Government: Page 54
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HHS asks for more information blocking authority from Congress
If Congress grants regulators the expanded authority, actors could be protected from steep fines for data-sharing practices the HHS previously said were acceptable under complex information blocking regulations.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • May 27, 2022 -
Rollback of pandemic protections to test Medicaid managed care organizations
At question is whether insurers will be able to shift Medicaid members who lose coverage to subsidized marketplace plans.
By Samantha Liss • May 26, 2022 -
Healthcare spending could drop $11.4B next year if ACA premium subsidies expire, research finds
The looming coverage cliff would also hit providers financially, according to a new report. President Joe Biden has pushed Congress to extend the more generous financial aid provided by the American Rescue Plan.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • May 26, 2022 -
North Carolina Republicans draft Medicaid expansion bill
The proposal, which signals growing support for expansion among state lawmakers after years of opposition, would add 600,000 low-income adults to the safety net insurance program.
By Susan Kelly • May 25, 2022 -
AHA urges DOJ to probe Medicare Advantage plans that deny care
The hospital lobby is pushing the Justice Department to punish Medicare Advantage organizations that routinely deny coverage to beneficiaries.
By Susan Kelly • May 23, 2022 -
Google hires former FDA digital health officer to global strategy post
In his new role, Bakul Patel will help Google build a unified digital health and regulatory strategy.
By Samantha Liss • May 19, 2022 -
Mass General files performance improvement plan with state
Massachusetts' largest hospital system has set cost savings targets after state regulators found fault with its healthcare spending growth and pressured the nonprofit to scale back a proposed expansion project.
By Susan Kelly • May 18, 2022 -
LabCorp becomes first company to get EUA for direct-to-consumer test for flu, RSV, COVID-19
LabCorp's kit is differentiated from other companies' products as it enables at-home sample collection without a prescription.
By Nick Paul Taylor • May 18, 2022 -
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (2020). "Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2" [Micrograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
NIH licenses COVID-19 technologies to WHO-backed program
The agreement, which covers three experimental vaccines as well as several key patents, makes products sold in 49 low-income countries royalty-free.
By Jonathan Gardner • May 16, 2022 -
Insurers seek steep marketplace premium hikes in Vermont
Proposed average increases on individual and family plans would buck the national trend of declining ACA exchange premiums. The increases would reach 17% for MVP Health Care and 12% for Blue Cross Blue Shield.
By Susan Kelly • May 16, 2022 -
Efforts to protect health workers from violence on the job ramp up
Renewed efforts to pass federal requirements for healthcare employers come as some systems are implementing their own policies to keep workers safe.
By Hailey Mensik • May 13, 2022 -
VA EHR implementation facing patient data, access concerns, audit finds
The multibillion-dollar Cerner implementation hasn't improved data exchange as well as some had hoped, as the departments "did not take all actions needed to achieve interoperability," the audit found.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • May 12, 2022 -
FTC likely to examine insurer overlap in Advocate Aurora, Atrium merger
Mergers with geographic overlap often face challenges. This deal doesn't "raise the same red flags, but it doesn't mean that it gets waved through," said Leemore Dafny, former deputy director of healthcare and antitrust at the FTC.
By Samantha Liss • May 12, 2022 -
Hospital, payer, IT groups urge Congress to overturn ban on unique patient identifier
Industry groups are ratcheting up the pressure on Congress to nix a decadesold ban on using federal funding to create a UPI. Subcommittees, meanwhile, are continuing hearings for 2023 appropriations bills.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • May 5, 2022 -
ER providers push for federal protection against rising health worker violence
Nurses have been bitten, punched and strangled with stethoscopes, "all while just trying to provide basic care to patients," Todd Haines, a member of the Emergency Nurses Association, said Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
By Hailey Mensik • May 5, 2022 -
Telemedicine reached disadvantaged communities during pandemic, study finds
The results surprised Johns Hopkins University researchers, who said it contrasted with earlier findings showing an inverse link between socioeconomic status and use of telemedicine in the pandemic.
By Susan Kelly • May 4, 2022 -
Surprise Billing
Air ambulance provider latest to sue over surprise billing ban
The central issue of the new lawsuit is the guidance the federal government has provided to third-party arbiters.
By Samantha Liss • May 2, 2022 -
Biden admin suspends Georgia plan to let private sector run ACA marketplace
CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said the controversial plan would provide coverage to fewer people and no longer complies with federal law and other policies.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • May 2, 2022 -
Bristol Myers wins FDA approval for first drug to treat inherited heart condition
Bristol Myers paid $13 billion to acquire the drug's maker, MyoKardia, and expects it to become a blockbuster. But a tricky dosing regimen, as well as safety concerns, could challenge the pharmaceutical giant's lofty forecast.
By Jonathan Gardner • April 29, 2022 -
Medicare Advantage plans denied some members needed care, OIG finds
The report calls for improved oversight of MA and urges the CMS to update audit protocols and issue new guidance on medical necessity reviews performed by the plans.
By Samantha Liss • April 29, 2022 -
'Very false and misleading' criticisms over direct contracting stoked model controversy, stakeholders say
Political ire around direct contracting that came to a head earlier this year was rooted in a "real lack of understanding," one CEO of a physician group said at NAACOS' spring conference.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • April 29, 2022 -
Moderna seeks FDA clearance for COVID-19 vaccine in young children
The biotech's shot would become the first available to children under 6, the last remaining age group currently ineligible for vaccination.
By Kristin Jensen • April 28, 2022 -
Surprise Billing
DOJ appeals surprise billing ruling in Texas
The Department of Justice intends to appeal a ruling siding with the Texas Medical Association, saying arbiters should not weigh any factor more heavily than others when resolving payment disputes between payers and providers.
By Samantha Liss • April 25, 2022 -
Biden admin drops challenge to Texas Medicaid waiver
The state's main hospital lobby called the waiver's survival, which was also praised by Republicans late last week, a relief.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • April 25, 2022 -
DOJ cracks down on 'largest and most wide-ranging' COVID-19 fraud
Defendants — including doctors, medical business executives and fake vaccination card manufacturers — caused nearly $150 million in false billings to federal programs, the DOJ alleged.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • April 21, 2022