Government: Page 96
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Price hikes drove employer-sponsored health costs to record high in 2018
The Health Care Cost Institute, drawing on data from Aetna, Humana, Kaiser Permanente and United Healthcare, found higher prices accounted for about three-quarters of the increase, while usage rose just about 3%.
By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 14, 2020 -
3 surprise billing proposals compared side by side
Congress advanced two proposals last week to ease unexpected medical bills as pressure mounts from consumers. Here are the key elements under consideration.
By Samantha Liss , Shannon Muchmore • Feb. 13, 2020 -
Explore the Trendlineâž”
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TrendlineSurprise Billing
Federal legislation banning surprise bills has hit a barrage of roadblocks, complicating efforts to protect consumers from unexpected out-of-network charges.
By Healthcare Dive staff -
As SDOH efforts take off, payers try to carve out their role
Signify Community's Jamo Rubin said at a conference this week, "in four years of medical school and then residency, I never learned one thing about what happens to people after they get discharged."
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 12, 2020 -
Rollout of VA's troubled Cerner EHR system delayed
More time is needed to complete the records system and ensure clinicians and other users are properly trained on it. A new launch date will be announced in coming weeks, the agency said.
By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 12, 2020 -
1 in 5 surgery patients hit with surprise medical bill, JAMA study finds
Anesthesiologist and surgical assistants were associated with the most out-of-network charges. The findings come as lawmakers in Congress debate rival proposals to curb the unexpected bills this week.
By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 11, 2020 -
Payers, providers on different pages on SDOH, consumerism, value-based care
"In our 10 years of fielding this research, I don’t think we’ve seen healthcare industry leaders so polarized on some strategic issues," said Change Healthcare SVP David Gallegos, "and so tightly aligned on others."
By Ron Shinkman • Feb. 9, 2020 -
Q&A
One Medical's CFO on why primary care is ripe for disruption
The company's IPO was for 17.5 million shares at $14, the low end of its range. On the listing day Jan. 31, shares jumped to about $20. Since then, the stock price has continued to rise.​
By Shannon Muchmore • Feb. 7, 2020 -
Azar touts 2019 greatest hits, glosses over setbacks in state of HHS speech
He skated over some high-profile efforts from the Trump administration that didn't bear fruit or sparked bad publicity last year, such as efforts to lower drug prices, Medicaid work requirements and cutting away at the ACA.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 7, 2020 -
CMS proposes changes to Part D drug tiers, real-time benefit info for seniors
The proposed rule would also allow patients with end-stage renal disease to enroll in MA plans starting in 2021. Payer groups, however, voiced concerns about the change.
By Samantha Liss • Feb. 6, 2020 -
FDA greenlights 1st emergency use coronavirus test
The decision means the diagnostic can now be used at any CDC-qualified lab. FDA said several other diagnostic developers are pursuing emergency use authorization.
By Maria Rachal • Feb. 5, 2020 -
HHS defends forcing hospitals to reveal negotiated rates
The agency took a jab at industry in its rebuttal to hospitals' legal challenge: "If patients pay less for healthcare, however, someone else receives less. Therein lies the genesis of this suit."
By Samantha Liss • Feb. 5, 2020 -
Courtesy of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
HHS partners with Regeneron on coronavirus drug development
The agency previously worked with Regeneron on the development and testing of an experimental Ebola treatment that proved effective in the 2018 outbreak of that disease.
By Ned Pagliarulo • Feb. 4, 2020 -
Hospitals spent $2.5B on social determinant programs from 2017 to 2019
The amount health systems are putting into SDOH initiatives is dwarfed by $60 billion in community benefit spending, but it's nevertheless a "substantial investment," Health Affairs researchers note.
By Shannon Muchmore • Feb. 4, 2020 -
Payers, providers urge CMS to scrap rule targeting supplemental Medicaid payments
The AHA warned the rule would "severely curtail the availability of health care services to millions" of people and cut Medicaid payments to hospitals by up to $31 billion annually.
By Samantha Liss • Feb. 3, 2020 -
CMS exchange rules for 2021 target premium subsidies
The agency is also seeking comments on a proposal requiring low-income exchange enrollees who pay no premiums to revisit the exchange during open enrollment to assert they're entitled to the same subsidy the following year.
By Ron Shinkman • Feb. 3, 2020 -
Payers, employers protest price transparency rule as wrong-headed
Most of the 23,355 public comments expressed skepticism or all-out opposition to the Trump administration's proposal targeting insurers.
By Samantha Liss • Jan. 31, 2020 -
Brian Tucker/Healthcare Dive
The Trump administration is offering Medicaid block grants. Which states will say yes?
So far, the governors of Oklahoma and Arkansas have both expressed explicit support for the guidance allowing states to cap payments for adults who became eligible for Medicaid under the 2010 ACA expansion.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Jan. 30, 2020 -
Codes for social determinants rarely used, analysis finds
The most frequently used code was for homelessness, followed by problems related to living alone and disappearance and death of a family member, according to CMS.
By Shannon Muchmore • Jan. 30, 2020 -
Brian Tucker/Healthcare Dive
Trump admin to allow Medicaid caps, but legal fight likely as providers protest
Providers were quick to attack the highly anticipated plan giving states the option of accepting block grants for payment in the safety-net program, choosing between a per-enrollee or total coverage budget.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated Jan. 30, 2020 -
Privacy versus access debate rages on, rekindled by Epic lobbying
Promoting interoperability without clear guardrails could lead to healthcare's version of Cambridge Analytica, Epic wrote in a public statement coinciding with ONC's annual health IT conference.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Jan. 29, 2020 -
Backing for unique patient identifier picks up steam at ONC conference
The current ban on funding UPIs is "misguided policy," Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., said Monday at the gathering of IT and industry officials. But other experts warned it's "not a panacea."
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Jan. 28, 2020 -
Providers won't be financially liable for info blocking in final ONC rule, due any day
"This final rule won't dive into penalties for providers," the country's health IT chief Don Rucker told Healthcare Dive on the sidelines of the agency's annual conference. "There will be future rulemaking on that."
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Jan. 28, 2020 -
Practice Fusion pays $145M in 1st criminal action against EHR vendor
DOJ charged the San Francisco-based company, now a subsidiary of Allscripts, with two felony counts for soliciting kickbacks in exchange for using its software to encourage doctors to prescribe more opioids.
By Shannon Muchmore • Jan. 28, 2020 -
Drug rebates from 340B, Medicaid could be applied twice, GAO finds
Poor oversight of the 340B Drug Discount Pricing Program and the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program may allow providers to improperly receive discounts from both, the watchdog said.
By Hailey Mensik • Jan. 28, 2020 -
Patient use of digital tools, 3rd-party apps to access health records rises in 2019
One in five patients granted third-party apps access to their health data last year, reviving privacy concerns as the industry waits for HHS to finalize rules setting standards around interoperability.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Jan. 27, 2020
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