Biden Administration Announces Moves to Cut Drug Prices Lower drug copays for Medicare enrollees, price concessions for new COVID treatments spotlighted Dec 14, 2023
Experts, Lawmakers Explore Downside of Drug-Price Negotiation Stifled innovation, reduced access suggested as future challenges Dec 14, 2023
Health Spending Rose 4.1% in 2022, Government Report Says But spending on physician and clinical services grew more slowly, at 2.7% Dec 13, 2023
MedPAC Draft Recommendation Calls for 1.3% Pay Bump for Medicare Clinicians Concerns raised about doctors' ability to absorb the increased costs of running their practices Dec 07, 2023
Orphan Drug Costs; Digital Devices for Diabetes Also in TTHealthWatch: smoking cessation benefits Dec 02, 2023 podcast
'Medicarelessness' Revisited After 50 Years Privatization of the public program has simply bolstered corporate profits Nov 27, 2023
States Making Progress Toward Setting Payment Limits for Some Drugs Prescription drug affordability boards are now the law in eight states Nov 21, 2023
The Broken Medicare System Is Forcing Physicians Out Yet another physician pay cut will prevent timely access to care Nov 20, 2023
Want Lower Obesity Drug Costs? Medicare Holds the Key Medicare coverage will catalyze market competition Nov 17, 2023
Senators Discuss Making Medicare's Relaxed Telehealth Rules Permanent "We have proved the concept," says Sen. Steve Daines Nov 15, 2023
To Minimize Patient 'Note Bloat,' Cut to the Chase Repeating data over and over just adds noise that buries the signal Nov 13, 2023
U.S. to Cover PrEP for Older Americans to Stem the Spread of HIV Biden administration hopes to catch up with other parts of the world Nov 12, 2023
Medicine Is Not Just at a Crossroads, It's in a Crisis, AMA President Says Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, uses his interim speech to "shine a light" on the challenges docs face Nov 11, 2023
MedPod Today: So-Called 'Abortion Reversal'; CMS Cuts; Tinnitus After COVID Vax ľֱ reporters offer further insights on these recently covered topics Nov 10, 2023 podcast
10 Ways MedPAC Commissioners Think Regulators Should Fix Medicare Advantage Plans Improvements needed in network accuracy and transparency regarding denial rates, they say Nov 09, 2023
Senate Committee Advances Bill on Mental Health, PBMs, and 'Ghost Provider' Networks Measure would also lessen the cut to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule in 2024 Nov 08, 2023
CMS Proposes Rule to Limit Medicare Advantage Plan Sales Commissions No more golf parties or free trips to brokers who "steer" beneficiaries to higher-paying plans Nov 07, 2023
Medicare Finalizes 3.4% Payment Cut for Physician Fees in 2024 Specialty groups decry "untenable" payment cuts Nov 03, 2023
HHS Proposes 'Disincentive' Penalties for Information-Blocking Providers Clinicians could see cuts in Medicare payments if found to have violated the rule Oct 31, 2023
COVID and Flu Vaccine Risk; Medicare Advantage Fraud; $1.4B Missing Health Funds Health news and commentary from around the Web gathered by ľֱ staff Oct 27, 2023
AI Can Be a Boon to Clinicians -- If Used Correctly, Says AMA President "We can provide things to make it easier for people to practice medicine," says Jesse Ehrenfeld Oct 25, 2023
House Members Mull Bills to Cut Red Tape and Improve Docs' Medicare Pay But Democrats say they weren't given enough input in many of the measures Oct 20, 2023
Incoming AAFP President Optimistic About Family Medicine's Future Yes, there are challenges, but they can be overcome, says Steven Furr, MD Oct 18, 2023
Feds Hope to Cut Sepsis Deaths by Hitching Medicare Payments to Treatment Stats Treatment delays can undermine a patient's chance of survival Oct 15, 2023
UNC Health Publicly Threatens to Cancel UnitedHealthcare Contracts Letters blame improper denials, inadequate pay; patients urged to look for other plans for 2024 Oct 13, 2023
Feds Rein in Predictive Software That Limits Care for Medicare Advantage Patients A computer program isn't always a crystal ball for care Oct 08, 2023
Ob/Gyn Accused of Sex Abuse Found Dead; Massive Medicare Scam; Veggies in the Genes? Health news and commentary from around the Web gathered by ľֱ staff Oct 06, 2023
Should 'Site Neutrality' Be Used to Set Payments? MedPAC Members Disagree "I don't think 'site-neutral' is neutral," one commissioner says Oct 05, 2023
MedPod Today: Big Medical Bill; GLP-1 Agonist Plateau; Grateful Patient Fundraising ľֱ reporters offer further insights on these recently covered topics Sep 29, 2023 podcast
Blue Shield of California Has Fix for MA Enrollees Worried About Co-Pays An "underwriting holiday" doesn't require supplemental plan applicants to answer health questions Sep 28, 2023
With Shutdown Likely, Policy Experts Weigh Health Risks Food safety, innovation, and community health centers all could see trickle-down effects Sep 28, 2023
Medicare Advantage Ads Should Look Different This Year KFF examines past predatory ads as new CMS regulation goes into effect Sep 21, 2023
Many Medicare Patients Travel 50-Plus Miles for Neurology Visits Telemedicine can improve access to care, researchers argue Sep 15, 2023
A 'SAD' Story: Patient Stuck With $176K Bill After Medicare Policy Switch CMS abruptly decided patients can self-administer Stelara -- even those with Parkinson's Sep 14, 2023
Drug Companies, Allies Fight Back on Medicare Drug Price Negotiations They argue that the government is using coercion while claiming sellers have options Sep 14, 2023
Drug Prices Are Too Damn High It's been a long road to Medicare price negotiation ... and there's still work to be done Sep 01, 2023
Deeper Medicare Cuts Won't Reduce the $50B Spending on Older Adult Falls Cutting physical therapy reimbursement is bad for patients and bad for spending Aug 10, 2023
An Analysis of the Blizzard of Lawsuits to Block Drug-Price Negotiations Industry is using the same old playbook Aug 09, 2023
CMS Announces New Dementia Care Model for Medicare Patients Aims to provide more coordinated, ongoing care Jul 31, 2023
CMS Proposes Nearly 3.4% Cut in Medicare Physician Fees for 2024 Cut "raises significant concerns for medical groups," one organization says Jul 14, 2023
