Government: Page 65
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How the pandemic has accelerated digital payments in telehealth
Digitalization can simplify the medical bill payment process and give patients more information earlier on about their financial responsibilities, experts said.
By J. Duncan Moore, Jr. • July 28, 2021 -
Medicare eligibility erases many healthcare disparities in US
Black and Latino people are far more likely to benefit from becoming Medicare eligible than any other demographic group in the U.S., according to a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
By Ron Shinkman • July 26, 2021 -
Missouri Supreme Court backs Medicaid expansion in unanimous decision
A separate Missouri judge on Tuesday ordered the state to begin enrolling people newly eligible for Medicaid without imposing any further restrictions on eligibility.
By Samantha Liss • Updated Aug. 11, 2021 -
VA pauses embattled Cerner EHR rollout for 6 months in major revamp
VA Secretary Donald Remy, who was sworn in just last week, plans to release an updated deployment schedule by the end of this year.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • July 22, 2021 -
OSHA standard compliance date arrives amid confusion, industry pushback
Provider groups say the lengthy rule effective Wednesday is tricky to implement in just 30 days, especially with a variety of exemptions for vaccinated employees.
By Hailey Mensik • July 21, 2021 -
CMS pitches stiffening price transparency fines, halting end of inpatient-only list
Hospitals notched a win with the proposal to reverse the Trump administration's rollback of the inpatient-only list, but took hits with added enforcement of the pricing rule and in other areas.
By Shannon Muchmore • July 20, 2021 -
Photo by Marcus Aurelius from Pexels
HHS earmarks $103M to address burnout among healthcare workers
The sector already had a high rate of stress and burnout, but the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly exacerbated the problem, especially as the delta variant causes hospitalizations to surge in some parts of the country.
By Ron Shinkman • July 19, 2021 -
Sponsored by ProviderTrust
Recent exclusion monitoring primary source updates: what you need to know
Learn more about recent updates to the main primary sources: SAM.gov and the OIG LEIE.
July 19, 2021 -
Biden executive order sparks debate on physician noncompete agreements
The document asks federal agencies to ban or limit noncompete agreements, which physicians regularly sign to restrict them from leaving, taking their patients and setting up their own competing practice nearby.
By Hailey Mensik • July 15, 2021 -
ACA marketplace snags 2M sign-ups during pandemic's special enrollment period
CMS officials said more generous subsidies installed from legislation passed earlier this year helped spur enrollment.
By Samantha Liss • July 15, 2021 -
Long-awaited interoperability framework TEFCA to go live in 2022, ONC says
The government will use the rest of 2021 to solicit more feedback before finalizing the first iteration of the Common Agreement and the technical framework for information networks to become qualified under the new system.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • July 14, 2021 -
CMS proposes extension of Medicare telehealth coverage
Provider groups are not happy with the payment adjustment in the rule — a 3.75% reduction to the conversion factor due to budget neutrality requirements — and will likely seek congressional intervention.
By Shannon Muchmore • July 14, 2021 -
Medicare to weigh nationwide coverage rules for Biogen Alzheimer's drug
CMS announced it would begin an official process to determine whether a national policy is necessary for Aduhelm and other drugs in development like it, responding to calls from insurers and patient advocates.
By Ned Pagliarulo • July 13, 2021 -
Hospital mergers to get added scrutiny under Biden order
The hospital lobby is against the executive order, which calls on regulators to "enforce the antitrust laws vigorously" and reminds them to challenge prior bad mergers.
By Samantha Liss • Updated July 12, 2021 -
FDA revises labeling of Biogen Alzheimer's drug to emphasize early treatment
The drug's already controversial OK was made more so for applying to an exceptionally broad patient group. Critics argued the original label would spur use in those unlikely to benefit and balloon Medicare spending.
By Ned Pagliarulo , Ben Fidler • July 8, 2021 -
Are recent labor actions getting nursing unions what they want?
While nurses in Cook County, Illinois, struck a deal in recent days, those on a more than three-month strike against a Tenet hospital in Massachusetts protested at the chain's Dallas headquarters Wednesday.
By Hailey Mensik • July 7, 2021 -
Walgreens plans 9 more micro-fulfillment centers for prescription delivery
The facilities will use automation to save pharmacists time and help Walgreens speed its prescription fulfillment process, according to executives.
By Edwin Lopez • July 7, 2021 -
Cleveland Clinic-owned hospital system pays $21M to settle False Claims allegations
Along with an Akron General Health System whistleblower, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation voluntarily disclosed to the federal government its concerns with some compensation arrangements, the DOJ said.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • July 6, 2021 -
CMS unveils new ESRD payment model in health equity push
The tweaks to the end-stage renal disease model is the CMS innovation center's first direct effort to address health disparities, a key priority for the Biden administration.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • July 2, 2021 -
Surprise Billing
First of surprise billing ban rules mum on arbitration details
The highly anticipated rule bans surprise out-of-network and balance billing beginning in 2022 for people in employer-sponsored or individual marketplace plans.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • July 1, 2021 -
Oklahoma Medicaid expansion kicks in, making eligible 190K low-income Americans
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra congratulated the deep red state and urged the 13 remaining states that have yet to expand Medicaid to reconsider.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • July 1, 2021 -
Opinion
Healthcare workers are part of American infrastructure
Congress should provide grants that allow schools of medicine and nursing in rural, underserved areas to expand and organize, the American Hospital Association's chief nursing officer argues.
By Robyn Begley • June 30, 2021 -
Congress pressures FDA, Biogen on Alzheimer's drug approval, price
The agency's decision-making process as well as Biogen's pricing of Aduhelm at $56,000 per year are both under the microscope as the repercussions of the controversial OK continue to be felt.
By Jonathan Gardner • June 29, 2021 -
SCOTUS will not hear hospitals' appeal against site-neutral payments
The rule barring hospitals from receiving higher reimbursements for outpatient services compared to other providers was widely challenged, but now stands with the high court's decision.
By Hailey Mensik • June 29, 2021 -
Biden administration aims to further rebuild ACA with proposed rule
The regulation would lengthen the annual open enrollment period, expand the role of navigators and nix Trump-era guidelines for waivers that were criticized for allowing states to skirt coverage requirements.
By Shannon Muchmore • June 29, 2021