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. 

Study: Latinos, low-income adults most likely to remain uninsured post-ACA

While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its expansion of Medicaid lowered the number of Americans without health coverage, millions are still uninsured, and a new study from the Commonwealth Fund aimed to identify who they are and why they aren’t covered.

Arizona, Southeast US will feel greatest impact from ACA exits

The effects of major insurers—such as UnitedHealth, Humana and, most recently, Aetna—departing from some state health insurance exchanges will depend largely on where consumers live.

Duke professors argue ACOs haven’t worked

Duke University professors Kevin Schulman, MD, and Barak Richman, JD, PhD, called on the CMS Innovation Center to focus on telemedicine and wearable devices, rather than accountable care organizations (ACOs) which integrate hospitals, to reduce the cost of care.

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Aetna threatened to leave ACA exchanges if DOJ tried to block Humana deal

A letter from Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini obtained by the Huffington Post appears to contradict the insurer’s stance that pulling out of 11 Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges wasn’t connected to the government’s antitrust lawsuit against its proposed merger with Humana.

In marketplace, women may face more coverage gaps than men

Health plans purchased through the marketplace might be disproportionately damaging to women, according to a new study from the National Women’s Law Center. 

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Not everyone says new CMS star ratings deserves 5 stars

Despite CMS efforts to tout its new Medicare star ratings system as a transparency move and a consumer-benefiting action, not everybody is on board yet.

CDC issues warning about swine flu variant

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are telling children younger than 5, adults over 65 and pregnant women to avoid close contact with pigs at agricultural fairs after four cases of swine influenza infecting people were confirmed in Michigan and Ohio.

Aetna leaving many ACA exchanges, reversing earlier plans

Aetna will exit 11 of the 15 state marketplaces where it currently offers coverage on the Affordable Care Act, citing the same “continued financial stress” as other large insurers that are scaling back exchange business in 2017.

Around the web

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. 

These companies were already part of the Johnson & Johnson family, but they had still retained their previous brand names. Now, each one is officially going by Johnson & Johnson MedTech. 

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