CMS launches investigations into denied emergency abortion care

The agency alleges that hospitals in Missouri and Kansas violated EMTALA by failing to provide needed care to a woman whose pregnancy became nonviable at 18 weeks.

By Shannon Muchmore • May 2, 2023

CMS targets Medicaid payment transparency, wait times in new proposed rules

The agency wants to create maximum waiting times for certain appointments in addition to requiring stronger quality monitoring and reporting standards for Medicaid and CHIP managed care plans.

By Sydney Halleman • April 28, 2023

Lawmakers show bipartisan support for site-neutral payments

Political will appears to be rising to equalize Medicare payments to hospitals and doctor’s offices for certain low-acuity services, according to lawmaker comments during a Wednesday hearing.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 27, 2023

FDA approves new ALS medicine in precedent-setting decision

The conditional approval is likely to influence how other experimental treatments for the nerve-destroying disease are tested and reviewed.

By Jacob Bell • Updated April 25, 2023

LCMC ordered by judge not to close HCA-acquired hospitals as legal battle continues

LCMC Health and regulators have filed dueling court requests over whether state acquisition approval preempts federal antitrust review in LCMC’s acquisition of three facilities from HCA. 

By Sydney Halleman • April 25, 2023

DOJ charges 18 in COVID healthcare frauds totaling $490M

It's the largest enforcement action against COVID-19 healthcare fraud schemes to date, according to regulators.

By Sydney Halleman • April 24, 2023

Supreme Court maintains access to abortion pill, blocking restrictions on its use

The stay suspends an order by a Texas judge that had invalidated the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, allowing access to continue while a circuit court hears the case.

By Delilah Alvarado • April 21, 2023

LCMC Health sues feds for blocking Tulane hospital deal despite securing COPA

The lawsuit comes after the Federal Trade Commission blocked the sale to allow for an antitrust review, despite the system receiving a certificate shielding the acquisition from federal scrutiny.

By Susan Kelly • April 20, 2023

Supreme Court delays decision in court battle over abortion pill

An administrative stay of a Texas district court ruling will remain in place through Friday, pushing out a Supreme Court decision in the closely watched case over the drug mifepristone.

By Delilah Alvarado • April 19, 2023

CMS walks back limits on non-standardized plan options, finalizes marketplace standards

The final rule comes as a record 16.3 million Americans, spurred by COVID-19 incentives, signed up for ACA marketplace plans during 2023 open enrollment.

By Sydney Halleman • April 18, 2023

Appeals court rules abortion drug can stay on market — but limits access

The Department of Justice appealed the order on Thursday, moving the fight over access to mifepristone to the Supreme Court.

By Delilah Alvarado • Updated April 14, 2023

HHS proposes rule shoring up HIPAA to protect reproductive health data, including around abortions

Privacy lawyers said the regulation would insulate physicians from the chilling effect of abortion bans, freeing them to have honest conversations with patients about their healthcare options — even in states where abortion is illegal.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 12, 2023

Legal abortions fell by more than 32K following Dobbs decision, new data shows

Legal abortions in the 13 states with near-total bans plummeted to under 10 per month in the six months after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to the Society of Family Planning.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 12, 2023

A Texas judge just turned back the clock on healthcare

The wiping out of preventive service requirements under the Affordable Care Act would render millions unable to receive life-saving preventive procedures, the CEO of the American College of Preventive Medicine argues.

By Donna Grande • April 12, 2023

New ONC rule aims to raise trust in clinical decision support algorithms

The rule proposed Tuesday would give providers more information in their electronic health record system to assess clinical decision support algorithms and their results.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 12, 2023

CMS proposes 2.8% hospital payment bump for 2024; lobbies decry rise as ‘woefully inadequate’

Hospital lobbies slammed the proposed rule as insufficient to help hospitals address inflation and rising labor costs, though research signals hospitals are more financially stable than such groups suggest.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 11, 2023

Federal judge invalidates FDA approval of abortion pill

The decision imperils access to the drug more than two decades after its U.S. approval, and could carry consequences for the FDA’s authority over prescription medicines.

By Delilah Alvarado • April 10, 2023

Healthcare added 34K jobs in March as temp nursing demand wanes

Hospitals may be catching a break from labor woes, with new data showing employment growth and declining demand for contract labor.

By Sydney Halleman • April 10, 2023

Biotech fears ‘dangerous’ precedent as judge challenges FDA authority

Industry leaders warned that “any medicine is at risk” if a federal judge’s decision to overturn the approval of abortion drug mifepristone is upheld.

By Ben Fidler , Delilah Alvarado • April 10, 2023

CMS cracks down on MA coverage denials and misleading ads in final rule

Both hospital and payer groups came out in support of the rule finalized Wednesday, finding common ground in the need to streamline prior authorization.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 6, 2023

Icahn ramps up rhetoric on Illumina after FTC orders Grail sale

In a letter to Illumina shareholders, Icahn says the two companies “should be separated immediately” to protect the “long term growth prospects and viability of each.”

By Peter Green • April 5, 2023

Some patients still pay for ACA-mandated free preventive care, study finds

Researchers in the study found that more than a third of patients incurred out-of-pocket expenses on the day of their ACA-mandated free preventative medical care service.

By Sydney Halleman • April 5, 2023

Provider groups push back on planned nursing home staff mandates

Two hospital groups are arguing that federal staffing mandates are a “one-size-fits-all” approach to the labor crisis and that issuing mandates could reduce capacity by forcing nursing homes to shut their doors.

By Hailey Mensik • April 4, 2023

Illumina ordered to divest Grail by FTC on anticompetition concerns

The San Diego-based DNA-sequencing company, which also faces a challenge from European antitrust regulators, said it will appeal the FTC’s order.

By Susan Kelly • April 3, 2023

Medicare go-broke date pushed back to 2031

The date Medicare’s hospital trust fund is expected to run dry has been extended by three years, but stakeholders continue to urge action from Washington to address Medicare’s long-term solvency.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 3, 2023