Government

Medicare Part B premium to drop for first time in a decade, Biden says

The reduction is tied to lower-than-expected spending for the controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 28, 2022

Stopgap Senate bill advances, but leaves COVID-19 funding behind

The bill cuts funding for COVID-19 and monkeypox aid but extends two rural hospital programs.

By Sydney Halleman • Sept. 28, 2022

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Labor

Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitals need nurses so desparetly they're offering massive sign-on bonuses and staffing firms say open positions for both temporary and permanent nursing roles are at all-time highs

By Healthcare Dive staff

AHA asks HHS to delay Oct. 6 deadline for information blocking compliance

Health groups must start sharing health information electronically as regulators seek to make it easier for consumers to access their health data. But groups warn they’re not prepared to meet the deadline.

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 27, 2022

Nebraska awards Medicaid managed care contracts to 3 insurers

The health plans, selected from a field of five, will receive five-year contracts.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 27, 2022

DOJ’s case against UnitedHealth’s Change buy was hampered by ‘serious flaws,’ judge finds

The most serious flaws were failing to prove that UnitedHealth is likely to misuse Change Healthcare’s data to advantage the company, Judge Carl Nichols wrote.

By Samantha Liss • Sept. 23, 2022

Texas Medical Association files another lawsuit over surprise billing ban

“We are, once again, asking for the law to be followed as Congress intended, and for the challenged provisions to be invalidated,” TMA’s president said.

By Shannon Muchmore • Sept. 23, 2022

Watchdog faults FDA for rushing COVID tests to market by easing emergency use rules

The HHS Office of Inspector General found that by loosening emergency use authorization requirements to bring COVID-19 tests to market faster, the agency allowed inaccurate tests to be distributed.

By Elise Reuter • Sept. 22, 2022

Bipartisan Senate bill aims to boost mental health access, improve worker shortages

The legislation comes as the Biden Administration aims to tackle the country’s worsening mental health crisis, which was exacerbated by the pandemic.

By Sydney Halleman • Sept. 22, 2022

HHS ‘roadmap’ aims to tackle nation’s mental health crisis

The initiative prioritizes integrating behavioral health services into primary and other specialty care areas as well as community-based settings like schools.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 21, 2022

Majority of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, CDC says

Mental health conditions were the No. 1 cause of pregnancy-related mortality, the agency said.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 21, 2022

Judge denies DOJ’s move to block $13B UnitedHealth, Change deal

The judge’s ruling follows a trial in which the DOJ argued that UnitedHealth’s bid for Change would disadvantage rivals and result in higher costs, lower quality and less innovative commercial health insurance.

By Samantha Liss • Sept. 20, 2022

Health sector causes 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, report finds

The congressional report also found a majority of health systems surveyed had been affected by an extreme weather event.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 19, 2022

Hospitals sending ‘distress flare’ after billions in projected 2022 losses

A Thursday report prepared by Kaufman Hall showed that hospitals are likely to lose billions, driven by an overall expected $135 billion increase in expenses this year, and a $86 billion rise in labor costs alone.

By Sydney Halleman • Sept. 16, 2022

First Medicaid mobile mental health service to launch in Oregon

The program supports the 988 national hotline and is part of President Joe Biden's strategy to combat the country's mental health crisis.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 14, 2022

Amazon, Walmart among hundreds of employers, health groups urging Senate to extend telehealth flexibilities

The groups sent a letter to lawmakers on Tuesday asking them to extend pandemic-era access to virtually delivered care, including waiving provider and patient location limitations.

By Rebecca Pifer • Sept. 14, 2022

Biden to ‘supercharge’ cancer moonshot initiative

The president wants the U.S. to cut cancer deaths by at least 50% in the next 25 years, while also turning “more cancers from death sentences into chronic diseases people can live with.”

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 13, 2022

Sen. Lindsey Graham introduces his strictest national abortion ban yet

The South Carolina lawmaker announced Tuesday that he planned to introduce a 15-week national abortion ban in Congress.

By Sydney Halleman • Sept. 13, 2022

HHS will allow EUAs for monkeypox tests to increase access in US

The move follows the declaration of a public health emergency for the monkeypox outbreak on Aug. 4.

By Ricky Zipp • Sept. 8, 2022

FDA issues first EUA for monkeypox test

Quest Diagnostics' PCR test for monkeypox received emergency use authorization after the FDA issued guidance on how it will evaluate the tests.

By Elise Reuter • Sept. 8, 2022

Physician groups urge CMS to prevent payment cuts, protect telehealth

Multiple groups representing doctors oppose Medicare payment reductions at a time when physician practices face escalating costs.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 7, 2022

Missed vaccines open path for return of preventable diseases

Immunization rates declined across the board beginning in March 2020, according to the CDC, but the most significant drop was among children who receive vaccines through the Vaccines for Children program.

By Patricia Stinchfield • Sept. 7, 2022

CDC backs updated COVID-19 shots from Pfizer, Moderna

One day after the FDA’s authorization, the CDC recommended the companies’ omicron-targeted vaccines for most adults and children over 12 years old.

By Delilah Alvarado • Sept. 2, 2022

New rural hospital designation still needs tweaks and more flexibility, stakeholders say

Rural providers are weighing whether to switch to a new payment model as federal regulators aim to curb hospital closures.

By Samantha Liss • Sept. 1, 2022

Proposed CMS rule would streamline Medicaid, CHIP enrollment

The proposal comes as states begin to notify Medicaid beneficiaries about potential losses of coverage due to the impending end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

By Sydney Halleman • Sept. 1, 2022

FDA clears updated COVID-19 boosters from Pfizer, Moderna

The new shots, which are designed to better target circulating strains of omicron, could be available within days. Advisers to the CDC are set to meet later this week.

By Delilah Alvarado • Aug. 31, 2022