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.

Stewardship Health sale to private equity finalized for $245M
The physician group, once part of Steward Health Care, has been rebranded as Revere Medical.
Baxter producing IV solutions ahead of schedule at Asheville-area site
The company said its largest production line at its North Carolina plant is operational, accounting for 25% of total output. The site was damaged by flood waters from Hurricane Helene.
Hackers were inside an Iowa hospital’s network for two weeks
St. Anthony Regional Hospital confirmed patient data was taken by cybercriminals, but the August incident is still being investigated.
Bill introduced in Congress would raise physician reimbursement by 1.9%
The Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act aims to change the annual Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services physician fee schedule, which cut reimbursement by 2.8% for 2025.
Good AI governance can spell the difference between smashing success and mere learning experience
Discussions of AI governance may cause many an eye to glass over, but the discipline is as crucial to the ascent of AI in healthcare as big training datasets drawn from diverse patient populations.

6 things to know about consumers’ healthcare policy priorities

A new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation asked what healthcare policies they’d most like to see Congress and the next president address—and making changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) wasn’t the most popular answer.

October 28, 2016

Largest Medicaid insurer in Mass. stops taking new members

Neighborhood Health Plan (NHP), a Medicaid managed care subsidiary of Boston-based Partners Health Care, is suspending enrollment of new members after $241 million in losses since 2014.

October 27, 2016

How Purdue Pharma stopped insurer efforts to limit OxyContin prescriptions

In 2001, when West Virginia noticed a rise in deaths due to oxycodone, the active ingredient in OxyContin painkillers, it tried requiring prior authorization for the drug. But its manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, wrecked the plan by offering rebates to a pharmacy benefits manager.

October 27, 2016

Vermont approves all-payer, ACO-like system

The state of Vermont is moving ahead with its first-in-the-nation all-payer model emphasizing value-based care.

October 26, 2016

Benchmark ACA premiums up 25% for 2017

The average monthly premium for the second-lowest cost silver plan on the Healthcare.gov marketplace will go up by 25 percent for 2017, according to HHS, the largest year-over-year jump in prices since the marketplace opened.

October 25, 2016

Fewer physicians, pharmacies faced DEA investigations as opioid addictions grew

A Washington Post investigation said the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) dropped its aggressive efforts against pharmacies, physicians, distributors and manufacturers to curb opioid abuse, mostly thanks to pressure from drug companies.

October 24, 2016

Hospital, insurer, pharma lobbyists push back against public option

The calls for a government-run insurance option on the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges are being met with resistance from groups that had supported the law.

October 24, 2016

California’s ‘surprise’ medical bill law targeted by lawsuit

A new California law on out-of-network billing may be blocked by a lawsuit from a controversial medical association.

October 24, 2016

Around the web

Cardiovascular Business

Q&A: Why are cardiovascular devices involved in so many recalls? FDA policies may be to blame

Cardiovascular devices are more likely to be in a Class I recall than any other device type. The FDA's approval process appears to be at least partially responsible, though the agency is working to make some serious changes. We spoke to a researcher who has been tracking these data for years to learn more.

Cardiovascular Business

Cardiologist compensation still rising, especially in invasive and interventional cardiology

Updated compensation data includes good news for multiple subspecialties. The new report also examines private equity's impact on employment models and how much male cardiologists earn compared to females.

Cardiovascular Business

FDA’s tirzepatide decision creates uncertainty for patients—and leads to a lawsuit

When drugs are on the FDA’s shortage list, outsourcing facilities can produce their own compounded versions. When the FDA removed tirzepatide from that list with no warning, it created a considerable amount of chaos both behind the scenes and in pharmacies all over the country.

Policy & Regulations

Stewardship Health sale to private equity finalized for $245M

Baxter producing IV solutions ahead of schedule at Asheville-area site

Hackers were inside an Iowa hospital’s network for two weeks

Bill introduced in Congress would raise physician reimbursement by 1.9%

Good AI governance can spell the difference between smashing success and mere learning experience

Around the web