New physician fee schedule includes provider raise | Data breach lawsuit impacting 5.6M settled | Clinician addiction recovery

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced a 3.26% reimbursement increase for all providers, with those enrolled in alternative payment models seeing a higher rise.

The settlement fund is being established for victims of the March 8 data breach, with a hearing to finalize the agreement scheduled for March 2026. Yale New Haven Health System denies any wrongdoing.

The plaintiffs, 10 nurses and one doctor, are all enrolled in the state-mandated initiative for clinicians with past substance abuse issues. The rules require monitoring and regular drug testing to prove sobriety; however, the lot argues that the contractor in charge, Maximus, is being dishonestly punitive.

Rohail Raja, 45, and his wife, Sharma Alam, 45, are charged with first-degree grand larceny which carries a possible penalty of 25 years in prison. The duo are accused of submitting fraudulent bills to Medicaid for transportation services they never delivered.

Hackers at Qilin claimed credit for a data breach at MedImpact, a pharmacy benefit manager serving insurance plans. The company said the incident is still under investigation, and so far it appears no protected health information was compromised.

The company announced its IPO filing on Tuesday. Medline said it expects new investors to bring in a $5 billion influx of funds. A date has not been set for the stock’s listing on NASDAQ. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 351, which improves regulatory oversight of dental and physician clinics owned by investment firms.

The Missouri attorney general has demanded details on patient care, communications between providers and pregnant women, maintenance records and more in an effort to identify state residents who have sought abortions. 

Clinicians who come to rely on AI for decision support risk the dulling of their skills. The concern is not new. But now comes a pointed call to researchers: Inquire about the particulars of the peril.

"We need telehealth the way we had it for COVID," Cathie Biga told Cardiovascular Business at TCT 2025. "We don't want to go back to having it so restricted."