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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6.3 million with pre-existing conditions face higher premiums under ACA replacement

If the current version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) became law, 6.3 million people with pre-existing conditions could be charged more by insurance companies, according to an analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Gains in insurance coverage stalled in 2016

For the first time since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law in 2010, there wasn’t an improvement in the number of people with health insurance last year.

CMS plans to take small business enrollment off HealthCare.gov

Enrollment in the small business version of the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges, known as Federally Facilitated Small Business Health Options Program (FF-SHOP), will be moved off HealthCare.gov for 2018, CMS has announced.

Senators plotting Plan B on ACA replacement

While a Republican-only group of U.S. Senators is crafting a version of an Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal-and-replace plan, another group of lawmakers is working on a backup plan—one that involves Democrats having a hand in the legislation.

CBO report on AHCA impact coming later in May

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) will release an updated report on how the American Health Care Act (AHCA) could affect insurance coverage and federal healthcare spending, with the score expected to be released the week of May 22.

HHS criticized over ‘potentially illegal’ memo

Republicans in Congress were critical of a memo circulated to HHS employees instructing them not to speak to federal lawmakers or their staffs without first clearing it with department leadership, saying it may infringe on the rights of whistleblowers.

Blue Cross Blue Shield steps in as lone exchange insurer in some Tennessee markets

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee plans on selling individual market plans next year in the Knoxsville area, which had been in danger of having no participating insurer on the Affordable Care Act exchanges for 2018.

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Q&A: Healthcare lobbyist predicts AHCA will die due to House-Senate disagreement

Major medical organizations appeared united in opposition to the American Health Care Act (AHCA), yet House Republicans passed the bill without making any changes those groups wanted. Julius Hobson Jr., former director of congressional affairs for the AMA who now works for law firm Polsinelli, told HealthExec there’s an obvious answer: campaign promises.

Around the web

The American College of Cardiology has sent a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that outlines some of the organization’s central priorities and concerns. 

One product is being pulled from the market, and the other is receiving updated instructions for use.

If the Trump administration continues taking a laissez-faire stance toward AI—including AI used in healthcare—why not let the states go it alone on regulating the technology?