We asked experts what they make of the J&J vaccine pause

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer, and today in healthcare news:

• We asked experts what to make of the J&J vaccine pause;
• Our reporter tried to find out how much it'd cost to get an MRI – and it turned into a real headache;
• Microsoft's $16 billion bid for Nuance gets it in on the ground floor of healthcare.

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Comments, tips? Email me at [email protected] or tweet @lydiaramsey125. Let's get to it…

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Doctors say fears of blood clots from J&J's shot are overdone and could delay the push to end the pandemic

• Coronavirus vaccines are facing their biggest safety scare to date.
• A small number of people immunized with Johnson & Johnson's or AstraZeneca's shot developed serious blood clots.
• Medical experts say a blow to public confidence in vaccination is a graver threat than the actual adverse events.

Here's what experts told us>>

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A new rule was supposed to force hospitals to reveal their secret prices. But after I spent hours shopping around for an MRI, I learned that not much has changed.

• Starting January 1, hospitals were supposed to publish prices they negotiate with insurers.
• To see whether the process had gotten easier, reporter Shelby Livingston tried finding prices for an MRI at nearby hospitals.
• She was unable to easily compare MRI prices, as most hospitals neglected to post negotiated rates.

Find out how far Shelby got here>>

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Microsoft is spending $16 billion to beat Google and Amazon to the ground floor of healthcare

• Microsoft is buying Nuance Communications to bulk up its healthcare services.
• Nuance is best known for conversational AI that helps doctors with notes.
• Microsoft stands to work with more than half of US physicians when the deal goes through.

Read on to see how the cloud wars are heating up>>

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More stories we're reading:

• JOIN US THURSDAY FOR A LIVE EVENT: Experts answer your questions about coronavirus vaccines and the risk of rare, serious blood clots (Insider)
• Researchers are puzzling over what to make of the link between COVID-19 vaccines and blood clots (Stat News)
• What to do if you got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine amid blood clot fears (Insider)
• Meet the billionaire who built an empire out of electronic medical records (Forbes)
• New data shows Moderna's vaccine remains highly protective 6 months after shots (Insider)

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- Lydia