The savings that Medicare Advantage plans can bring to the table may have been over-weighted after a recent study revealed seniors who switch from traditional Medicare plans already have lower healthcare costs before they join an MA plan.

The FDA is putting an end to a program that allowed medical device companies to keep the public in the dark about reports of harm and malfunction. The program, called alternative summary reporting, was established in 1997 and its data has not been publicly available.

Adopting the prices of other countries could potentially have helped save Medicare part D as much as $72.8 billion in 2018, as drug prices in the U.S. averaged 3.2 to 4.1 times higher after rebates compared to the U.K., Japan and Ontario, Canada, according to a study published in Health Affairs.

HHS has finalized a rule that will require drug companies to publish the list prices of drugs in television ads. 

CMS is taking steps to streamline the review process for states that apply for section 1915 waivers and state plan amendments, CMS Administrator Seema Verma announced May 7.  

Tennessee is poised to become the first state of the union to ask for Medicaid block granting from the Trump administration, Politico reported.

CVS Health is still facing challenges from its $69 billion merger with health insurance giant Aetna, which closed in late 2018. While the deal was approved by all necessary state regulators and the Department of Justice, a federal judge is still mulling over the deal and looking at potential antitrust problems.

One of the nation’s largest health insurers, Aetna, will pay $86 million to HCA Healthcare after a lawsuit stemming from 2015 led to an arbitration trial.