shared Savings Program. Overall, in 2024 there are about 13.7 million people with Traditional Medicare aligned to an ACO, according to CMS.
Vizient projects 3.8% drug price increase driven by specialty pharmaceuticals
Vizient, Inc. projects drug price inflation to grow at 3.8% in the latest Pharmacy Market Outlook. Driven in part by specialty pharmacy, including the increasing utilization of weight loss drugs, it is the highest projected increase since July 2019. In addition, the anticipated expansion of gene therapies will increase provider spend even more. View the Pharmacy Market Outlook.
Specialty pharmaceuticals, which treat high-cost, complex or chronic conditions such as cancer, infectious-, autoimmune- and pulmonary conditions, make up the majority of the top 15 medications in spend among Vizient pharmacy program participants. With 42 novel specialty drugs approved in 2023 – and 2024 likely to see a record number of approvals – the projected price increase for specialty medications is 4.18%.
Weight loss drugs, gene therapy, and biosimilars are largely driving the pharmaceutical price increases.