Adopting the prices of other countries could potentially have helped save Medicare part D as much as $72.8 billion in 2018, as drug prices in the U.S. averaged 3.2 to 4.1 times higher after rebates compared to the U.K., Japan and Ontario, Canada, according to a study published in Health Affairs.

HHS has finalized a rule that will require drug companies to publish the list prices of drugs in television ads. 

CMS is taking steps to streamline the review process for states that apply for section 1915 waivers and state plan amendments, CMS Administrator Seema Verma announced May 7.  

Tennessee is poised to become the first state of the union to ask for Medicaid block granting from the Trump administration, Politico reported.

CVS Health is still facing challenges from its $69 billion merger with health insurance giant Aetna, which closed in late 2018. While the deal was approved by all necessary state regulators and the Department of Justice, a federal judge is still mulling over the deal and looking at potential antitrust problems.

For the first time, employed physicians outnumber self-employed physicians, according to a 2018 benchmark survey from the American Medical Association (AMA). The findings underscore a long-time trend of shifting ownership across physician practices. Over the last several years, self-employed physicians have been on the decline.

One of the nation’s largest health insurers, Aetna, will pay $86 million to HCA Healthcare after a lawsuit stemming from 2015 led to an arbitration trial.

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., has been given another extension from federal regulators to correct its problems. The pediatric hospital came under fire in late 2018 after the Tampa Bay Times uncovered widespread problems at the facility, including a rising death rate in the pediatric heart unit.