Government: Page 95
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Medicare Advantage members rarely review or switch plans
A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis found that more than one in three Medicare beneficiaries reported difficulty comparing plan options and nearly half of those on Medicare said they rarely or never review their choices.
By Shannon Muchmore • Dec. 4, 2019 -
Disparities between care in rural, urban areas getting worse
"The game is rigged," Janice Probst, a professor at the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health, said. "If we don't change the game, we never win."
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Dec. 4, 2019 -
Deep Dive
Will sky-high drug prices spur the US to use an obscure power over patents?
New cell therapies as well as gene-based treatments like Zolgensma benefited from NIH funding of early-stage research. Advocates say the time is now for the government to invoke its "march-in" rights.
By Jonathan Gardner • Dec. 4, 2019 -
Senators push CMS, commercial payers on bias in algorithms
The letters sent to UnitedHealth, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana and Aetna flagged a study that found racial bias in a widely used algorithm for assessing healthcare needs.
By Susan Kelly • Dec. 4, 2019 -
Hospitals sue HHS, warning price transparency rule would chill competition, crash computers
An agency spokeswoman shot back that hospitals "should be ashamed that they aren't willing to provide American patients the cost of a service before they purchase it."
By Samantha Liss • Dec. 4, 2019 -
'Refusal to properly report' data breach spurs $2.175M fine for Sentara Hospitals
"When healthcare providers blatantly fail to report breaches as required by law, they should expect vigorous enforcement action," HHS Office of Civil Rights chief Roger Severino said.
By Ron Shinkman • Dec. 2, 2019 -
Fitch says 2020 healthcare environment bumpy but negotiable
The legal fate of the Affordable Care Act is one of several uncertainties, according to the report. Ongoing opioid litigation is another.
By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 27, 2019 -
US life expectancy down in recent years after increasing for decades
Researchers noted the decline comes despite the U.S. spending far more than other high-income countries on healthcare. Deficiencies in the system "could potentially explain increased mortality from some conditions," they wrote.
By Shannon Muchmore • Nov. 26, 2019 -
Mandatory CMS radiation oncology model goes on backburner
Originally, the agency was eyeing an implementation date as early as Jan. 1, but the new regulatory agenda lists July 2022 as a target date for the bundled payment model.
By David Lim • Nov. 26, 2019 -
Retrieved from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
AdvaMed lobbied EPA chief Wheeler on cancer report amid delay in ethylene oxide regs
Group purchasing organizations working with hospitals are already seeing the impacts of the closure of ethylene oxide sterilization facilities, said David Gillan, senior vice president of sourcing operations at Vizient.
By David Lim • Nov. 25, 2019 -
Medical devices bigger culprit in antibiotic-resistant infections than surgical procedures, CDC analysis shows
Antibiotic resistance was higher in hospital-associated infections linked to use of devices like central lines, ventilators and urinary catheters, according to data collected from more than 5,600 sites between 2015 and 2017.
By Susan Kelly • Nov. 25, 2019 -
Michigan focus of latest lawsuit over Medicaid work rules
It's the latest court protest of Medicaid work requirements in the nine states that obtained waivers. Most of the challenges have prevailed.
By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 25, 2019 -
Uncompensated care up significantly at US hospitals, led by Southeast
Smaller hospitals and those in states that did not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act were most hit, according to a new survey.
By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 22, 2019 -
Trump FDA nominee Hahn advanced by Senate HELP Committee 18-5
Ranking Member Patty Murray said she would not support the nomination due to a lack of a commitment to back regulations to take flavored e-cigarettes that have not gone under FDA review off the market.
By David Lim • Updated Dec. 3, 2019 -
Under fire, Google defends Ascension data sharing project
Since "Project Nightingale" came to light last week, debate has raged over health data privacy. The reply from former Geisinger CEO David Feinberg comes as lawmakers seek more information.
By Shannon Muchmore • Nov. 21, 2019 -
Kentucky hospital pays $10M to resolve false claims, kickback allegations
The deal comes days after Sutter Health agreed to pay $30 million to settle claims it paid a group of cardiovascular surgeons in exchange for patient referrals and $15 million for other kickback and Medicare billing allegations.
By Shannon Muchmore • Nov. 21, 2019 -
Medicare improper payment rate falling, but up in Medicaid, CHIP
For Medicare fee-for-service, the improper payment rate was at 7.25% last year, which CMS said is the lowest since 2010.
By Linda Wilson • Nov. 20, 2019 -
Providers take next step in social determinants: hyperlocalism
Industry can "help others have an uncomfortable dialogue about what is truly driving health outcomes in this country," Atrium Health's Alisahah Cole said at the Healthcare of Tomorrow conference.
By Shannon Muchmore • Nov. 19, 2019 -
Hospitals pledge to fight Trump admin price transparency plan in court
President Donald Trump said patients have "been getting ripped off for years" and HHS Secretary Alex Azar said the requirements are a "revolutionary" change for the industry.
By Samantha Liss , Shannon Muchmore • Nov. 18, 2019 -
FDA clears Pentax duodenoscope with disposable part in bid to cut infection risk
Center for Devices and Radiological Health Director Jeff Shuren called the clearance "another major step toward lowering the risk of infection among patients," and said duodenoscope safety is a top priority for the agency.
By David Lim • Nov. 18, 2019 -
IT execs call for HIPAA overhaul in 'Project Nightingale' wake
"People aren't doing anything against the law, but we're starting to think differently," Geisinger's chief informatics data officer said. "There's the legal court and then the court of public opinion, and that's starting to shift a little bit."
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Nov. 18, 2019 -
JAMA: Lower cost hospitals have similar patient outcomes as higher cost counterparts
A new study in JAMA Network Open questions the assumption that patient acuity and case mix have as much of an impact on patient cost as the priciness of the individual hospital itself.
By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 15, 2019 -
HHS office awards $6M contract to improve antibiotic use
The contract will fund Inflammatix's efforts to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections, in a bid to limit overprescribing of antibiotics and the emergence of superbugs.
By Nick Paul Taylor • Nov. 15, 2019 -
Timeline of the Affordable Care Act — still under siege
A decision is expected any day on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the ACA, a law that is no stranger to controversy and ire.
By Shannon Muchmore , Samantha Liss • Nov. 13, 2019 -
CMS pitches ramped up oversight of Medicaid payments, promises block grant guidance
Provider lobbies clapped back Wednesday against the proposed rule, with America's Essential Hospitals calling it a "deeply damaging" policy that would erode state flexibility and the medical safety net.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated Nov. 13, 2019
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