Government: Page 101
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UnitedHealth's acquisition of DaVita physician group gets FTC approval
Under an agreement reached with the federal agency, the payer will divest the medical group's Las Vegas practice to Intermountain Healthcare.
By Shannon Muchmore • June 20, 2019 -
Public option, increased premium credits could save $12B
Such changes would also provide coverage for an additional 1.2 million people, according to a report from the Urban Institute.
By Shannon Muchmore • June 19, 2019 -
CMS proposes rule to set Part D electronic prior authorization standards
Under the standard, providers can use an electronic prescribing system or EHRs to determine whether a plan requires prior authorization for the medication being prescribed and submit the information in real time.
By Shannon Muchmore • June 18, 2019 -
Senators differ on best approach to ban surprise billing
Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., seemed to support a guarantee that any care received at an in-network facility would be covered by a patient's insurer, a measure opposed by the provider lobby.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated June 19, 2019 -
MedPAC urges MA data, primary care reforms
Included in the recommendations to Congress are changes to slow the growth of ER spending in Medicare fee-for-service.
By Samantha Liss • June 14, 2019 -
House votes to overturn decades-old ban on national patient identifier
Industry cheered the first step in repealing the 23-year-old ban, with NextGate CTO Dan Cidon saying it will "move the needle" on interoperability.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • June 14, 2019 -
CMS warned Trump policies would hike taxes, cause ACA disruption, internal memo says
Democratic leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter Friday to HHS Secretary Alex Azar inquiring into the harmful effects of administration policies in light of what they called "damning" evidence.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • June 14, 2019 -
Yujin Kim/Healthcare Dive
FDA taps IBM, Walmart for blockchain pilot project
Merck and KPMG will also be part of the initiative, which aims to track medicines and ensure their integrity across the supply chain.
By Kristin Jensen • June 13, 2019 -
Payers, providers dig in on surprise billing proposals
Industry groups are testifying on the issue before Congress again Wednesday at the third hearing in as many months.
By Shannon Muchmore • June 12, 2019 -
AMA affirms opposition to single-payer in close vote
Other proposals the physician group adopted encourage a focus on vulnerable patients in alternative payment models, more scrutiny on pharmacy benefit managers' role in the drug supply chain and tweaks to the Affordable Care Act.
By Shannon Muchmore • June 12, 2019 -
Congress warns industry to hurry on surprise billing fix
"If you don't solve the problem, then we will solve the problem and none of you will like it," Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, told payer and provider reps testifying Wednesday.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • June 12, 2019 -
Industry balks at Senate proposals to boost competition, price transparency
Employers and health policy experts argued banning certain contract clauses and making more information available to consumers would benefit patients in comments to the Senate HELP committee this week.
By Shannon Muchmore • June 7, 2019 -
Price transparency proposals raise thorny questions
One hospital CEO is bucking the trend and embracing price disclosure, but the effectiveness of such requirements is unclear.
By Samantha Liss • June 7, 2019 -
CMS calls for ideas to cut red tape
Federal health regulators want to reduce the administrative burden and "needless paperwork" baked in the system and they're asking the public to submit ideas.
By Samantha Liss • June 7, 2019 -
Alex Wong via Getty Images
Industry cheers spirit but not fine print in HHS interoperability rules
The comment period of two wide-ranging regulations to promote interoperability in healthcare closed Monday night. Here's what industry's biggest players had to say.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated June 5, 2019 -
Utah wants capped Medicaid enrollment, spending
In a new demonstration waiver, the state proposes capping the growth rate of federal payments for its limited Medicaid expansion at the rate of medical inflation, rather than the usual, lower rate of consumer price inflation.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • June 3, 2019 -
ONC exploring ways to streamline electronic prior authorization
The HHS IT chief criticized the current state of electronic prior authorization at Academy Health's conference Monday, calling it a "non-computerized kabuki of payment" that "needs to get rethought."
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • June 3, 2019 -
In win for hospitals, Supreme Court rules DSH change violated law
The nation's highest court, in a 7-1 opinion, vacated an HHS policy that would have cut reimbursement to hospitals with high shares of low-income patients, saying the government did not follow proper procedures in issuing the policy.
By Dana Elfin • June 3, 2019 -
What's at stake in CVS-Aetna merger hearing: 4 questions
Judge Richard Leon will hear testimony from proponents and opponents of DOJ's settlement agreement with CVS and Aetna at what is shaping up to be a contentious hearing starting Tuesday in federal court.
By Dana Elfin • June 3, 2019 -
Getty Images / Edited by Supply Chain Dive
In disaster response, health supply chain egos melt away
A speedy post-hurricane return to normal requires competitors to become collaborators to effectively manage inventory and cold chains.
By Gary Wollenhaupt • June 3, 2019 -
DOJ loses bid to change contours of CVS-Aetna settlement hearing
The government argued the procedures for the three-day hearing set to start next week needed to be modified but the judge rejected the bid late Thursday, calling it an "eleventh-hour request to reshape next week's hearing."
By Dana Elfin • Updated May 31, 2019 -
Safety net hospitals fall behind in Medicare joint replacement model
The results could be because of inferior, higher-cost care from safety net hospitals or because the program "does not account for the increased social vulnerabilities of patients" in those facilities, the study authors wrote.
By Shannon Muchmore • May 29, 2019 -
Seniors' out-of-pocket spending on cancer drugs continues to climb
Despite efforts to limit Medicare Part D beneficiaries' financial exposure to high-cost drugs, price increases have wiped out some of the expected savings.
By Samantha Liss • May 29, 2019 -
US healthcare spending estimated to grow to $3.6T this year
Fitch Solutions anticipates a 4% growth rate, below a CMS forecast from earlier this year but still driven heavily by Medicare. Private insurance is not expected to be a primary contributor to spending growth.
By Tony Abraham • May 29, 2019 -
Senate health committee takes on surprise bills, price transparency in legislative package
The American Hospital Association said it was "concerned about several of the proposals that would allow the government to intrude into private commercial contracts between providers and insurers."
By Shannon Muchmore • May 24, 2019
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