Government: Page 120
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Competition in ACA exchanges has plummeted since 2016
Counties without at least three payers offering plans tended to be rural and had higher mortality rates. They were also more likely to be in states that did not expand Medicaid.
By Les Masterson • Oct. 3, 2018 -
Pair of doctor surveys find burnout fears, pessimism about value-based contracting
More than half of respondents to a Doctors Company survey said EHRs are negatively affecting the physician-patient relationship, hurting productivity and damaging workflow.
By Les Masterson • Oct. 3, 2018 -
US pays 6 times more than Germany for cardiac implants, study finds
A dramatic divergence in the prices of stents and pacemakers was the most striking finding from an analysis of what hospitals in five countries pay.
By Nick Paul Taylor • Oct. 3, 2018 -
GAO: rural hospital closures increasing, South hardest hit
States with Medicaid expansion were less likely to have rural hospital closures than states that did not broaden the program, according to the analysis.
By Meg Bryant • Oct. 2, 2018 -
CMS launches online Medicare open enrollment initiative
Components of the effort include a revamped coverage wizard allowing users to compare the average cost of different plans and a standalone out-of-pocket cost calculator for both overall and prescription drug costs.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Oct. 2, 2018 -
Nearly a third of health IT developers producing FHIR products, ONC says
More than half of health IT developers are using FHIR combined with OAuth 2.0, the industry standard for authorization, according to a new report from the government agency.
By Meg Bryant • Oct. 2, 2018 -
Partners-Care New England merger granted expedited review
The Rhode Island Department of Health is speeding up the review because Care New England has "distressed" hospitals in the state.
By Les Masterson • Oct. 2, 2018 -
Report raises concerns about potential Massachusetts health system merger
A state agency reviewing the proposed merger between Beth Israel Deaconess and Lahey Health found that despite potential savings there's "no reasonable scenario in which such savings would offset spending increases."
By Les Masterson • Oct. 1, 2018 -
Medicare Advantage premiums expected to drop again
CMS predicted 36% of Medicare beneficiaries will have an MA plan in 2019, and more than 90% of them will have 10 or more plans to choose from.
By Les Masterson • Oct. 1, 2018 -
Supreme Court to hear DSH payments case
An appellate court found HHS violated the Medicare Act by altering the formula for disproportionate share hospital payments without public notice and comment.
By Meg Bryant • Sept. 28, 2018 -
Deep Dive
Hospitals prepare for uncompensated care payment change
The move is meant to even the playing field for hospitals and create more transparency.
By Les Masterson • Sept. 28, 2018 -
Readmission reduction program not associated with increased mortality, study finds
Researchers looked at mortality rates among Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for three common conditions and sought to evaluate the effects of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program.
By Tony Abraham • Sept. 28, 2018 -
Opioid interventions can curb overprescribing, boost MAT access, JAMA studies show
Though the root cause of the opioid crisis is still being debated, many attribute it to the rapid growth in prescribing starting in the 1990s and peaking in 2012 — a 300% expansion according to some metrics.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 28, 2018 -
Employer-based health insurance offerings increase for first time in decade
Healthcare costs, however, remain a major concern for small businesses, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
By Les Masterson • Sept. 28, 2018 -
Provider breaches more common than health plan breaches, but put fewer records at risk, study finds
Between 2010 and 2017, the Office for Civil Rights received 2,149 breach reports involving 176.4 million patient records.
By Meg Bryant • Sept. 27, 2018 -
Hackers exploit data in error messages to attack connected medical devices, report finds
Not all of the vendors notified of error message problems issued a patch, according to Zingbox.
By Meg Bryant • Sept. 27, 2018 -
Bipartisan opioid bill has IMD exclusion, expands MAT
The legislation, which also opens up non-addictive pain management alternatives and increases enforcement of illegal fentanyl, is expected to pass both houses as early as next month.
By Les Masterson • Sept. 27, 2018 -
Safety-net hospitals get break on FY19 readmission penalties, analysis finds
Some penalties are being cut by half or more, and 65 safety-net facilities that were penalized last year will see no dock at all this year, according to a data review by Kaiser Health News.
By Les Masterson • Sept. 27, 2018 -
AHA study finds hospital outpatient departments see sicker, poorer Medicare patients than independent docs
The research comes as CMS is proposing site neutral payment for hospital and nonhospital outpatient clinics.
By Meg Bryant • Sept. 26, 2018 -
Maryland reinsurance program credited for premium decreases
Before CMS approved the program, the state's four individual health plans requested an average increase of 30.2%, but they have now put forward rates with an average decrease of 13.2%.
By Les Masterson • Sept. 26, 2018 -
Medicaid expansion particularly helped rural areas, small towns, report finds
"Overall, the experience of Medicaid expansion states demonstrates the great opportunity for states that have not yet expanded Medicaid," Jack Hoadley, lead author of the report, said in a statement.
By Les Masterson • Sept. 26, 2018 -
Montgomery County Planning Commission
New York regulator warns CVS-Aetna merger could raise prices, reduce consumer choice
The state's top financial watchdog said the pharmacy chain's PBM would have an incentive to give the largest drug discounts to Aetna members, causing "anti-competitive effects" in the rest of the market.
By Samantha Liss • Sept. 26, 2018 -
Gilead creates subsidiary to sell generic versions of hep C blockbusters
Asegua Therapeutics will sell authorized generics of Harvoni and Epclusa at an annual list price of $24,000 for the most common course of therapy.
By Jacob Bell • Sept. 25, 2018 -
Reports explore connection between race, ethnicity, socioeconomics, health
The study by U.S. News and the Aetna Foundation found that the strongest predictors of community health performance were factors like high homicide rates, low birth weight and access to healthy, affordable food.
By Les Masterson • Sept. 25, 2018 -
Major healthcare groups question Medicare ACO proposal
CMS would like more providers to take on risk, but practices have been slow to transition.
By Les Masterson • Sept. 24, 2018
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