Government: Page 88
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Trump declares national emergency, opening up billions for coronavirus
It comes a day after the nation's largest medical organizations urged the president to take the step "to ensure that health care services and sufficient health care items are available to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak."
By Samantha Liss • Updated March 13, 2020 -
Q&A
Q&A: ONC chief Don Rucker's thoughts on the final information blocking rule
HHS has been working on a set of rules meant to expand patients' access to their medical information for half a decade. Here's what the U.S. health IT leader thinks of the accomplishment and the roadblocks to getting there.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • March 13, 2020 -
MedPAC suggests targeted increase in hospital rates
The commission's annual March report to Congress also showed Medicare Advantage enrollment continues to increase, with a 10% jump from 2018 to 2019.
By Shannon Muchmore • March 13, 2020 -
Cutting out-of-network hospital payments may save as much as single-payer system
A new study by the Rand think tank concluded that merely curbing out-of-network hospital payments could save well over $100 billion per year.
By Ron Shinkman • March 13, 2020 -
CDC/Alissa Eckert, MS. "covid-19 coronavirus on black background". Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/media/subtopic/images.htm.
As US officials shift tone, Trump stops short of 1 provider ask
The president addressed the nation Wednesday night but did not declare a disaster or national emergency, which groups like the American Hospital Association had sought.
By Samantha Liss , Shannon Muchmore • March 12, 2020 -
CMS launches payment model designed to lower out-of-pocket insulin costs
The new program for Medicare Part D plans would cap insulin copays at $35. Some commercial payers have already made similar moves to lower insulin costs, such as Cigna and Express Scripts.
By Hailey Mensik • March 12, 2020 -
ECRI: Poor sterilization, failure to learn from device problems threaten patient safety
The 2020 list put together by the nonprofit ECRI Institute also highlights diagnostic errors as a top patient safety concern for a third consecutive year.
By Maria Rachal • March 11, 2020 -
U.S. Centers for Disease Control. "CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) test kit". Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/testing.html.
CMS eases more Medicare restrictions to boost coronavirus treatment access
The actions won't necessarily remove cost barriers for patients. Most payers have not extended the coverage promises to employers' self-insured plans that cover the majority of Americans, and high deductibles persist.
By Shannon Muchmore • March 11, 2020 -
California accuses healthcare sharing ministry of misleading consumers
States are increasingly cracking down on alternative insurance from healthcare sharing ministries, which aren't required to pay out claims and don't have to cover basic health benefits.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • March 11, 2020 -
Payers, providers say interoperability rules threaten patient privacy
HHS officials disagree, however. "When you're in the electronic world, there's always risk," ONC head Don Rucker said. "I think we've put in some powerful protections here."
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • March 10, 2020 -
World Health Organization. (2020). "Map of impact" [Photo]. Retrieved from https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/685d0ace521648f8a5beeeee1b9125cd.
Hospitals dipping into emergency stocks to combat coronavirus
While more community spread of COVID-19 is reported daily, hospitals are bracing for a rush of patients and payers are waiving fees for telemedicine consults and extra prescription drug supplies.
By Shannon Muchmore • March 10, 2020 -
Block-granting Medicaid would cause program funding to plunge, Commonwealth Fund says
The funding caps created by block grants "would require states to cut coverage, reduce benefits, increase cost-sharing, lower provider payment rates" or otherwise reduce expenditures, according to a new report.
By Ron Shinkman • March 9, 2020 -
Coronavirus spread threatens spring slate of medical meetings
Following the the cancellation of HIMSS, America's Health Insurance Plans and the American College of Healthcare Executives also called off planned events as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb.
By Ned Pagliarulo • March 9, 2020 -
Alex Wong via Getty Images
Long-awaited interoperability rules finalized by Trump admin, prompt industry ire
Providers and entrenched health IT interests are unlikely to be happy with the final iterations, which largely mirror the proposed versions. One win: The timeline to come into compliance has been pushed back.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated March 9, 2020 -
CDC/Alissa Eckert, MS. "covid-19 coronavirus on black background". Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/media/subtopic/images.htm.
$8.3B in coronavirus funding set in motion as federal agencies ramp up response
A bill that has now been passed by the House and Senate gives HHS authority to temporarily waive certain Medicare requirements for telehealth services but does not address treatment reimbursement for the uninsured.
By Shannon Muchmore • Updated March 5, 2020 -
HIMSS20 has been canceled. Here are 5 panels we're sad to miss
As major players pull out, the conference is still on. "This is a fluid situation. We go hour by hour right now," a conference spokeswoman said Wednesday afternoon. Insiders say HHS could issue final interoperability rules at the event.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn , Samantha Liss • Updated March 5, 2020 -
High prices fuel pharma profits. New research provides more context
Drugmakers often enjoy significantly wider net income margins than large companies in other industries, and those profits have come amid steady price hikes for hundreds of medicines.
By Ned Pagliarulo • March 4, 2020 -
FDA seeks 'right balance,' permits immediate use of coronavirus tests
"We are not changing our standards for issuing Emergency Use Authorizations," Commissioner Stephen Hahn said Saturday as the agency issued new guidance aimed at accelerating testing capacity in the U.S.
By Susan Kelly • March 3, 2020 -
JAMA finds public insurance payments increased more than private
Lower back and neck pain and other musculoskeletal disorders accounted for the highest amount of spending in 2016 at an estimated $134.5 billion — 57.2% of which was paid for by private insurance, according to the research.
By Hailey Mensik • March 3, 2020 -
Trump to attend HIMSS20 as organizers prep for coronavirus
It would have been the first time a sitting U.S. president attended the annual HIMSS conference, now canceled over coronavirus concerns.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • March 2, 2020 -
CMS unveils participants in new ambulance payment model
Various units of private equity backed American Medical Response were among the more than 200 applicants throughout 36 states and D.C selected to take part in the effort aimed to fix misaligned incentives.
By Samantha Liss • Feb. 28, 2020 -
Brian Tucker/Healthcare Dive
FTC to block Philadelphia area health system merger in 1st big hospital challenge in 3 years
Jefferson and Einstein defended their union Thursday in a joint statement provided to Healthcare Dive, calling it a "creative effort" to increase access at a time when safety net hospitals are struggling.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 27, 2020 -
Verma teases ramping up oversight of accrediting bodies
The CMS head criticized those agencies as "not living up to that high bar" set for them and said inconsistencies in how they performed inspections were unacceptable.
By Samantha Liss • Feb. 26, 2020 -
More healthcare organizations admit lax mobile data security 'to get the job done'
Nearly 38% surveyed admitted to having suffered a compromise involving a mobile device in the past year, according to a new report from Verizon.
By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 25, 2020 -
Provider community weighs in on CMS bid to overhaul organ donation
The almost 840 public comments were generally supportive of the Trump administration's push to eliminate regional monopolies in organ donation.
By Ron Shinkman • Feb. 24, 2020
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