The Republican tax cut plan, including a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, has passed through Congress, giving the party a victory in its yearlong struggle to find consensus on legislation to substantially alter the ACA.

Researchers from Intermountain Healthcare have developed a clinical decision support application capable of identifying when heart failure advances and is capable of notifying physicians. Findings were published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure.

Edward Abraham, MD, who has been serving as dean and chief academic officer at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine since July, has now been named executive vice president for health affairs and CEO of the school’s health system, UHealth.

In October, the Trump administration had asked for public comments on how to reduce HHS regulations on religious and faith-based groups. Of the 12,302 comments received, the agency has only posted 80, which mostly back the administration’s efforts and attack Obama-era policies on abortion and treating transgender patients.

Health insurer Humana and two private equity firms have announced a $4 billion acquisition of the largest home health and hospice operator in the U.S., Kindred Healthcare, splitting the company into two units and expanding Humana’s reach into patient care.

In a letter to state Medicaid directors, CMS said it will no longer accept Medicaid waiver proposals that ask for federal funding for Designated State Health Programs (DSHPs), saying states aren’t contributing their own funds toward efforts to make delivery system changes and have used the waivers to draw down additional federal dollars for Medicaid.

The medical schools and teaching hospitals at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University could require an immediate injection of funds after CMS denied a request by the state to use federal Medicaid funds to pay those schools to recruit, train and retain physicians.

If Republicans pass their tax cut plan as expected, including a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s individual mandate, Democratic-leaning states may respond with laws requiring their residents to buy health insurance or face a tax penalty.