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.

Will HealthCare.com, a private endeavor, mislead consumers?

 If consumers type HealthCare.com instead of HealthCare.gov into their browsers, they will end up not at a government site but the web address of an enterprising company, reports The Washington Post. 

October 25, 2014

N.J., N.Y. implement new Ebola restrictions

New Jersey and New York have announced new restrictions that require physicians and other healthcare workers returning from treating Ebola in Africa to take a mandatory 21-day quarantine, reports NBC News. 

October 25, 2014

HHS extends anti-kickback waivers for MSSP ACOs

The Department of Health & Human Services' Office of the Inspector General and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have extended waivers to the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law for certain accountable care organizations through Nov. 2, 2015, reports Becker's Hospital Review. 

October 22, 2014

Analysis: Part D is main cause of $500B Medicare slowdown

Prescription drug spending (or Part D) has accounted for more than 60 percent of the slowdown in Medicare benefits since 2011, according to an analysis presented in Health Affairs.

October 22, 2014

Most uninsured don’t know about upcoming enrollment period

Only 11 percent of people without health insurance are aware that open enrollment is set to begin, according to The New York Times.

October 22, 2014

Open Payments website gets improvements

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a beta release of an online search tool to help users better navigate its Open Payments website, which went live with data on physicians' corporate relationships on Sept. 30, reports The Wall Street Journal.

October 20, 2014

Obama taps Ron Klain to serve as 'Ebola czar'

President Obama has brought in Ron Klain, a crisis-response operative and former chief of staff to two vice presidents, to handle the government’s response to Ebola, reports The New York Times.

October 17, 2014

Calming fears that ACA would overburden the healthcare industry

With 10 million individuals in the U.S. now on insurance rolls thanks to the Affordable Care Act, many worried that the already overburdened industry would burst at the seams. A UCLA study appears to put some of those concerns to rest, reports California Healthline.

October 16, 2014

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