FTC escalates price transparency crackdown with warning letters to hospitals

Regulators warned two dozen hospital systems that incomplete or misleading pricing disclosures could violate federal consumer protection laws.

By Jill Hughes • Oct. 6, 2026

Trump administration revamps insurer price transparency reporting

On Monday, the HHS and Labor and Treasury Departments finalized a rule meant to strip out junk cluttering cost disclosures, among other reforms. Employers cheered the changes, which are a mixed bag for insurers.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Oct. 5, 2026

Explore the Trendline➔

Surprise Billing

Federal legislation banning surprise bills has hit a barrage of roadblocks, complicating efforts to protect consumers from unexpected out-of-network charges.

By Healthcare Dive staff

Trump pledges to send $90 Medicare Part B rebates to seniors

About 20.8 million beneficiaries will receive a direct deposit or check this month, the latest in a growing list of cash payments promised by the White House in advance of the November midterm elections.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Oct. 5, 2026

FDA to prioritize guidance on AI, surgical robots next year

Over the coming year, the agency will look to finalize guidance for artificial intelligence-enabled devices and draft generative AI advice.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Oct. 2, 2026

Independence Blue Cross to pay $22.5M to resolve MA fraud allegations

Independence Blue Cross will pay to settle allegations it defrauded Medicare by inflating diagnosis codes for MA beneficiaries. The payer cited “industry-wide challenges” in applying MA risk adjustment standards.

By Jill Hughes • Oct. 2, 2026

Governors ask HHS for more time to implement Medicaid work requirements

The governors of Oregon, California, Maine, New Mexico and Virginia don’t think it’s possible for states to meet the Jan. 1 deadline to stand up work requirements while protecting beneficiaries.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated Oct. 15, 2026

HRSA discloses manufacturers approved for revised 340B rebate pilot

Ten pharmaceutical companies will start paying after-the-fact rebates instead of upfront discounts on 21 drugs in 340B at the start of next year, more than in the Trump administration’s first attempt at a rebate program.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Oct. 1, 2026

Here’s how much insurers are cutting Medicare Advantage plans for 2027

Newly released CMS data shows that insurers continue to adapt to pressure in the privatized Medicare program by culling plans. A press release stressing “stability” didn’t soften the blow.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 29, 2026

FDA nominee Overton parries vaccine questions at Senate hearing

Pressed by lawmakers on Thursday, Trump’s pick as the next FDA chief said she’d “follow the law” on key decisions and work to speed early drug research.

By Jonathan Gardner • Sept. 24, 2026

AI will inflate healthcare costs before lowering them, Oz says

AI will “turbocharge” medical billing and drive up costs in the short term, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz warned. But he said the pain is worth it for long-term savings.

By Jill Hughes • Sept. 24, 2026

Oz: Medicare Advantage a garden ‘vulnerable to weeds and overgrowth’

The CMS administrator’s comments Tuesday at an MA industry event suggest that the Trump regime remains interested in tougher oversight of the program, despite watering down or scrapping some of its biggest proposed reforms.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 23, 2026

CMS freezes new ACA broker registrations for 2027, culls ‘unauthorized’ enrollees

The agency said the pause would help crack down on fraud among new brokers on the exchanges. It also announced on Tuesday it would cancel the enrollments of more than 760,000 people.

By Jill Hughes • Sept. 23, 2026

MedPAC chair defends Medicare Advantage overpayment analysis at insurer lobby event

Amid growing public debate over how best to analyze spending in MA versus traditional Medicare, Dr. Amol Navathe, the leader of the group behind the most-cited estimate, stepped into the lion’s den to support its work.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 23, 2026

Trump administration sets preliminary cuts to Medicare lab reimbursement rates

The American Clinical Laboratory Association warned the steep annual payment cuts threaten patient access to critical lab testing services.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 22, 2026

New lawsuit targets Medicaid work requirements’ medical frailty rules

The new lawsuit, filed on behalf of five Medicaid enrollees and a swath of provider groups, says the CMS narrowed exemptions for those too sick to fulfill upcoming work requirements in the safety-net insurance program.

By Sara Heath • Sept. 22, 2026

Colorado judge: Doctor’s burnout wasn’t a disability

The Americans with Disabilities Act and related federal laws define disability broadly, but recent federal court decisions demonstrate the statute’s limits.

By Ryan Golden • Sept. 21, 2026

A hidden tradeoff in Trump’s MFN drug deals

The government has announced pricing agreements with 26 pharma companies. But the deals could stymie other plans to lower the country’s drug spend.

By Kelly Bilodeau • Sept. 21, 2026

Why HaloMD became a target — and what its top lobbyist says critics get wrong

Patrick Velliky is confident the No Surprises Act is lowering out-of-network spending, despite research to the contrary. HaloMD’s chief external affairs officer responds to criticisms of his analysis, and of his company.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 17, 2026

Federal watchdog accuses Humana, UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans of upcoding

Newly released HHS OIG audits of HumanaChoice and UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin found both plans frequently exaggerated the health needs of their members, generating almost $180 million in overpayments over two years.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 17, 2026

CMS to add more chronic conditions to ACCESS model in 2027

The Trump administration is expanding Medicare’s new technology-based payment experiment to cover more chronic conditions, including COPD, substance use disorder and tobacco cessation.

By Anuja Vaidya • Sept. 16, 2026

HHS adds new IDR entity as surprise billing disputes surge

Physio Solutions, which does business as Medlitix, is the 17th company certified to settle out-of-network payment disputes under the No Surprises Act as arbiters face increasing scrutiny from researchers and lawmakers.

By Jacqui LaPointe • Sept. 15, 2026

2.3M young adults could lose Medicaid due to Big Beautiful Bill: study

Actual disenrollment will depend heavily on how easy states make it for young adults, who move frequently and participate in hard-to-track gig work, to prove they should stay enrolled, the Urban Institute found.

By Jill Hughes • Sept. 15, 2026

More than half of hospitals still not fully compliant with price transparency rules: report

A record number of hospitals are fully sharing data on the cost of their services, thanks to the CMS stepping up enforcement. But there’s still a ways to go, according to PatientRightsAdvocate.org.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 11, 2026

Half of Medicare Advantage stars thresholds harder to reach in 2027

The CMS has released draft star ratings, including the thresholds for reaching those ratings, to plans. The grading sheet got stricter, which doesn’t bode well for insurers, one MA expert said.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 10, 2026

Veterans Affairs taps Amwell for telehealth revamp

It's another prong in the agency's digital health modernization project, which has faced setbacks and delays.

By Anuja Vaidya • Sept. 10, 2026