A finalized rule for the Medicare Shared Savings Program released by CMS aims to offer stronger incentives for accountable care organizations (ACOs) by allowing an additional year in Track 1 participation and using regional spending data to adjust cost targets.

WARSAW, Ind. and AUSTIN, Texas, June 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ZBH) (SIX:ZBH) (Zimmer Biomet or the Company), a global leader in musculoskeletal healthcare, and LDR Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:LDRH) (LDR), a global medical device company focused on designing and commercializing novel and proprietary surgical technologies for the treatment of patients suffering from spine disorders, today announced that both Boards of Directors have approved a definitive agreement under which Zimmer Biomet will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of LDR for $37.00 per share in cash, which implies a transaction value of approximately $1.0 billion.  The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016.

Here’s a roundup of healthcare news from Minnesota, Illinois, California, Florida and Alaska.

Privatizing the Veterans Administration healthcare system “would be a mistake,” President Barack Obama said in an interview with the Colorado Springs Gazette.

With large insurers like UnitedHealthcare and Humana announcing their departure from the health insurance marketplaces and some remaining insurers proposing bigger-than-expected increases in premiums, some health experts are predicting the Affordable Care Act is sending the industry into a so-called death spiral. UCLA Center for Health Policy Research Director Gerald Kominski, PhD, would argue otherwise.

As California’s law legalizing physicians aiding in ending the life of the terminally ill goes into effect, Lonny Shavelson, MD, is opening a practice in Berkeley, California, specifically dedicated to serving patients who want to die.

Here’s a roundup of healthcare news from New York, California, North Carolina, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Texas.

The Office of Inspector General's Semiannual Report to Congress has found that the total amount of expected recoveries reported between October 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016, is $2.77 billion, including $555 million in recoveries found through audits and $2.2 billion through investigations.