Health Law

HIMSS19: Grassley presses CMS on recovery of improper EHR incentive payments

CMS Administrator Seema Verma told Healthcare Dive she continues to monitor efforts to recover the improper payments, but noted they occurred prior to President Donald Trump taking office.

By David Lim • Feb. 13, 2019
Opinion
Thought leadership: The time is now in healthcare

Thought leadership around health policy, access to care and public health issues is a proven way to differentiate and advocate for a brand, according to healthcare communications professionals Donna Arbogast and Nancy Hicks.

By Donna Arbogast, Nancy Hicks
Republicans eye modest Medicaid expansion

The safety net program is growing in popularity, leaving some GOP politicians to juggle the pros and cons of expanding it to more low-income Americans.

By Les Masterson • Feb. 10, 2019
State AG targets nonprofit UPMC for 'corporate greed'

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro lambasted the health system for refusing new state terms that explicitly require it to accept rival Highmark's members, and asked a state court to intervene.

By Tony Abraham • Feb. 08, 2019
EHR vendor Greenway Health hit with $57.25M False Claims fine

In addition to misrepresenting the capabilities of its software, the company is accused of falsely obtaining 2014 Edition certification status for its Prime Suite EHR.

By Meg Bryant • Feb. 07, 2019
Anthem members sue payer for inadequate notice of dropped providers

The insurance giant has agreed to delay considering Atlanta-based health system WellStar's primary care providers out-of-network until May after a request from the Georgia Department of Insurance.

By Les Masterson • Feb. 07, 2019
AHA roadmap to rescue rural hospitals calls for regulatory relief, new payment models

Other priorities include updating Medicare and Medicaid payment rates to cover costs of care and expanding access to telehealth, according to a new report from the hospital group.

By Meg Bryant • Feb. 05, 2019
Judge tosses Maryland lawsuit seeking to shield ACA

Meanwhile, four more states are seeking to join an appeal defending the Affordable Care Act after a Texas judge declared it unconstitutional in December.

By Meg Bryant • Feb. 04, 2019
States ill-equipped to oversee short-term plans

Officials worry consumers won't be fully informed about what they're purchasing after researching short-term plans, according to a study from the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms.

By Meg Bryant • Feb. 01, 2019
Many health startups, like Theranos, lack peer-reviewed data to back claims

Of 18 current healthcare "unicorns," 10 had no highly cited published medical papers and three had no published papers at all, according to Stanford researchers.

By Meg Bryant • Jan. 31, 2019
California hospital revenue, profitability rose under ACA, Medicaid expansion

Expansion replaced nearly all county-run safety net programs in the state, according to a new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper.

By Meg Bryant • Jan. 29, 2019
Optum sues exec hired away by Amazon-Berkshire-JPM

The financially successful health services arm of UnitedHealth Group filed the lawsuit to protect its trade secrets from being shared by a former executive who joined the new venture in December.

By Tony Abraham • Jan. 24, 2019
HHS charges California violated pregnancy resource centers' rights

The censure appears largely symbolic as the U.S. Supreme Court partially struck down the California law last year.

By Les Masterson • Jan. 22, 2019
CMS approves 8th state for Medicaid work requirement

Arizona's policy is expected to begin in 2020 and affect about 120,000 residents.

By Les Masterson • Jan. 22, 2019
Private equity boost, upskilling workers among 2019 sector trends, PwC reports

With the average health insurance deductible triple what it was a decade ago, the consultancy believes 2019 could also be the year for value line products and services — similar to the Southwest Airlines approach.

By Meg Bryant • Jan. 18, 2019
Democrats riding in on blue wave seek more liberal state, local health policies

Public health insurance options, individual mandates and a variety of Medicaid expansion plans are all on the table as newly installed governors and other officials announce their goals for the year.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 15, 2019
Judge orders DOJ to continue CVS-Aetna review despite government shutdown

Delaying the case indefinitely because of the ongoing shutdown could have "far-reaching consequences" on consumers, D.C. District Court Judge Richard Leon wrote in his order Friday.

By Samantha Liss • Jan. 14, 2019
Dems seek answers from Trump admin on CMMI, ACA

Democrats — and one key Republican — are pushing for transparency within Medicare's innovation arm while also demanding details on ACA policies.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 11, 2019
ONC to Congress: Room for improvement in data sharing

Ongoing barriers to seamless data sharing range from technical and financial to trust and business practices, according to the HHS IT department's latest progress report.

By Meg Bryant • Jan. 10, 2019
House Democrats hope to push all states to expand Medicaid

Meanwhile, some Republicans in D.C. support a partial Medicaid expansion for the 14 states that have not yet opened up their programs to include more residents.

By Les Masterson • Jan. 08, 2019
5 scariest health data breaches of 2018

They weren't all the biggest, but each shed a light on how the industry isn't improving quickly on the cybersecurity front.

By Tony Abraham • Jan. 04, 2019
Final ACA federal enrollment tally drops due to cancellations

The final numbers are roughly 43,000 lower than those CMS posted at the end of open enrollment last month and about 4% lower than figures a year ago.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 04, 2019
Dem AGs appeal Texas judge ruling against ACA

The group of 17 state attorneys general slammed last month's ruling that found the ACA unconstitutional. One official called it an "absurd interpretation of the law."

By Tony Abraham • Jan. 03, 2019
Court rejects 340B payment cuts in big win for hospitals

The district court judge asked the federal government and hospitals to come to an "appropriate remedy."

By Les Masterson • Dec. 31, 2019
ACA ruling could upend Medicaid expansion

Policy experts say it's hard to overstate the chaos the ruling would create if it stands, although many legal scholars doubt it will be upheld. Still, some managed care companies have contingency plans.

By Samantha Liss • Dec. 19, 2018