Welsh Carson agrees to pare back anesthesia market power to avoid new FTC suit

Antitrust regulators have reached a deal with Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe that doesn’t penalize the private equity firm for rolling up the market for anesthesia services in Texas, but tries to prevent it from happening again.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 17, 2025

Medicare will negotiate Novo’s GLP-1 drug price. Here’s what that means for Ozempic, Wegovy.

Novo sells semaglutide as Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy. The CMS will treat the different forms as a single product in price talks.

By Jonathan Gardner • Jan. 17, 2025

False claims settlements in healthcare total $1.7B in 2024

Healthcare fraud investigations accounted for more than half of the Department of Justice's settlements and judgments in 2024, which totaled north of $2.9 billion.

By Susanna Vogel • Jan. 17, 2025

Ozempic among drugs picked by Medicare for price talks

Announcing the 15 medicines chosen for the second round of negotiations is one of the Biden administration’s final health policy acts.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Updated Jan. 17, 2025

Tarver warns that US device supply chain vulnerabilities could harm patients

The new director of the FDA’s device center contrasted a European rule with the lack of mandatory reporting requirements for potential device shortages in the U.S.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Jan. 17, 2025

Private equity poses ‘new and unique risks’ to healthcare, federal agencies warn

A new report from the Biden administration calls for increased transparency in healthcare transactions to better monitor the growing influence of private equity on care delivery.

By Susanna Vogel • Jan. 16, 2025

Top healthcare technology trends in 2025

The shape of AI regulation will be uncertain under the Trump administration this year, while healthcare companies will continue bolstering cyber defenses to withstand increasing attacks, experts say.

By Emily Olsen • Jan. 15, 2025

HHS lays out strategic plan for healthcare AI

The agency’s road map, which outlines goals for promoting safe and equitable adoption, comes as the future of AI policy is uncertain under the incoming Trump administration.

By Emily Olsen • Jan. 14, 2025

CMS expands enforcement power over shady ACA brokers

A rule finalized Monday makes it easier for regulators to suspend agents and brokers from selling Affordable Care Act plans if they pose a risk to the exchanges.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 14, 2025

FTC releases second report slamming pharmacy benefit managers

Agency commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to publish the report, which makes similar allegations against the controversial drug middlemen as the agency’s first report released last summer — but relies on more data.

By Rebecca Pifer • Updated Jan. 15, 2025

CMS proposes Medicare Advantage payment hike in 2026

The Biden administration’s last MA rule is a boon for insurers, though it remains to be seen how the incoming Trump administration might put its stamp on the regulation before it’s finalized this spring.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 13, 2025

After Steward crisis, new Massachusetts law aims to strengthen oversight of hospitals

The law aims to close loopholes that officials say Steward Health Care exploited to keep regulators in the dark about its finances leading up to its bankruptcy.

By Susanna Vogel • Jan. 10, 2025

Private equity firms got rich while shirking obligations to hospitals, Senate report finds

The year-long inquiry into hospitals managed by Apollo Global Management and Leonard Green & Partners comes amid growing calls for increased oversight of private equity in healthcare.

By Susanna Vogel • Jan. 9, 2025

ACA signups set to smash record at 24M with enrollment continuing

The Biden administration attributed the growth to generous subsidies that are scheduled to expire at the end of this year.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 8, 2025

New rule wipes medical debt from consumer credit reports

The rule removes an estimated $49 billion in medical bills from about 15 million Americans' credit reports and bars lenders from using medical information in their lending decisions. 

By Susanna Vogel • Jan. 8, 2025

Health insurers will step off the roller coaster in 2025

After a turbulent year, things should calm for payers with the advent of a business-friendly Trump administration — though challenges will persist. Here are experts’ biggest predictions for 2025.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 8, 2025

FDA aims to stem AI device bias, boost transparency in draft guidance

The document follows the agency’s first digital health advisory meeting and a final guidance on postmarket updates to AI devices.

By Elise Reuter • Jan. 7, 2025

UnitedHealth, Amedisys delay close date of $3.3B merger

The massive healthcare company and the home health provider have agreed to push back the timeline of their deal after the Department of Justice sued to block it.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 7, 2025

FDA issues much-anticipated guidance on pulse oximeters

The FDA released the guidance in response to concerns that the devices are less accurate in people with darker skin pigmentation.

By Elise Reuter • Jan. 6, 2025

HHS proposes HIPAA update to boost healthcare cybersecurity

The security rule update, which would be the first since 2013, aims to clarify and provide more instruction on securing health data as cyberattacks and breaches in the sector skyrocket.

By Emily Olsen • Jan. 3, 2025

Independent Health settles with Justice Department over alleged Medicare Advantage upcoding

The $100 million settlement is one of the larger recent sums agreed to by an MA payer accused of inflating its members’ sicknesses to get higher reimbursement from the government.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 3, 2025

States curb CON laws to boost bed capacity

The COVID-19 pandemic and population growth have led many states to scale back or eliminate Certificate of Need laws, which require providers to get regulatory approval before expanding or adding healthcare facilities.

By Michael Brady • Jan. 3, 2025

VA to resume Oracle EHR deployments in mid-2026

More than a year after the agency largely put new deployments on hold, the Department of Veterans Affairs will soon begin work to roll out the medical record to four facilities in Michigan.

By Emily Olsen • Jan. 2, 2025

Biden signs funding bill extending telehealth flexibilities, but no relief for doctors — or PBM reform

Physician groups slammed Congress for allowing a 2.8% cut to their Medicare pay to go into effect.

By Rebecca Pifer • Dec. 23, 2024

7 bold policies to reshape rural healthcare

The CEO of the American Academy of Family Physicians argues for policies to incentivize growth in the rural primary care workforce.

By R. Shawn Martin • Dec. 20, 2024