"I think we really need our cardiologist community to understand the changes that are happening with value-based payment," one expert tells Cardiovascular Business. 

In a public letter, the groups are urging UnitedHealth Group to announce a timeline for notifying patients about what personal data was stolen in the breach of Change Healthcare's systems.

The Department of Justice said Thomas Romando, MD, illegally prescribed over 137,000 pills to nine patients over a five-year period.

Surgeons at the health system were accused of performing unnecessary procedures and receiving bonuses as kickbacks. UPMC does not admit wrongdoing.

The recall includes specific lots of five different medical devices used to treat stroke and other neurovascular diseases.

The agency is urging healthcare providers to transition away from these devices and seek out alternatives. It is even working with other manufacturers to try and get similar products on the market as quickly as possible. 

Medicare’s Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund has the wherewithal to pay the full bill for beneficiaries’ stays in hospitals, hospice sites and skilled nursing facilities for the next 12 years. But what then? 

Jeffrey Kuvin, MD, one of the leading voices behind efforts to create a new Board of Cardiovascular Medicine, spoke with Cardiovascular Business about where things stand today.