California cancels $54M Walgreens contract over company’s decision to not sell abortion pills

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is making good on his threat to no longer do business with Walgreens over abortion pill access, illustrating how the drugstore industry is struggling to navigate shifting state abortion laws.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 9, 2023

House committee latest to launch investigation into PBMs

It’s the most recent action targeting PBMs for allegedly using their market power to raise drug prices, and comes as the Federal Trade Commission also launched a similar investigation.

By Hailey Mensik • March 8, 2023

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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

Texas women, denied medically necessary abortions, sue state to clarify exceptions to ban

The lawsuit highlights how abortion bans create a chilling effect for obstetric care, as physicians — worried about legal repercussions — can refuse or delay care to those with complications.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 8, 2023

Insurers, trade groups ask CMS to delay MA rule

Insurance lobbyists argue that the 1.03% plan increase is insufficient and, in combination with other changes, would actually result in payment cuts.

By Sydney Halleman • March 7, 2023

FTC pushes back deadline for public to weigh in on noncompete ban

FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson said she would have supported an even longer extension since the proposed rule is “a departure from hundreds of years of precedent.” 

By Samantha Liss • March 7, 2023

Biden’s plan to improve Medicare solvency targets prescription drugs

The plan — part of Biden’s 2024 budget proposal set to be released Thursday — would further reduce what Medicare pays for prescription drugs and raise taxes on Americans earning over $400,000.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 7, 2023

Healthcare cybersecurity still has room to improve safety

Steve Winterfeld, Akamai's advisory chief information and security officer, outlines the threat of cyberattacks to healthcare organizations and what the industry can do to prevent them.

By Steve Winterfeld • March 3, 2023

FTC bans BetterHelp from sharing consumer data with advertisers, issues $7.8M fine

It’s the latest enforcement action accusing a digital health company of sharing consumer data with advertisers.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 2, 2023

Gross margins in MA market returned to pre-pandemic levels by end of 2021, report finds

The analysis of insurer markets in 2021, the latest year of available annual data, sheds light into the varied financial performance of insurers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Sydney Halleman • March 1, 2023

Lilly to lower insulin prices by 70%

The pharma company has long been under pressure over the high cost of insulin — scrutiny that has recently ramped up in the U.S.

By Jonathan Gardner • March 1, 2023

Why regulators didn’t challenge Amazon-One Medical deal, despite data concerns

The ecommerce giant's $3.9 billion buy of primary care company One Medical closed without a challenge from the FTC, even as consumer protection groups and regulators aired worries about the tie-up.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 1, 2023

UPMC, top surgeon pay $8.5M to settle whistleblower lawsuit over simultaneous surgeries

The lawsuit alleges that UPMC’s longtime head of cardiothoracic surgery, James Luketich, regularly performed as many as three complex surgeries at the same time.

By Rebecca Pifer • Feb. 28, 2023

Illinois nurses file class action lawsuit against Ascension over wage issues

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of four current and former Illinois nurses, alleges that Ascension failed to properly pay employees and that the health system engaged in “improper” cost-cutting practices.

By Sydney Halleman • Feb. 27, 2023

CMS says surprise billing arbitration can resume for some disputes — others remain on pause

Regulators are continuing to work on new guidance in light of a court decision that ruled against the government and threw a wrench in the third-party process to resolve payment disputes between payers and providers.

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 27, 2023

FDA authorizes first at-home flu-COVID-19 combination test days after its developer files for bankruptcy

Lucira filed for bankruptcy protection last week, saying the “protracted” authorization process caused it to miss out on test sales in the latest flu season.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Feb. 27, 2023

Partisan gridlock shouldn’t threaten true value in healthcare

Oak Street CEO Mike Pykosz makes the case for value-based healthcare policy despite potential partisan gridlock in the 118th Congress.

By Mike Pykosz • Feb. 24, 2023

Hospital lobby opposes noncompete ban, says ‘now is not the time to upend’ labor markets

The American Hospital Association is pushing the FTC to abandon its proposal to eliminate restrictive covenants. At the very least, the lobby wants physicians and senior executives exempt.

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 24, 2023

Amazon closes $3.9B buy of One Medical

The acquisition, which closed without a challenge from regulators, gives Amazon a footprint in primary care and reinvigorates the company’s long-held plans to sell healthcare services to employers.

By Rebecca Pifer • Feb. 22, 2023

HIPAA complaints, breaches increased from 2017 to 2021 as HHS urges more funding

The HHS Office for Civil Rights is facing a “severe strain” on its staff and budget amid rising breaches and complaints, according to the agency’s annual report to Congress.

By Rebecca Pifer • Feb. 21, 2023

Medicaid enrollees largely unaware of upcoming redeterminations, survey finds

About 64% of adults in a Medicaid-enrolled family said they didn’t know they could lose coverage once eligibility checks resume on April 1, a survey from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 21, 2023

Could Medicaid redeterminations cause short-term health plan signups to spike?

Short-term plan operators will likely ramp up their marketing in April to nab new consumers from the Medicaid churn, but health policy experts largely aren't concerned.

By Rebecca Pifer • Feb. 21, 2023

SUNY Upstate, Crouse Health System call off merger

The Federal Trade Commission, which opposed the tie-up, cheered the news on Thursday. Previously, the agency had warned state lawmakers about the dangers of shielding hospital mergers from antitrust enforcement. 

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 17, 2023

Lawmakers stress urgency of healthcare worker shortage

Addressing the education pipeline is one issue legislators can focus on to improve nurse and physician shortages, medical school and health system leaders said during a Senate committee hearing.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 16, 2023

Boston Scientific, MDMA call for more transparency, oversight of Medicare Advantage plans

Privately offered Medicare Advantage plans “do not often provide a clear reason for the denial of coverage, and rarely offer any visibility into the evidence and methodology,” trade group MDMA and Boston Scientific said.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Feb. 15, 2023

CMS plans trio of experiments aimed at lowering drug costs

The pilot programs could allow adjusted payments for drugs cleared under accelerated approval and help states manage the costs of gene therapies.

By Christopher Newman • Feb. 15, 2023