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. 

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Cigna, Anthem dispute bills after failed merger

A proposed merger between two major health insurance providers ended in a messy breakup after antitrust issues prohibited the roughly $50 billion transaction in 2017. Now, the two companies, Anthem and Cigna, are still disputing which company will foot the costs of the failed deal, Bloomberg Quint reported.

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CivicaRx wants to change drug costs by working with pharma

CivicaRx, the not-for-profit entity created last year by a group of health systems and hospitals, is planning to achieve its goals of lowering drug prices and addressing shortages in hospitals by working directly with pharmaceutical companies and buying drugs, Bloomberg reported.

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Traveling and waiting for healthcare services costs $89B each year

Getting to and waiting for a doctor’s appointment will likely take longer than getting a car repair, according to a recent analysis of travel and wait times among professional services by Altarum. All that waiting and traveling adds up to a significant burden in the U.S.–– an average of $89 billion annually in economic costs from 2006 to 2017.

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Hospitals team up in surprise billing framework

A group of hospital associations sent a letter to Congress outlining their joint position to utilize a new set of principles to protect patients from surprise billing.

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Kaiser Permanente medical school to open tuition-free

The Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine, a new Pasadena, California-based medical school opening in 2020, will allow students to attend tuition-free for the first five graduating classes.

Healthcare to reach 19.4% of GDP by 2027

The healthcare sector will continue to eclipse more of the economy over the next several years, with national healthcare expenditures hitting 19.4 percent of GDP by 2027, according to the Office of the Actuary at CMS. From 2018 to 2027, healthcare expenditures will grow an average of 5.5 percent annually, hitting nearly $6 trillion.

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CVS Health reports losses after Aetna merger

After acquiring Aetna for nearly $70 billion, CVS Health has taken a financial hit. During the three months ending Dec. 31, 2018, CVS Health lost $421 million in net income, according to its end-of-year financial results.

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Healthcare stocks rise during market volatility

The healthcare sector has been on fire over the last several years, with investors in the space seeing big returns on stocks. Even during periods of volatility across the stock market at the end of 2018, the healthcare sector remained consistent, with “stellar returns,” Bloomberg reported.

Around the web

CMS finalized a significant policy change when it increased the Medicare payments hospitals receive for performing CCTA exams. What, exactly, does the update mean for cardiologists, billing specialists and other hospital employees?

Stryker, a global medtech company based out of Michigan, has kicked off 2025 with a bit of excitement. The company says Inari’s peripheral vascular portfolio is highly complementary to its own neurovascular portfolio.

RBMA President Peter Moffatt discusses declining reimbursement rates, recruiting challenges and the role of artificial intelligence in transforming the industry.