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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Air ambulances charge astronomical prices

Emergency services are well known for charging high prices, often leaving patients on the hook for sky-high medical bills when those services are billed out of network. In particular, patients with private insurance face far higher charges for air ambulance compared to Medicare rates, according to a recent study published in Health Affairs.

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Drug prices are soaring in 2019

Despite a major push from the Trump administration over the last few years to lower prescription drug costs, more than 3,400 drugs have seen price hikes during the first half of the year, according to a recent report.

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ProPublica report prompts hospital to examine practice of suing for unpaid bills

Waves of criticism against Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, a nonprofit hospital based in Memphis, Tennessee, have prompted the institution to examine its aggressive debt collection practices of suing low-income patients for unpaid medical debts, as detailed by a recent ProPublica and MLK50 report.

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Seniors shell out way more for generic prescriptions over brands

Generic prescription drugs may not be the cost-saving alternative once thought under the current design of the Medicare Part D program, which gives away such heavy discounts for out-of-pocket costs for brand-name drugs that seniors are actually shelling out way more for generics, according to a study published in Health Affairs.

Joint replacement bundles saved $1K per patient

Bundled payments are helping lower overall healthcare costs, with joint replacement bundles saving about $1,000 per patient annually, according to a second annual report on the model from the Lewin Group.

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Sanford, UnityPoint to merge in $11B deal

Sanford Health and UnityPoint Health have agreed to merge to become an $11 billion nonprofit health system, making it among the 15 largest in the nation.

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Patient sues Google, UChicago for sharing patient data

The University of Chicago and Google are facing a class action lawsuit after one former patient at UChicago’s medical center accused the institution of sharing patient records and violating privacy rights.

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Obamacare lawsuit faces another court challenge

Another unexpected threat to the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, came in the form of a federal appeals court, which asked if Democratic states and the House of Representatives have the right to defend the healthcare law in a lawsuit, Politico reported.

Around the web

The FTC alleges that pharmacy benefit managers have set up a system where they get rich, while patients are forced to pay rising insulin costs. The agency also called out drug manufacturers such as Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk, saying their own actions have raised serious concerns.

In the post-COVID era, wages for permanent RNs are rising, and wages for travelers are decreasing. A new report tracked these trends and more. 

Two medical device companies have announced a transaction that could shake up the U.S. electrophysiology market. 

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