National health spending reached $3.76 trillion in March 2019, a 4.6% jump from the same month in 2018, according to recent data from Altarum, underscoring signs of acceleration during the first quarter of 2019.

JPMorgan Chase has acquired InstaMed, a technology company with a focus in healthcare payments, for a purchase price of more than $500 million.

CMS finalized a rule that aims to boost transparency of the cost of prescription drugs in Medicare Part D and enable Medicare Advantage plans to negotiate better prices for medicines. Notably, the final version backs off a controversial proposal that would have allowed Medicare Part D plans to exclude certain drugs if prices rise beyond a threshold.

Physicians are bringing in more revenue at hospitals in 2019 than previously, according to a recent report from Merritt Hawkins.

CMS has issued a new guidance to limit the prevalence of spread pricing in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as part of a broader effort to lower prescription drug costs.

Rural hospitals are closing at a quick pace, leaving communities at a loss after sometimes long-standing institutions shutter their doors. In Fort Scott, Kan., the closure of a 132-year-old hospital had to be reckoned with, and the closure brings up the question of if small towns need a traditional hospital at all, NPR reported.

Forty-four U.S. states have joined together in a lawsuit against 20 drug manufacturers, accusing them of scheme to inflate drug prices and eliminate competition in the market, Reuters reported. The drugmakers are accused of jacking up the prices by more than 1,000% in some cases.

As the Trump administration looks for ways to reduce the burden on Americans when they receive a surprise medical bill, it could borrow ideas from New York, which approved legislation in 2014 that has safeguarded residents in the state from being hit with out-of-network charges.