Policy & Regulations

This channel includes news coverage of healthcare policy and regulations set by Congress, the states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and medical associations and societies. 

HHS warns hospitals to safeguard against LockBit 2.0 ransomware

While the cybercrime organization claims to not attack healthcare organizations it remains a threat to the entire U.S. healthcare and public health sector, according to a recent alert.

February 9, 2022
Money

More states considering legislation to help low-income patients pay high medical debt

The United States Census Bureau reports that 19% of U.S. households could not afford to pay for medical care right away.

February 8, 2022

Kaiser Permanente's 'secret' Medicaid deal with California raises eyebrows

The five-year agreement would make Kaiser Permanente the only insurer with a statewide Medi-Cal contract in California.

February 7, 2022

Oracle’s $28.3B deal to buy Cerner facing antitrust scrutiny, additional lawsuits

A filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission listed seven civil actions brought forth by Cerner stockholders that suggest disclosure documents contain "insufficient or incorrect" information.

February 7, 2022
Cybersecurity

UnitedHealthcare subpoenaed over data breach impacting 22,000 people

The Rhode Island Attorney General's office said "one or more" entities may have diverted from standard information safeguards.

February 3, 2022
Hypertension patients measured their blood pressure less frequently during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research published in Hypertension. In addition, when those patients did measure their blood pressure, the readings were less healthy than they had been before the pandemic.

Medicare patients will have access to free at-home COVID tests starting this spring

Under the Biden administration's new mandate, Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries will be eligible for eight free tests each month.

February 3, 2022
A cardiology practice in Florida and several of its cardiologists have agreed to pay $2 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act and committed fraud. As a part of the agreement, there has been no determination of liability.

Cardinal Health will pay $13M to settle kickback allegations

The Ohio-based drug distributor violated the Anti-Kickback Statute by offering to pay physician practices upfront discounts to buy pharmaceuticals paid for by federal health programs, according to the DOJ.

February 2, 2022

UnitedHealth subsidiary must pay $20M after purposely denying claims to ‘protect its bottom line’

The ruling ends a more than six year class-action lawsuit against United Behavioral Health.

January 11, 2022

Around the web

More than 5,000 U.S. physicians joined forces to launch the new group. They say they are focused on limiting private equity's involvement and influence in healthcare. 

Just 10.5% of U.S. physicians said they view private equity ownership in healthcare in a positive light. 

Kate Hanneman, MD, explains why many vendors and hospitals want to lower radiology's impact on the environment. "Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity," she said. "It’s also a responsibility."

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