Government: Page 19
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Courtesy of UnitedHealth Group
Optum Rx reaches $20M settlement with Justice Department over opioid prescribing
The UnitedHealth pharmacy benefit manager did not have to admit guilt as part of the settlement, which amounts to a minuscule fraction of its annual revenue.
By Rebecca Pifer • June 28, 2024 -
Walter Bibikow
Supreme Court allows emergency abortions in Idaho, sidestepping broader EMTALA questions
The Supreme Court declined to issue broad guidance on how to adjudicate conflicts between state abortion laws and a federal law requiring hospitals provide patients with emergency care.
By Susanna Vogel • June 26, 2024 -
Trendline
Labor
Hospitals are navigating persistent labor shortages with the need to cut costs — a source of contention that could leave patients caught in the middle.
By Healthcare Dive staff -
Walter Bibikow
Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors heads to Supreme Court
The case could have ripple effects across the country, where 25 states have similar laws on the books, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
By Susanna Vogel • June 25, 2024 -
Matthew Lloyd via Getty Images
Arkansas sues Optum, Express Scripts over role in opioid epidemic
Pharmacy benefit managers have largely avoided the brunt of public blame for the deadly opioid crisis. Arkansas’ lawsuit brings the drug middlemen back to the forefront of the controversy.
By Rebecca Pifer • June 25, 2024 -
Mark Wilson via Getty Images
HHS finalizes info blocking penalties for providers
Providers pushed back against the disincentives, with the Medical Group Management Association calling them “unnecessarily punitive.”
By Emily Olsen • June 25, 2024 -
yavdat via Getty Images
Federal judge sides with providers, nixes online tracker guidance
A federal court in Texas ruled regulators exceeded their authority in limiting providers’ use of online tracking technologies.
By Emily Olsen • June 24, 2024 -
yavdat via Getty Images
Appeals court upholds ACA’s preventive services mandate, but opens door to future challenges
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision Friday is a win for the upwards of 150 million people that receive health insurance through their employers. However, it paves the way for future lawsuits from opponents of the ACA.
By Rebecca Pifer • June 24, 2024 -
Getty Images North America via Getty Images
Steward further extends asset sale timeline. More delays could follow.
Steward has again delayed the sale timeline for several of its assets, including its physician group Stewardship Health.
By Susanna Vogel • Updated July 16, 2024 -
Courtesy of HHS
Q&AONC’s Micky Tripathi on laying the digital floor for healthcare AI
The agency head discussed ONC’s accomplishments over the past two decades, improving documentation burden among clinicians and artificial intelligence opportunities.
By Emily Olsen • June 20, 2024 -
erdikocak via Getty Images
OpinionPrice transparency enforcement is a shared responsibility
A principal strategist at Turquoise Health argues that regulatory enforcement is crucial for hospitals to post files compliant with price transparency goals.
By Carol Skenes • June 20, 2024 -
Stock Photo via Getty Images
Novant calls off plan to purchase CHS hospitals following FTC challenge
Novant abandoned its merger plans after an appellate court granted federal regulators more time to challenge the deal.
By Susanna Vogel • June 20, 2024 -
iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images
Uninsured rate expected to hit 8.9% over next decade, CBO finds
New government projections chart a rise in the nation’s uninsured rate as policies that swelled healthcare coverage during the coronavirus pandemic expire.
By Rebecca Pifer • June 18, 2024 -
erdikocak via Getty Images
Change Healthcare cyberattack
CMS to end Change Healthcare cyberattack financial relief program
The Medicare funding program, which launched in March to ease cash flow challenges for providers, will stop accepting applications July 12.
By Emily Olsen • June 18, 2024 -
Courtesy of Amazon
Amazon expands drug subscription program to Medicare members
RxPass is now available to more than 50 million Medicare members after Amazon brought it into compliance with the program’s regulatory standards.
By Rebecca Pifer • June 18, 2024 -
Thinkstock via Getty Images
Tracking Steward's declineLawmakers ask Department of Labor to protect Steward workers
Steward has a vested interest in keeping workers happy. Its assets, which the health system plans to sell this summer, could lose value if physicians quit.
By Susanna Vogel • June 18, 2024 -
Foremniakowski via Getty Images
Change Healthcare cyberattackBiden administration gives providers grace period to open surprise billing arbitration
Because of the cyberattack on Change Healthcare earlier this year, providers say they’re having difficultly getting the necessary information from plans required to kick off the dispute resolution process.
By Rebecca Pifer • June 17, 2024 -
Alex Wong via Getty Images
VA extends EHR modernization contract with Oracle
Despite patient safety and technical concerns plaguing the years-long rollout of the new electronic health record, the Department of Veterans Affairs extended its contract with Oracle for another 11 months.
By Emily Olsen • June 14, 2024 -
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
Lawmakers promise to stop kicking the can on Medicare solvency
The House Budget Committee met Thursday and said they’d take action to restore Medicare’s financial footing, though the hearing was light on specifics.
By Rebecca Pifer • June 14, 2024 -
Alex Wong via Getty Images
CMMI’s savings record sparks concern among lawmakers
Republicans at a House subcommittee hearing chided the innovation center for increasing federal spending, even as CMMI’s director said each tested model has resulted in valuable learnings.
By Emily Olsen • June 14, 2024 -
Alex Wong via Getty Images
CMS recalculates Medicare Advantage star ratings in major win for insurers
The redo comes after regulators lost two court cases over the methodology used to determine 2024’s quality ratings and should result in hundreds of millions of dollars in additional bonuses to plans.
By Rebecca Pifer • June 14, 2024 -
Anna Moneymaker / Staff via Getty Images
Proposed rule would wipe medical debt from credit scores
The vice president also called for states to increase oversight of their nonprofit health systems’ charity care programs, noting some patients incurred debt when they should have qualified for assistance.
By Susanna Vogel • June 13, 2024 -
andresr via Getty Images
Q&AComplex environments, 24/7 availability: Why cybersecurity poses a unique challenge for hospitals
Andrew Carney from HHS agency ARPA-H explains why hospitals struggle with cybersecurity and talks about a new program that aims to help them defend their technology environments.
By Emily Olsen • June 13, 2024 -
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
Overturning of Roe v. WadeSupreme Court preserves access to abortion pill in unanimous ruling
The high court said the plaintiffs’ “desire to make a drug less available to others” did not give them standing to challenge the FDA's approval of mifepristone.
By Delilah Alvarado • June 13, 2024 -
Foremniakowski via Getty Images
National health spending reached $4.8T last year, CMS actuaries estimate
More Americans had insurance in 2023 than at any other time in the nation’s history, spurring medical utilization and accelerating healthcare spending faster than growth in the overall economy, according to government projections.
By Rebecca Pifer • June 12, 2024 -
Win McNamee via Getty Images
MACPAC wants Congress to force states to disclose Medicaid financing streams
The influential advisory group has been lobbying the federal government to collect more detailed information on how states loop providers into funding Medicaid for almost a decade.
By Rebecca Pifer • June 12, 2024
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