Ethicists from the University of Basel have developed a biosecurity framework specific to neurotechnology while calling for a ban on dual-use technology with the aim of regulating mental privacy and integrity of humans. Findings were published in Neuron.

In a significant shift for HHS’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR), a new “Conscience and Religious Freedom Division” is being created dedicated to complaints from healthcare professionals who feel they were discriminated against due to refusing to perform certain services based on religious or moral objections.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, led a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee where he explored whether Medicaid expansion is at least partially to blame for the rise in opioid addiction and overdose deaths. Federal data, however, shows those problem began more than a decade earlier.

Days after CMS first issued policy guidance on how states could require “able-bodied” Medicaid beneficiaries to work or face losing their coverage, Kentucky has become the first with an approved waiver to test out those requirements.

The Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) will have 561 accountable care organizations (ACOs) participating in 2018, including 124 new entrants into the program, covering a total of 10.5 million assigned beneficiaries, according to CMS.

Full-year quality reporting will be required in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for the first time in 2018, but clinicians haven’t received word from CMS on whether they’re eligible to participate, according to the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA).

Following up on criticisms of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) at recent meetings, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) formally voted to recommend scrapping the payment system, arguing the program replicates flaws from those it was meant to replace.

CMS has released guidance for how states can seek Medicaid waivers imposing requirements for beneficiaries to work in order to receive coverage, a move which some healthcare groups quickly condemned and threatened to sue in order to stop.