Research from healthcare data analytics firm Trilliant Health found that negotiated rates carry a higher price tag for common services, calling into question the value of transparency regulations.

Traditional fee-for-service Medicare saw a slight dip in improper payments, which are usually associated with documentation errors and now outright fraud. CMS also released data on Medicaid and the CHIP program. 

Where have the missing rural American hospitals gone? And where is rural healthcare headed? The discussion is on in Washington and elsewhere.  

The Missouri complaint mirrors those brought by the Federal Trade Commission, the state of Texas and Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health, among others, in that it’s focused on alleged collusion between pharmacy benefit managers and drug companies to control the price of insulin. 

The insurer is planning to reduce reimbursement timelines for hospitals in Oklahoma, Idaho, Minnesota and Missouri from 30 days to 15. The details are unclear, but the company said the framework could extend nationwide.

The rehired workers were all part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). A union representing federal workers confirmed the reinstatements, and the Department of Health and Human Services has already sent emails to affected staff. 

Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health has accused the three biggest PBMs—Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx—of a de facto collusion scheme involving the primary makers of insulin, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi. The lawsuit alleges rebates offered by the manufacturers unfairly burden self-insured and public health plans, like the one the health system uses for its employees.

Numerous “alternative funding programs” are named as defendants in what is a larger challenge of the right of these third-party organizations to import drugs from overseas, bypassing FDA regulations. 

The latest federal jobs report brings good news to healthcare and social assistance, bad news to most other sectors.  

Keto-diet champions will like the new food pyramid’s emphasis on proteins, including those high in saturated fats. Not everyone shares their predisposition.