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. 

Thumbnail

5 things to know about the Chronic Care Act

A bipartisan group of Senators is proposing ways to improve health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic conditions, which account for the majority of Medicare spending.

Hospitals, health plans incorrectly omitted from Illinois ACA exchange

Information on Illinois’ health insurance exchange may be incomplete or inaccurate as shoppers prepare for the fourth open enrollment period.

6 things to know about consumers’ healthcare policy priorities

A new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation asked what healthcare policies they’d most like to see Congress and the next president address—and making changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) wasn’t the most popular answer.

Largest Medicaid insurer in Mass. stops taking new members

Neighborhood Health Plan (NHP), a Medicaid managed care subsidiary of Boston-based Partners Health Care, is suspending enrollment of new members after $241 million in losses since 2014.

How Purdue Pharma stopped insurer efforts to limit OxyContin prescriptions

In 2001, when West Virginia noticed a rise in deaths due to oxycodone, the active ingredient in OxyContin painkillers, it tried requiring prior authorization for the drug. But its manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, wrecked the plan by offering rebates to a pharmacy benefits manager.

Thumbnail

Vermont approves all-payer, ACO-like system

The state of Vermont is moving ahead with its first-in-the-nation all-payer model emphasizing value-based care.

Benchmark ACA premiums up 25% for 2017

The average monthly premium for the second-lowest cost silver plan on the Healthcare.gov marketplace will go up by 25 percent for 2017, according to HHS, the largest year-over-year jump in prices since the marketplace opened.

Fewer physicians, pharmacies faced DEA investigations as opioid addictions grew

A Washington Post investigation said the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) dropped its aggressive efforts against pharmacies, physicians, distributors and manufacturers to curb opioid abuse, mostly thanks to pressure from drug companies.

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.”