31. Retailers expand into healthcare
Walmart Health has opened four clinics so far, including this one in Elm Springs, Arkansas. They offer a combination of primary care, behavioral health, labs and other services.
Walmart made waves this summer when it began building out an in-store primary care concept it had been testing for a year. The idea was to create a “healthcare supercenter” with primary care, dentistry, counseling and labs all in one place, for low cash prices. Where it once just had two or three of these concepts, it now has 12 open, according to a list compiled by Boston-based retail consultant James Gardner. Of course, Walmart isn’t the only store beefing up its healthcare efforts. Amazon recently rolled out a pharmacy business based on its acquisition of prescription delivery company Pillpack, and Walgreens made a big investment in primary care company VillageMD.
32. Amy Coney Barrett
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett is sworn in by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas during a ceremonial swearing-in event on Oct. 26. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis,Getty Images)
The Trump administration wasted no time in nominating Amy Coney Barrett to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hardly a week after the latter passed away. Coney’s sudden appointment shifted the balance of the nation’s highest court, just as the nation faced a looming question: How would the nation’s highest court rule on a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act? The opinion will come next year and though it’s not clear how she will rule on the case, it seems unlikely that the sweeping health law will be repealed in its entirety — at least based on the questions the other justices asked during arguments. Coney played a decisive role in another notable health case on whether New York could limit attendance at churches and synagogues as Covid-19 cases surge in the winter months. Barrett tipped the 5-4 decision, barring the state from enforcing restrictions.
33. Healthcare M&A
Though industry reports indicate that healthcare merger and acquisition activity decreased in the first half of the year, a recent Kaufman Hall report shows an upswing in activity, with 19 transactions announced in the third quarter. However, that number is still far lower than the 25 deals announced in Q3 2019. Healthcare M&A activity was expected to be uncertain as the industry navigated the unchartered waters of the Covid-19 pandemic, but several large-scale deals have gone through this year like Teladoc’s massive $18.5 billion acquisition of Livongo. Provider consolidation has also continued with large health systems announcing mergers, including Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare and South Dakota-based Sanford Health — a merger that will create a 70-hospital system estimated to generate about $15 billion in annual revenue. Another major announcement came in August, when Virginia-based Sentara Healthcare and Cone Health, headquartered in North Carolina, said they plan to merge, forming a 17-hospital, $11.5 billion-revenue system.
34. U.S. Intelligence warning of ransomware attacks
Ransomware attacks on hospitals and health systems have become increasingly common — case in point, the ransomware attack on Universal Health Services in September, a national hospital chain operating 26 hospitals and 330 behavioral health facilities nationwide, But in October, such threats took a new import when in an unprecedented development, three federal agencies, including the FBI warned of a credible and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers. This indicated that U.S. healthcare systems must not only remain vigilant but also strengthen their cybersecurity infrastructure.
35. The Mask
Apparel has long been used to represent subtly or loudly what one stands for. You have the MAGA hat and the pink pussy hat in the Trump era. Then there were the suffragette sashes and white clothing during the women’s right to vote movement, and the Red shirt protests in Thailand in 2011. But in 2020, the humble mask has come to represent polar opposite political philosophies and perhaps could well represent the symbol of the times we live in — divided and bereft of a shared reality. Some embraced them, others burned them, still others wore them all wrong, while another set decided that if you had to cover up, there’d better be some bling.
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And on that sparkly note, here’s to ringing in the New Year with hope in our hearts and titanium steel in our spines to withstand whatever else comes humanity’s way next year. Bring out the bubblies or your favorite libation to celebrate but we sincerely wish you do so in the safe bubble of your home this holiday season.