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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Non-ACA-compliant plans in spotlight in Idaho, Iowa

HHS Secretary Alex Azar is set to meet this week with Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and the state’s insurance director, Dean Cameron, over their recently announced plans to allow insurers to offer coverage that doesn’t follow the Affordable Care Act (ACA), while Iowa is considering a similar move through its state legislature.

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What the AMA suggests Congress includes in opioid legislation

To help combat opioid addiction and abuse, the American Medical Association (AMA) suggested the Senate consider more than a dozen policies on everything from allowing Medicare to cover methadone in outpatient treatment programs to creating an addiction treatment-centered alternative payment model.

5 things to know about liberal group’s ‘Medicare Extra’ plan

The Center for American Progress (CAP), a liberal-leaning think tank, has added a proposal to the debate on how to achieve universal health coverage but without moving the U.S. to a single-payer healthcare system—though providers would be paid less than they currently are by private insurance and hospitals would need to adapt to a big expansion of bundled payments.

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Bon Secours, Mercy Health announce merger

Two Catholic health systems, Maryland-based Bon Secours and Cincinnati’s Mercy Health have announced plans to merge into a 43-hospital system stretching across seven states in the eastern half of the U.S.

HHS receives 300 religious rights complaints in a month

A month after HHS’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) launched its new division focused on investigating religious or moral objections by healthcare professionals, more than 300 individuals have sent in complaints about their rights being violated, according to The Hill.

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For-profit hospitals will save up to $800M this year thanks to tax overhaul

The tax cut legislation signed into law late last year will help most for-profit hospitals in 2018, boosting their bottom lines at a time when several major chains are struggling with weak admissions and making acquisitions and capital investments more attractive.

Mystery provider behind plans for $1B hospital complex in Indiana

A healthcare real estate company is planning a $1 billion project for a large hospital and medical offices on a site in Carmel, Indiana, with signs pointing to St. Vincent Health as the group behind the property’s development.

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3 things to know about proposed expansion of short-term insurance plans

Under a newly proposed rule from HHS, short-term health insurance coverage that doesn’t comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would be more widely available, which the agency admitted may lead to insurer losses on the ACA exchanges if younger, healthier customers leave that market to buy short-term plans.

Around the web

Compensation for heart specialists continues to climb. What does this say about cardiology as a whole? Could private equity's rising influence bring about change? We spoke to MedAxiom CEO Jerry Blackwell, MD, MBA, a veteran cardiologist himself, to learn more.

The American College of Cardiology has shared its perspective on new CMS payment policies, highlighting revenue concerns while providing key details for cardiologists and other cardiology professionals. 

As debate simmers over how best to regulate AI, experts continue to offer guidance on where to start, how to proceed and what to emphasize. A new resource models its recommendations on what its authors call the “SETO Loop.”